Knowing State Laws
Click on the above title to see the work I have been doing.I'm not one to sit on my behind and do nothing. At the very least, I can educate myself regarding the laws in my state.
Some things I wanted to know:
When does a dispositional hearing have to occur and can I attend? What happens at that hearing?
What is this "case plan" and what goes into it?
When can parental rights be terminated and how is that decided?
What is concurrent planning and what constitutes "reasonable efforts" to reunite the family?
I found the answers to all of these questions (well, the legal answers anyway). Biomom has a lot to overcome. If you read through this webpage, you'll see that since she has a drug addiction and has had her parental rights involuntarily terminated for two other children in the past this will be extremely difficult for her.
You'll also see that in Kentucky a child cannot be in foster care for more than 15 out of 22 months before a permanency hearing has to take place. So, the worst case scenario is that we have Sugar Cookie for 15 months straight and then the courts get to ask whether Biomom has made enough progress. Courts can terminate parental rights even if some progress has been made, but that progress is not fast enough or sufficient enough. Recently, in NC, there have been several appeals cases in which the decision to terminate parental rights was upheld even though the birth mother had made some progress. The courts ruled that even though the birth mother had done some things, that she failed to sufficiently make progress. This means that simply showing up for visitations and being nice just doesn't cut it.
We have been told by workers that if Sugar Cookie is with us for a year, that heavy duty planning will begin even if Biomom has made some progress.
My hope for Biomom is that a miracle happens in her life. I desperately hope she gets clean. I pray she does not conceive any more children until she is clean and sober and able to care for a child. I pray that these things happen and that she is able to use these horrible things she is going through now as a testament so that she can someday help others. I know that I cannot be the one to rescue her. But I know God can send someone - or multiple someones - into her life to help her make the right decisions. I don't rule out a miracle in her case - people get off drugs and clean up their lives every day.
For some reason, my feelings about Biomom are changing. She has made terrible choices, but so have I at times. She's only 23 years old. Its not too late for her to turn her life around. My prayer is that she makes the right decisions somehow - to get clean and, if its God's will, to somehow come to the decision to give this child up for adoption. I doubt any of the workers will suggest it, but I can't help but hope that someone she loves and trusts talks to her about that option.
posted by No Longer In Crisis @ 1/26/2006 09:05:00 AM
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