CPS file outlines past allegations against dead toddler's mother
SEATTLE -- The mother of a toddler found dead inside a car last month has a history of allegations of neglect, according to newly-released information from Child Protective Services.
Christina Carlson, 36, was arrested last month after her 18-month-old daughter, Chantel Craig, was found unconscious and unresponsive inside a car with her 2-year-old sister on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Chantel was later pronounced dead. Her sister was treated for dehydration, and expected to recover.
Carlson pleaded not guilty in her daughter's death. But according to her 178-page CPS file, allegations of neglect date back to December 2011 when a maternal grandmother reported her.
The grandmother claimed Carlson only gave the girls a bottle without any solid food. She also said the older child had lice and could not walk because she was always left in a walker. The report also states the mother would leave the children in a playpen and drink.
The CPS file includes a startling timeline leading up to the days before the death of Carlson's daughter.
On Dec. 6, 2011, case workers could not locate Carlson. In January 2012, Carlson and the children's father agreed to treatment, and a visit in February found the children and the apartment clean.
But when a case worker made an unannounced visit in May, no one was home. By July, the home was boarded up.
Then on Sept. 18, the investigation was closed for an undisclosed reason.
Less than a month later, the two children found alone in a car in need of medical attention.
Carlson remains in jail, awaiting trial for criminal endangerment and failure to care for the children.
Because the child died after CPS closed its investigation, its fatality review board will review the case file.
Christina Carlson, 36, was arrested last month after her 18-month-old daughter, Chantel Craig, was found unconscious and unresponsive inside a car with her 2-year-old sister on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Chantel was later pronounced dead. Her sister was treated for dehydration, and expected to recover.
Carlson pleaded not guilty in her daughter's death. But according to her 178-page CPS file, allegations of neglect date back to December 2011 when a maternal grandmother reported her.
The grandmother claimed Carlson only gave the girls a bottle without any solid food. She also said the older child had lice and could not walk because she was always left in a walker. The report also states the mother would leave the children in a playpen and drink.
The CPS file includes a startling timeline leading up to the days before the death of Carlson's daughter.
On Dec. 6, 2011, case workers could not locate Carlson. In January 2012, Carlson and the children's father agreed to treatment, and a visit in February found the children and the apartment clean.
But when a case worker made an unannounced visit in May, no one was home. By July, the home was boarded up.
Then on Sept. 18, the investigation was closed for an undisclosed reason.
Less than a month later, the two children found alone in a car in need of medical attention.
Carlson remains in jail, awaiting trial for criminal endangerment and failure to care for the children.
Because the child died after CPS closed its investigation, its fatality review board will review the case file.
Maybe the tribe should have stepped up and did something about this situation the tribe should be responsible for their people and the children instead they didn't do anything this wasn't something that just happened in a hours time this had been going on for sometime the tribe should have made sure she had proper housing they got resources to help why didn't family members help you know it looks like mother is to blame and so are alot of other people the state cps makes money off of taking children all the time this mother has to live with this there are alot of people that really don't know how to take care of their children but the tribe didn't look out for one of their own I'm native american and I know for a fact this should have never happened if the tribe had stepped in including family step up and help remember when you point you have three fingers pointing back so make sure you include all those that could've helped seeing pictures of her house the condition was deplorable and no one else could see that for real
Last time I heard it was completely legal to take your kids to a hospital, police station, fire station and hand them over becuase the parent could not take care of them. Am I wrong? If I am correct in this, all I can say is that this woman is extremely selfish and uninformed.
My conclusion would be that she was receiving money for these children that she did not want to give up so instead she gave up on her kids to fulfill her own needs of drinking and whatever else she was doing.
That woman deserves no mercy. How anyone could do that to their children is disgusting. I also want to know why the grandmother didn't do more here? I know if it was my grandkids living in those conditions, I'd be all over it! It is obvious she knew about it, but reporting it is not enough. The rest of her family should have been more proactive in the protection of those children.
