On April 17, Department of Children and Families child protective investigator Kristi Machin removed a 2-year-old girl from her mother in residential drug treatment at The Village.
"She didn't follow the rules. She didn't follow the law," Machin said.
The grandmother, who had legal custody, let her daughter have the child back without court approval. The next day they were all before Judge Jeri Cohen.
The grandmother admitted she could no longer care for the child. The mother begged to get her daughter back.
"Please, I give you my word. I'm not , I"m not going to put my daughter at risk," the mother, Magdalene Medina, told the judge on April 18.
In January, Medina had been arrested for stealing electronics from a store while her daughter and another child were with her.
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After counselors from the village vouched for her progress in drug treatment, Cohen decided to return custody to Medina.
On Thursday, exactly three weeks later, that changed.
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"The mother brought alcohol into The Village. She left the child unattended," said DCF attorney Carly Weiss.
"I hate to say it , but I made a mistake. I made a mistake. No, I made a mistake, and I take full responsibility for it," said Cohen.
She added: "I took a chance and I made the wrong decision and thank goodness nothing more serious happened to the baby."
Medina's mother was not in court this time, but the case manager revealed new information about her on Thursday.
The family's case manager disclosed: "The P.I. (protective investigator) did do a background check on Grandma and she was arrested a few days before that court hearing for grand theft auto."
The judge then told Medina: "Even if she wasn't arrested for grand theft auto, I would not place the baby with your mother."
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Now Medina has been kicked out of The Village and is going to a new drug treatment program.
"By the way, let me give you an FYI, the taxpayers are paying for this, not you, not your mother, not your family – we are," the judge told Medina.
For the third time in a few months this baby was again removed from her mother and going to foster care.
Judge Cohen pointed out that in 55 percent of cases like this one in dependency drug court, the parent is successfully reunited with the child.
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