adoption being postponed by state!!!

diane...this is some general information in the hope that it may help. The state will act through the courts. There is a reason the finalization has not been approved. The state or the courts have become aware that there is a possibility a family member may come forward, or the court is waiting to see if the b-parents have met any court requirements. There have been cases where 1 of the b-parents refused a TPR. There are many reasons for the courts delays, but these are among the most common.It is easy to understand your concerns. Often a CW will have information that is not sealed and can be shared. As a rule, most CW's dont share possible outcomes with the foster parents until they are sure of what the courts action will be. And sometimes, even the best laid plans dont end well.When the court is satisfied that all the conditions for the best outcome have been met, it will act and either declare that the children are available for adoption, or are to be returned to the b-parents, or are to remain in foster care, etc.It may be helpful to share your concerns with the CW. At this point there are some questions you have regarding what the goals of the court are for these children."Is there a possibility they may be re-united with the b-parents? Will they be made available for adoption at some point? Is the court looking for a part of an extended family to take them rather than provide for adoption." Any other concerns you have should be shared as well.I wish you the best.

If the state has not given you a reason, you need to find out why they want to wait. I would strongly suggest that you talk with an attorney that specializes in family law/adoption. It might be possible to take legal possession of them from the state and then do a private adoption. We did this in Texas. We took Permanent Managing Conservatorship of DD an then did a private adoption.The PMC gave us all rights and made her legally our daughter and legally named us as the parents. (The bio's had been TPR'd). We could have just kept it this way, but by doing a private adoption, we were able to change her name. PMC also removed the state from any legal responsibility for her and we were able to put her on our insurance, etc. I would assume that the state is still paying foster care reimbursement to you? If the kids have an attorney or GAL, talk with them also. Somebody has the answer, but our own attorney would be able to tell you what your options are.

We saw this happen with one of our former foster children. Relatives were adopting him and the adoption was postponed by the state six times (took 11 months) because the courts are so backed up and they needed to give those court dates to the kids who needed emergency placement because their situations were unsafe. As the social worker explained to them "We know he is loved and safe where he is and that you are still going to want to adopt him and these kids need to get out of dangerous situations as soon as possible."