This is Beda_Chelh? (Tribal) not CPS. Aparently CPS has washed their hands of tribal issues. CPS has it hands full with its own problems and can't watch over this anyhow.
Beda-Chelh? {ba-dot-cha} means well, but here you have the fox guarding the chicken coupe too much of the time.
Kids in trouble have no chance..Our new Govenor should assign a 3rd party police of this whole organization.. (Of course you'd have to take money out of the CPS budget to pay for it.)
Maybe Bill and Linda can look into this. Anything will help.Â
 @rite n my mind Now let me see if I understand what you are saying, this (ba-dot-cha) is like a tribal CPS? if indeed that is what they do, why in heavens name would the money have to be taken out of the CPS budget to pay for this tribal program? I don't want to sound disrespectful, but tribes pull in millions of dollars from their casinos and smoke shops as well as their gas stations, why should the CPS budget need to go to a tribal program? when they are able to pay for and have on hand a child protecting service of their own to make sure this kind of abuse does not happen on the reservations.
What's sad is that CPS can take so long to act, when the grandmother just taking the two children would have definitely been the best course of action.
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 No doubt, though, that the mother could have run to CPS crying that her kids were taken and then there would have been charges filed against the grandmother. Just can't win...
 @WAbornnraised It's possible the grandmother is not able to take care of babys, it is also a long trail of red tape for CPS to remove a child from their biological parents, it is ultimately up to the courts to have a child removed, there are so, so many issues concerning rights etc. it is very exhausting and possibly dangerous for all involved, I highly doubt the mother would run anywhere, as she apparently did not even acknoledge or care about them,  or would even care they were gone, if someone and I'm sure there were a few who knew about them being in a filthy, infested car for days with nothing, food, water, that is where the blame lies, on her and on those who knew this and did nothing.
 If I were a friend of hers and possibly drinking with her, knowing she has 2 little kids, and I didn't see them, I would certainly ask about them, where are they? is someone watching them? wouldn't you ask the same thing if you were her friend and cared about her little ones?
 @jsp52 I don't give a leap about her lies, addicts lie,  the facts speak for themselves, these people have eyes don't they? you mean to tell me the people around her, friends, family did not know she had small children? I would be a bit suspicious of not seeing these kids for days and if I was a  friend I would certainly ask about them, wouldn't you? and her prior actions were no doubt know to all who knew her, when do these excuses stop? it is more than plain the grandmother knew what the hell was going on.
@SJ Fine words but remember Casey Anthony? She sinply lied to her friends, family and authorities. This pos mothet I'm sure would have done the same, her prior actions seems to indicate she cared little for these children. Society needs to rid itself of this type of garbage.
"The report also states the mother would leave the children in a playpen and drink." Ummm.. isn't that one of the safest places in the home to leave a child if you are going to have a drink? That's usually where my kid is if I'm going to tie one on...
 @mhungry But presumably your child doesn't spend the majority of his life in the playpen while you're bombed to the gills day and night. And presumably your child isn't crawling with lice and unable to walk due to living nonstop in the playpen.Â
Not at all disparaging you; I don't blame any parent of a toddler for wanting to tie one on once in awhile. :^D Â Just pointing out the vast difference from what you describe of your parenting (you used the word "if," indicating it isn't an automatic) and what this article cites of this woman's 178-page CPS file and the evidence of her children's conditions to back it up.Â
how many dont know that welfare reform also means cps reform? same thing
This makes me sick. I wonder how many times you have to be reported to cps before something is done. This little girl could have grown into a wonderful woman, if someone cared enough to stand up and help her. If the parents needed treatment, how come the girls did not go into a foster home then? That would have given time for the parents to get healthy, and maybe become a better parent.
 @Just my say its a big world. did u know? what could u of done?grandma knew and could not help. why? because the people of america leave it to cps,? isent cps a joke by now? the usa needs to take new births through the first 3 years to a higher educated level. i my self have had enough of the sicken preventable child deaths due to ppd that even doctor fail to acknowledge or express to the parents  it is very real. dads need to be educated on this also. did u see obamas commercial about dads? do u know that canada supports new moms up to 3 years?why?
