In re M.T. CA3

BACKGROUND

The minor, M.T., came to the attention of the Sacramento County Department of Child, Family and Adult Services (Department) in August 2019 when she, along with mother, tested positive for methamphetamine at her birth. Mother, who had a long history of methamphetamine use, admitted she had used methamphetamine the day before giving birth. Mother claimed she used the drug to stay awake and control pain, adding that it was “only a one-time slip, it’s not the end of the world. I am allowed to make [a] mistake, I am not perfect.” During the social worker’s interview of mother in the hospital, mother became agitated and angry when questioned about a pending dependency case in Yolo County involving the minor’s half sibling, H.N. She began to cry and yell at the social worker, clutching the minor to her chest and refusing to allow the social worker to take the child. The minor’s father, Michael T. (father), came out of the bathroom in mother’s room where he had been hiding. Mother admitted she had a history of drug use and domestic violence but claimed she had stopped using on her own and without treatment in the past and did not need the court’s involvement to “ ‘make me to…