Problem moms' pregnancies unchecked

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A mother with a history of arrests, drunkenness and childbirth gave her latest newborn to a stranger at a bus stop this week, but there's not much the state can do about her pregnancies.

Elvira Ann Smith is familiar with handcuffs. She's been in and out of jail more than a dozen times since 2008.

Most of her arrests have something to do with bus stops, her love of vodka and her bad parenting.

On Wednesday night Smith left her 7-day-old baby with two men she met at a bus stop at Central Avenue and San Mateo Boulevard.

A year earlier her ex-boyfriend called the cops on a very drunk Smith, who had picked up their 12-day-old baby for a visit.

Cops found her at another bus stop and arrested her

In 2008 Smith had more run-ins with police.

That April cops say she was passed out drunk while her baby girl played in the street.

On the back of the child's bicycle police reported finding a bottle of liquor in the cup holder.

Just a few months later Smith was arrested again. She was drunk at a bus stop with her daughter, officers reported.

So with a history like hers, why wasn't more done to monitor Smith during this latest pregnancy?

"In New Mexico there are no fetal-protection laws, so we wouldn't be able to be involved," said spokesman Enrique Knell said of the state Children, Youth and Families Department. "In fact, no one can intervene while a woman is pregnant."

CYFD said that's not the case in every state.

"In other states, like California, if a woman is pregnant and tests positive for drug abuse, then the state can actually mandate that she attend drug- and alcohol-abuse classes," he said.

When a child is born in New Mexico, the hospital can test the baby.

If it has alcohol or drugs in its system, they can call in cops and CYFD. But a history of bad parenting doesn't matter.

"We can take past referrals into consideration, but you can't assume they are going to do something again with a new child," Knell said.

CYFD has custody of Smith's new baby but could not tell us about the other children because of privacy laws.

A judge will decide if Smith can get the baby back.

New Mexico does have a "safe haven law" that allows a mother to drop off an infant at a hospital or health clinic no questions asked.