 @maggie112 And just who do you suppose is going to pay for the USA to do all the things you suggest?
 @maggie112 I don't even know what to say to you. When I read your statement I feel sorry for you because its like your saying "I know I am a bad mom and this is why". I am sorry for anything you are going through or might of went through, but if you are not getting information from your doctor that you need, then its time to change doctors. When we decided having children, we knew everything. I am not going to give this so called mom the excuse of PPD. She can have the excuse of being a tweaking drunk, because that is what she cared about. Just so you do know the facts, PPD only affects 10% of women and since allot of your comments have to do with this, there is help 1-800-944-4PPD. I do not watch T.V. and care less about some stupid commercial.
 @maggie112  @Just my say Maggie, again, I can only wish for a coherent post from you. I cannot tell exactly what your points are and if I agree or disagree with you in any post. It is just too painful to read. I know I've said it before, so I will stop. Probably, I will just have to skip over your posts, since I cannot understand them.
 @Just my say u r sooo very wrong ! i wont say u r stupiding the american people .u must be a re pub lickcan.
Everyone who was involved failed these children, and now one of them is dead. You have blood of the innocent on your hands, and it will never wash away. I hope their shame haunts them to the day the die.
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RIP little angel, your pain is over, you are at peace.
 @yentaleh or refused to be involved? i bet it dont stop here. get a clue washington we r not going to allow these kids to die because of our ignorance, r we? taxpayers u r the cps! please look in to how to stop the cps and start taking care of parents that they've become. thats the start and the finish we can only succeed
 @maggie112 I don't follow nor understand your comment, also your grammar has a lot to be desired. Please, if you are going to respond, use complete sentences and write intelligently. No one is going to take your comments seriously, when you write the way that you do.
Why was it so hard for this mother to tell someone where she left the little ones? I will never understand how she could do this. She needs to be held accountable and one year in jail is not enough.Â
 @agatha washington refuses to except postpartum depression. a real problem the doctors even fail to speak of it in the USA. its real and men r screwed because they also lack the the education or the word alone. the women they love r going trough a freakishly mind altering state .  F the cps crap, washington and the usa have to get it together, care for moms, a tough job is an understatement
@maggie112 :Â
You do not speak for all women (thank God - most of us have better command of the english language, sentence structure, using real words instead of just letters to say things like "you", "are",punctuaqtion, etc).Â
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When I gave birth to my son 21 years ago, PPD was addressed before I gave birth as well as after. I think you are *claiming* a problem that does not necessarily exist in the proportion that you are stating.
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@MargeGunderson @maggie112 Good point. I am guessing she has no idea how stupid she is. Otherwise, why would she keep posting?
 @Anarchy  @maggie112 You forgot to give it credit for coining the phrase "stupiding american." Â
@maggie112 Maggie, after reading your comments on this story, I have to say I admire you. You can't seem to write a complete or coherent sentence; have spelling issues; don't know the difference between then and than; and seem to have diagnosed a drunk who neglected her children with PPD without even knowing all the facts. BUT, none of this matters to you. You keep on posting and looking more and more ridiculous. You go, girl!
 @LocalLady  @maggie112 I'm having trouble understanding how PPD applies in this case. Maggie brought it up in her incoherent comments as far as I can tell. As far as this case goes, the facts point to Alcoholism, and that is a completely different issue.
 @maggie112  @LocalLady is right, my youngest is 26 and I also had education and information on Post Partum Depression and its effects.  I believe the mom in this story is an addict, a disease that effectively turns off the ability to put anything, including children, ahead of seeking and using alcohol and other drugs.What is especially sad to me is that CPS closed the case... that sounds very much like someone was trying to get some numbers in order for a budget.  And very much like an organization focused on paperwork and numbers instead of people and children.
