A judge in Texas said he was forced to return a drug-addicted baby to its Alaska Native mother due to the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The baby was taken from the mother, 18, six moths ago, when social workers discovered cocaine in its system. The mother admitted using cocaine the day she went into labor, The Dallas Morning News reported.

In such cases, the mother would lose all parental rights. But the judge said the state failed to follow ICWA guidelines by offering a tribal expert at the custody hearing. The mother is now drug free and is in a rehabilitative program, said her attorney.

Get the Story:
Cocaine-addicted baby given back to mother on Indian law (The Dallas Morning News 3/20)
pwpwd
Law protecting Native American families can actually do harm (WFAA-TV 3/22)