Opinion ID: 2816329
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The County Takes Custody of B.W.

Text: On July 15, 2008, Rachel Whitworth gave birth to her daughter B.W. at a hospital in Reno, Nevada. Whitworth admitted that she used methamphetamine throughout her pregnancy, including as recently as two days earlier. B.W. tested positive for methamphetamine at birth. When Whitworth informed hospital staff that her two other children were in the custody of the WCDSS, the hospital contacted Chondra Ithurralde, the WCDSS social worker managing the open case. The next day, Ithurralde visited the hospital with WCDSS social worker Ellen Wilcox. Ithurralde notified the hospital that Whitworth was an active methamphetamine user who lacked stable housing and the supplies necessary to care for an infant and that the Department planned to terminate her parental rights vis-à-vis her two other children. Wilcox interviewed Whitworth, who again acknowledged that she was a methamphetamine user who did not have the means to 6 KIRKPATRICK V. COUNTY OF WASHOE provide for B.W. In light of this information, Wilcox requested that the hospital place a “hold” on B.W. to prevent her from being discharged. The hospital typically honors the Department’s hold request as a courtesy, but it is not a court order. The hold did not prevent Whitworth from interacting with B.W. while they were in the hospital together. The hospital’s notes state that B.W. remained in the room with Whitworth, who failed to feed the infant on schedule and keep her dry. Meanwhile, Wilcox conferred with her supervisor Linda Kennedy, who authorized Wilcox to take custody of B.W. when the hospital released the infant. Wilcox informed Whitworth that she had placed a hold on the child and that a protective custody hearing would be scheduled. On July 17, 2008, the hospital discharged two-day-old