 @LocalLady plus more then half the women dont even know they r in ppd so u cant say u dident experience it .
 @LocalLadynot all women have kids and it sounds like u r one of the lucky ones so let the others that need help ,get it u troll
don't have kids if you can't take care of themÂ
 @Komo Dragon Doesn't your comment put all the blame on the mama, then?  Where is the dad in all this? There was at least one father, perhaps two.  Why wasn't he involved in the raising of the kids?  I agree that kids should be a carefully considered choice, but I also think it takes two to make and to raise children.
 @cdc I wasn't targeting the mom. It's a generic statement and applies to all involved.
 @Komo Dragon romnie will take care of that choice wont he? lol. your not real, wake up please, your vote counts!
 @maggie112  @Komo Dragon What the heck is a "romnie" ? This from the adolescent genius who refers to "stupiding american."Â
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Again you have so much to learn about life, kiddo, and again you're oblivious when the grownups try to teach you valuable life skills that you'll need when you turn 30 and your parents want you to finally live on your own.Â
 I am very real, and I have real kids, and I am not outsourcing my responsibilities to the government or any president. This is about personal responsibility not post-partum depression.Â
 @two loons  @Komo Dragon  @maggie112 Those two factors are not mutually exclusive, two loons!Â
 @MargeGunderson  @Komo Dragon  @maggie112 If you have seen her (presumably her...) comments elsewhere, you might conclude as I have. Maggie is passionate about social and political topics; however, cannot compose a coherent sentence. English may not be her first or even second language. Her syntax and grammar are well below that of a texting 12 year old. Either her world is a strange place, or she is an epic troll.
 @maggie112Â
Ok, PPD is real, but as another poster stated, it does not affect all who have had children, you know as well, that is not the problem here, alcohol and possibly drugs are what happened to these people, I'm assuming it has been an on going problem, very few of us are trained to know all the symptoms of PPD, but we are trained to see child abuse, and have a responsibility to the ones being abused, it matters not, I would think it would be a major clue to those around her, that these little girls were suffering and not getting proper care, everyone who knows her knows she had these kids, and knew she has an alcohol/drug problem, so when is it time to stop partying with her and enabling her and see what's happening to innocent lives? it should have not even gone this far, to the point of a baby dieing this horrible death, when do the adults in her circle come forward and say this is enough? did anyone care about these little girls? apparently not, it's all about themselves, alcohol, partying, and the hell with anyone else, you need not defend her, she deserves no sympathy, your tears should be directed to the baby who was murdered because nobody cared enough to value her little life to say this has to stop.
 @Komo Dragon  @maggie112 KD, how can you possibly even decipher that pathetic, sloppy, incoherent drivel maggot112 craps out?
No way is that a grown woman old enough to have children; she couldn't be more than 11 years old at most, and extremely far behind her peers in just about every subject.
Not to mention a very low opinion of herself and her thoughts to not even care enough about herself to spell five-letter words correctly and use basic grammar and punctuation.Â
 @maggie112 what are you talking about?Â
want a reply from maggie112? komo comm enters knows u better.
sterilize her!! THROW THE BOOK AT HER!!!!!!!!
maybe the USA should start recognizing postpartum depression ? the freakishly state that a women really goes through after giving birth and up to 2 years after.... rather then settle for unfit mother or allow the USA mothers to ride it out , with the best of hopes.   in English yes new moms go through this, the experience is more common then realized or excepted or be leaved in, because most have family's to help hold them up and through this, yet some dont or refuse simply because they r unaware of this condition due to lack of education every where yes the doctors fail to bring this to the attention of a new mother as if it isent real. boy is it ever, soo real and hell i might add. with all respects to the USA, we could really use some respect for the new moms. canada provides help to these new moms for up to 2 to3 + years and so should we americans . then maybe half the dads will have a chance with staying in the relationship. that they r freakishly confused by. men u r needed and loved more then a women is able to express in this condition. you have simply been uneducated as well. give todays american kids a life we havent been educated for...... a family.
@maggie112 Obviously you are not from "the USA" as you call it. I agree that this country has issues just like other countries and I hate to say it but if you have this big of a problem with it maybe you should move back to wherever you are originally from!!
@maggie112 In what way does Canada help new moms for 3+ years? Can you be more specific please because it's interesting to know. Here is the US, there's help everywhere, it is up to us to recognize that there is a problem and seek help. Reach out to someone either families or friends or medical personnel. There are medications available or counselling. I was only 17 when I had my son and when you are that age and having a baby you will lose your mind, but I chose to keep my baby so I had to face the consequences. I asked my mom & family to help me out by letting me stay at home until I finished HS. After HS, I looked for a full time job, supporting my self, my son and paying rent to my mom and other bills. When you choose to have a baby, you become a parent and you do what you have to do in order to provide and care for your child, you don't go out leaving your kids in a playpen with no food while you go drinking. If you don't want to grow up then don't have a kid. I am not saying that I am a perfect mom, but thank God my son is turning 16 years old this coming Dec and I am very proud of him.
 @ILuvHelloKitty  @maggie112 i seen it along the way and been to canada a few times. they have tv and share the info that way. most women dont know they r in ppd and canada have proven postpartum depression is worth the treatment these women get . the USA refuses to acknowledge it due to the treatment that is necessary but comparing it to cps? we pay more with little lives lost and big pay outs , freaking go figure u tax paying hippocrates
@maggie112 @ILuvHelloKitty - Right on Kitty ;) As for you dear little maggie -- so you've "been to canada a few times." Oh, so this now makes you an expert on post-partum depression? (by the way, Canada is with a capital C - it's a proper noun) Honey, I can Google how to remove a brain tumor and even watch it on YouTube these days, but it doesn't make me a neurosurgeon. Having worked closely with many women's health providers and their staff, I can tell you with all confidence that post-partum depression is NOT something that goes unacknowledged in the US. Please read about the case of Andrea Yates, you'll find it most enlightening.Â
@maggie112 - having seen my own mother batte PPD, I absolutely understand what you're saying. However, if you read not only this article ("The report also states the mother would leave the children in a playpen and drink.") but others, this woman has a history of substance abuse, as does the father. These kids were doomed from the start because of booze and God knows what else.  Â
 @mccwife  @maggie112 sorry to say more then half the dads dont even know where the baby came from, NOT HIS ! YES. fathers, GET A dna TEST it will help. 20$ at rite aide. have no shame. wer'e all human. dont beat your women to figure it out
 @mccwife  @maggie112 then u know it could last up to 3 years + and help was obviously not available or refused commonly in this state of mind we should take some eduction from canada on this. they support their mothers up to 3 years+ how much more of a clue do the americans need? oh yeah, lets just leave it to welfare _cps what an embarrassment ! we really need to break THAT addiction. the usa looks like sick cps freaks. u dont think? you dont know what the obama commercial is trying to say FROM THE TOP! dads dont have a chance with women in that state of mind..... dont remind me grandma knew
@maggie112 HOLY COW GIRL! Put down the cell phone, give texting a break and pick up the following: A dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus and any good book on grammar. Your passionate social messages are completely ignored because you can't seem to put together a coherent sentence. Eloquence in writing is quite persuasive - give it a try. And by the way, I am a medical professional and quite well-aware of PPD and all that goes with it. However, the government acting as mommy's babysitter for up to 3 years is not the answer and not a solution we, as a country, can afford. Women need to take charge of their own health, get educated BEFORE they get pregnant so they know what may lie ahead, and this includes post-partum depression. They also need to form strong partnerships with their healthcare providers to help make sound decisions that work for them and their growing family.  More than anything else, however, if you can't take care of a child properly, there ARE ways to keep from popping them out like Pez candy. I really wish this alcoholic mother would realize this.