Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2005 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sltrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Lisa Rosetta

DCFS SAYS IT HAS NO PLANS TO TAKE CUSTODY OF METH ADDICT'S NEWBORN

A pregnant drug user locked up in the Salt Lake County jail since 
Sept. 22 on a special arrangement between the sheriff and a judge was 
checked into a residential drug treatment program Monday with her newborn girl.

Tammaria Gehring gave birth Sunday night and was released from the 
hospital the next day to the Volunteers of America Utah.

Gehring's family is hopeful she will shake her addiction, but they 
worry she'll walk away from the detoxification center and disappear 
with her child.

The family wants to know why, after the sheriff and a judge were able 
to get Gehring off the street and away from dope, the state is not 
taking custody of the child. They say it is yet another frustrating 
example of how the Utah Division of Child and Family Services 
intervenes only after a child has been endangered.

"They're supposed to be out there helping these children but they 
don't went to help them until they're hurt," said Camille Gehring, 
Tammaria Gehring's sister-in-law. "She needs treatment, she needs 
help, but this baby doesn't need to be dragged into this help."

DCFS spokeswoman Carol Sisco said a caseworker is paying frequent 
visits to the 30-year-old woman to make sure she stays the course of 
her treatment. DCFS attorneys are also drafting a petition asking the 
court to order services, such as drug treatment or counseling.

"It seemed like a good thing that she was willing to work on her 
problems. The baby is safe in the program," Sisco said. Even if 
Gehring were court ordered to receive drug treatment, she is still 
free to walk out of Volunteers of America. The detoxification center 
does not have the legal authority to hold her there.

"Our concern right now is the baby is in a safe place and mom is 
getting treatment," Sisco said.

Gehring lost custody of her two boys, ages 14 months and 12 years, 
after judges decided she was not fit to be a parent. Before she was 
jailed, she was living in a motel room and using methamphetamine, 
according to her mother and court records.

"DCFS has no control when she leaves [the treatment facility]. They 
have no control over the baby," Camille Gehring said. Tammaria 
Gehring is awaiting sentencing on a felony charge of possession of a 
controlled substance. In late September, she tested positive for 
drugs in violation of her pre-sentencing release. Even after 3rd 
District Judge Terry Christiansen set Gehring's bail at $100,000, the 
Salt Lake County jail turned her away.

Sheriff Aaron Kennard said pregnant women are a legal and financial 
liability for the jail.

Because Gehring has not yet been sentenced on her felony charge, 
Christiansen could not order residential drug treatment. Concerned 
about the safety of Gehring's unborn child, Christiansen asked 
Kennard to make an exception. The sheriff agreed. Camille Gehring 
said DCFS told her that her niece, Trinity, was born healthy and 
shows no signs of drug withdrawal.

Now the baby's fate lies in the hands of her mother, a recovering 
meth addict, and DCFS, which says it has no plans to take the baby away.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman