sws4420
09-21-2006, 08:33 PM
CINCINNNATI -- A woman has been removed as a foster parent after police said she was smoking marijuana while caring for a 9-month-old girl.
The baby and another foster child, a 1-year-old boy, were removed from the woman's care while Hamilton County officials investigate. Stephanie Edwards, 25, a foster parent for the county's Department of Job and Family Services for the past year, was charged Tuesday evening with two misdemeanor counts of child endangering.
A photo lab employee in suburban Anderson Township called police after receiving prints that police said showed her using a bong, or water pipe, to smoke marijuana.
She denied smoking marijuana in front of the girl, but admitted making "a stupid mistake." She said the photos are misleading.
"I love those babies and I would do anything to get them back. I would never do anything to hurt them," she said.
The arrest comes amid increased scrutiny of the foster-care system following the death last month of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, whose foster parents face murder charges.
Greg Hartmann, the Hamilton County clerk of courts, is compiling a database of all Hamilton County foster parents.
The names will be automatically matched against people arrested in the county.
"The more scrutiny, the better," Hartmann said Wednesday.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9903022/detail.html
The baby and another foster child, a 1-year-old boy, were removed from the woman's care while Hamilton County officials investigate. Stephanie Edwards, 25, a foster parent for the county's Department of Job and Family Services for the past year, was charged Tuesday evening with two misdemeanor counts of child endangering.
A photo lab employee in suburban Anderson Township called police after receiving prints that police said showed her using a bong, or water pipe, to smoke marijuana.
She denied smoking marijuana in front of the girl, but admitted making "a stupid mistake." She said the photos are misleading.
"I love those babies and I would do anything to get them back. I would never do anything to hurt them," she said.
The arrest comes amid increased scrutiny of the foster-care system following the death last month of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, whose foster parents face murder charges.
Greg Hartmann, the Hamilton County clerk of courts, is compiling a database of all Hamilton County foster parents.
The names will be automatically matched against people arrested in the county.
"The more scrutiny, the better," Hartmann said Wednesday.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9903022/detail.html