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I've had my brothers 2 children for the past 7 years, they were placed with me by dss, tthe baby was only 7 months old when she came to live with me, I am the only mother she has ever known and I love this child dearly, the permanency plan was and still is adoption for her and is still in process after 7 years, her sister is now 16 and we have been going for guardianship for her for 7 years, I live in Indiana and the children have only had contact with a social worker twice in the last 6 years and that has only been the last two years. I have applied for assistance for the children 4 different times and been denied 4 different times, even though I know they qualify for government assistance, What if any options do I have on finalizing the adoption process, and why do these things take so long? I don't understand how these children can be kept in limbo for so long. The parents signed away all rights immediately,and why is it impossible to get financial assistance for these children, in my opinion this is neglect on behalf of DSS. Any Advice?
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They're getting around the assistance because you are a relative.
Also, in most states, if the kids are under DSS care, they have to have some sort of court hearings at least yearly, so this sounds very odd. They apparently already have you classified as a guardianship placement(?) If it were me, I would hire a good adoption attorney and file for adoption. If the parents rights are terminated and the kids have been with you this long, I'd bet a judge would grant it.
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I forgot to add these children were placed by DSS in Baltimore Maryland and they actually do have hearings twice a year, They call me about a week or so before each hearing to have me fax any new info pertaining to health, education etc.....An actual worker has visited twice, the first time was last year, he wasn't the actual caseworker, I think him and his girlfriend just got a free mini vacation as he introduced her as a friend who had nothing to do with our case, that was in January '01, He promised to get the ball rolling on some financial assistance, before that I had no contact for probably 2 1/2 years, not even a phone call,and the last visit was just this weekend, 2 visits in 7 years.This last visit I had to give the caseworker copies of birth certificates as they didn't have any on file,along with ss #, The Interstate compact has yet to be completed,although I have been through 2 home-studies? The worker had advised me to apply for TANF which I have done and been denied, 4 times....
In one conversation I had with the newest worker she told me the children had been placed with me illegally but wouldn't elaborate on the illegal part of it. What could be illegal about it?
I also think the best thing to do is seek an attorney but as a single mom with 3 children,income is limited. Any suggestions?
Contact the Governor and local statesmen for both states/counties involved. Do so by regular mail, either typed or neatly handwritten. Be concise but explain clearly how things have dragged on and request their assistance. Follow up on these letters by phoning their offices after 3-4 weeks. More than likely you will get someone to make some calls on your behalf. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.
Ray
[url]www.adoptee.2ya.com[/url]
They illegally placed the kids because they left them that long without interatate compact. Do what Ray said and then check with legal aid. Also, if they're still doing twice a year hearings, someone's lying to a judge about seeing these kids. Do the kids have a GAL you could talk to? Have you talked with the worker's boss and gone up the line any? I'm not a legal espert, but because the kids have been in your care so long, they may have a residency right where you live and maybe another court could intervene on the kids behalf? You really need an attorney. A lot of times attornies will give you a free consultation. Even if you decide you couldn't afford his fees, you might be able to get some legal advice and at least know where you stand.
Thanks for the advice........I met with an attorney here in Indiana, his exact reaction was "What a mess". He tried to contact the caseworker while I was in the office and got the same response I normally do, a recording of If you'd like to leave a message........
He's not sure on what steps to take and was really surprised that
the children do not recieve a subsidy of any kind. I'm not sure if he's the attorney for me only because he seemed so unsure of what could be done,in other words I am still confused on all legal aspects of the rights of the children.I'm supposed to call him back at the end of the week to see if he has found out any info on what can be done........wish me luck.
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Auntmom, I know what you mean about limited money..what i did was typed pro-bono attorney in google search and after a little while I found a place in my state that goes by your income on what the fee for a lawyer would be and have found them very useful on getting info and what needed to be done...Hope this helps and good luck to you. I have found that those places (DHS,DSS and the like)seem to be very neglectfull in their jobs as protecting children