Well, it is not true for all runaways or kids who get the boot that they are running away from responsibility and if they are shitty coping skills are learned somewhere. There are some crappy parents in this world who do their damndest to make growing up into a responsible adult near impossible for some kids, but that's another discussion. I've long ago attributed pollyanna thinking in regards to parents to the fact that many people have good, responsible, loving parents who love them. They don't know any other way and that's awesome that people can't imagine crappy parents--thank God for good parents that make those thoughts foreign to most

My thought on 'looking in her eyes' thing is that this young lady may be a problem regular who panhandles and the cashier knew it and probably was worried she might get in trouble for serving someone who may have been asked to leave the establishment before, but you were a paying customer so she was conflicted...just a thought there on the 'looking away thing'.
As for the rest, I think there is some reasonable reason to 'judge' in this situation. Most young women don't have babies taken by CPS unless their own habits, usually drug use, contribute to their children to be neglected or abused. This is especially true in a liberal haven like California. This young lady is probably a regular drug user who panhandles or sells herself to get high. You are an idiot Naden...the first clue she is problemed was not the runaway thing, but when she told you her child was taken by CPS.
BTW, perpetual homelessness SHOULD result in your losing your children. Notice I said PERPETUAL homelessness. Why should children have to pay for their parents inability to get their act together and live in a state of constant instability? I always wonder why liberals are more concerned about the feelings of perpetually homeless adults then providing the children they drag down with them some stability. I'd rather keep that crisis limited to just that ONE person rather then extend those problems to 2 or 3 others. At some point even with all the help in the world, some adults can never get their crap together; stop giving them help and make sure the kids have the stability their parents can't seem to provide. JMO of course. Get tired of allowing shitstains for parents all the resources to raise more shitstains. I was thinking about this a lot watching Gangland one night. I'm sure we essentially paid for the raising of most of those gangmembers and that's the best their egg and sperm donor could produce was a menace to socoety many generations over.