Prison officials criticized for baby policies

The case of an abused 3-year-old girl rescued in a Wisconsin drug bust shines light on a system that could allow a baby born to a Nevada inmate to be turned over to a criminal, child advocates say.

Soon after the girl was born to the inmate, authorities believe, she was given to a reputed drug user who had been arrested for prostitution. The 3-year-old was found April 22 in a Green Bay, Wis., drug bust, but not before authorities suspect she was sexually abused.

State officials and the governor's office are looking at how the girl ended up with Heidi Hildahl, who told Wisconsin authorities that the Nevada Department of Corrections had given her the child.

Green Bay authorities still don't know the identity of the girl and have not ruled out that she could be Everlyse Cabrera, a toddler who went missing from a North Las Vegas foster care home in June 2006.

State corrections officials, however, say they play no role in determining where children born to inmates are placed. There were 55 babies born to Nevada inmates in 2006 and 2007.

"We don't know the name of the child or where the child goes," said Suzanne Pardee, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Critics say the case highlights problems with the lack of oversight of children born to inmates.

"People are flying over to China to adopt babies, and we're handing them over to alleged prostitutes," said Donna Coleman, a longtime child welfare advocate.

Authorities believe the girl's birth mother is Danielle Allen, a 26-year-old who served time in the women's prison in North Las Vegas for possession of a controlled substance.

Allen is believed to have given birth in prison in 2005, but the prison has no record of it or who the baby was turned over to, according to a police affidavit.

The girl found in Green Bay was living with Hildahl, a 38-year-old Wisconsin resident who has prior arrests for misdemeanor cocaine and gun possession, as well as felony reckless driving and evading police, records show.

A witness told police that he saw an acquaintance of Hildahl's molest the 3-year-old, according to the police affidavit.

Green Bay police said Hildahl told them that she and her husband, Salvador, were "granted guardianship (of the girl) by the Nevada Prison System," according to the affidavit. Hildahl claimed her husband is the baby's grandfather.

The girl is in protective custody.

Allen, who is out of prison and no longer lives in Nevada, said she won't comment on the case until she gets custody of her daughter.

The Department of Corrections said that when an inmate gives birth, the inmate chooses the caregiver and the prison merely provides the corresponding paperwork. The prison is the "facilitator," Pardee said.

The Corrections Department doesn't investigate the inmate's choice of a guardian or conduct a background check on them, Pardee said.

"We take care of inmates," she said.

The Clark County Department of Family Services and the state's Division of Child and Family Services only get involved when an inmate can't find anyone else to take their newborn, officials said.

Other states, however, do extensive background checks on adults who care for inmates' children.

In Ohio, county child welfare agencies work with pregnant inmates to identify three potential guardians. The county runs criminal background checks and inspects the potential guardians' homes to see whether they're suitable, said Jim McCafferty, director of Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services, which includes Cleveland.

If none of the inmate's choices qualifies, the county takes custody of the child.

Washington state also conducts criminal background checks and home visits for anyone preparing to care for an inmate's infant.

"We want to make sure we don't send a child to a situation that's worse than what we're trying to get them out of," said Lauri Stewart, spokeswoman for the state's child welfare agency.

Coleman said the Nevada prison system's lack of involvement in the process is inadequate. While the mother should have some say in where the child ends up, the safety of the child needs to be considered too, she said.

"The very least we should do is a fingerprint check," she said.

Gary Peck, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said that Nevada's child welfare agencies should get involved in placing inmates' babies with guardians.

"Family services have the greatest institutional competency to work with the mother and the penal system," he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.