The Official Baby-snatchers of Arlington County

In a case of big government gone insane, Nancy Hey and Christopher Slitor had their 3-week-old daughter Sabrina taken from him by Arlington County (VA) Child Protective Services. Why? Because an anonymous and unsubstantiated claim that he and his wife were starving the child:

After more than two years of legal wrangling with the county’s Child Protective Services (CPS), Arlington Circuit Court Judge James Almand terminated the couple’s parental rights in June 2007.

But nine months earlier, Sabrina’s parents were completely exonerated by Virginia CPS hearing officer George Walton, who noted in his official report that, despite the baby’s worrisome 10-ounce weight loss soon after her birth by Caesarian section, nothing in the her medical record indicated she had ever been in danger. There was also no evidence, Walton added, that Sabrina’s “failure to thrive” resulted from parental neglect.

In fact, the record showed the opposite: Nancy Hey – who suffers from a developmental disorder that makes it difficult for her to recognize non-verbal signals from others – and her husband fully cooperated with medical professionals and CPS workers throughout their ordeal. In any case, Sabrina was at her proper weight when she was taken away by county officials, two days after her parents told social worker Dana Zemke that they were retaining a lawyer. Arlington Judge Esther Wiggins Lyles signed the removal order with neither Hey nor Slitor even aware of the proceedings, much less being present to contest the decision. Sabrina went to a politically influential local professional couple with no training as foster parents, despite CPS requirements that foster couples be trained before being entrusted with children.

At this point, even if Hey and Slitor win, they lose. To quote Ezra Levant, "the process is the punishment". Regardless of the final outcome, they will still have their legal fees, while the state will have none. If they can't reverse the custody decision, they lose their daughter. If they regain custody rights, they've lost two very important years of Sabrina's life to the nanny state.

(h/t the Corner)