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My wife's cousin has two kids, they are both abused and he has finally been reported to the authorities. The mother knew about it and allowed it to go on, and neither are fit parents. I am in the military and don't know if that would help or hinder this.
Anyway, I don't know if this is even a possibility, but if the kids are taken from the parents, and no one else in the family is willing to take them, and as far as we are told no one is. Would we be able to adopt? I know it is only cousins, but it has to be better than strangers.
Does anyone know what we could do to followup and see what is happening with the kids? The entire family didn't want to say anything because they were afraid to mess up the father's life, which is a load of crap in my mind, what about the kids? Sorry, forgive my language.
We are hoping to at least get them out of the situation if we can't adopt them. Can anyone offer us any guidance.
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I don't think being in the military would be a hindrance. Plenty of us foster and adopt.So they haven't been taken into foster care yet? I'm not entirely familiar with the fostering process, but from what I've heard children are placed with other family members if they are willing and can pass a homestudy. It might be too soon to know whether or not anything would go to adoption, as they're not even in care yet.Best of luck!I love your quote btw! :clap:
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Thanks for the quick reply. We are trying to find out information, they are in indiana and her family is less than forth coming with information. That was why it took us so long to report the abuse because normally we would hear about it weeks later.
Not sure if anything will even come of it, but the investigator wasn't happy when she left from what we were told. As far as I know a determination hasn't happened yet. I am just trying to get prepared for things to come.
In general, the state looks for any family and being a cousin isn't that far removed. You are family, so hopefully they will consider placing the kids with you. I would suggest posting this on the foster parent board because their are plenty of folks there who are kinship placements and they know the ins and outs of getting their relatives. The sooner you get the ball rolling,the better for you and the kids.
You need to contact the local Child Protective services( or whatever it is called where they live) and talk to a case worker. You need to let them know right away that you want the kids.
hi, just bounced over here from the foster-adopt board since I noticed I could probably give you some pointers in this case:
1) Do you live in the same state as the kids?
- if you don't it can be difficult to get them placed with you right away because they are likely to give the parents a reunification plan (a chance to get thier stuff together/taking parenting classes/etc) these can last anywhere from 6mos to 2 years and the states typically keep the kids in-state until the parents get TPR (termination of parental rights)
2) Cousins are not too far removed to count as family
- I adopted my second cousin out of foster care, he was placed with us at 13mos, the state gave his parents 2 years to clean up thier act, they didn't we adotped
3)if possible get the kids placed with you ASAP
if you live in-state and could be a potential kinship placement (foster placement)keep in close contact with the PS worker, the more moves a kid has the worse off they are, being placed where they are likely to end up if TPR occurs is in their best interest
4) if you don't live in state be prepared for a long ride
- the process will be long, if the foster parents develop a bond with the kids or the kids develop a bond with the foster parents, it may be difficult to have them moved to you, the ICPC process alone can take up to a year and that doesn't even start until the parents are TPR'd
Good Luck,
feel free to PM me if I can be helpful