Vermont’s child welfare agency relied on baseless allegations about a pregnant woman’s mental health to secretly investigate her and win custody of her daughter before the baby was born, according to a lawsuit that alleges the state routinely targets and tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for parenthood.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Vermont and Pregnancy Justice, the national advocacy group, on Wednesday sued the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF), a counseling center and the hospital where the woman gave birth in February 2022. The lawsuit seeks both an end to what it calls an illegal surveillance program and unspecified monetary damages for the woman, who is identified only by her initials, A.V.
According to the complaint, the director of a homeless shelter where A.V. briefly stayed in January 2022 told the child welfare agency that she appeared to have untreated paranoia, dissociative behaviors and PTSD. The state opened an investigation and later spoke to the woman’s counselor, midwife and a hospital social worker, despite having no jurisdiction over fetuses — and all without her knowledge.
She was still in the dark until the moment she gave birth and her baby girl was immediately taken away, said Harrison Stark, senior staff attorney at the ACLU. She had no idea that while she was in labor, hospital officials were relaying updates to the state — including details of her cervix dilation — and had won temporary custody of the fetus. At one point, the state sought a court order forcing the woman to undergo a cesarean section, which was rendered moot because she agreed to the surgery. It took her seven months to win full custody of her daughter.
“It’s a horrific set of circumstances for our client,” said Stark. “It’s also clear from what has happened that this is not the first time the agency has done this. We have learned from several confidential sources that DCF has a pattern and practice of looking into folks like our client who are pregnant, who are of interest to the agency based on a set of unofficial criteria and who the agency is tracking on what is called a ‘high risk pregnancy docket’ or ‘high risk pregnancy calendar.’”
Chris Winter, commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, said the agency will comment once officials have reviewed the lawsuit and investigated its claims.
SOURCE: AP News (Associated Press), by Holly Ramer, 18 January 2025