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Hello - We are currently fparents to a beautiful 1yo girl. She came to us when she was 6w old. She came to us as a foster to adopt, but currently they are still working towards reunification - although from what I am hearing, that's not going so well for the family. We would be more than thrilled to make her part of our family and hope that things work out for all of us. Her permanency hearing is coming up in the beginning of February and we are not really sure what to expect. So far all of the hearings have been for compliance and we have not been involved. I asked both the LG and CW if there is anything we need to do and all they asked for was a letter form us stating that we would adopt her - which we supplied.
I was talking to a friend who was a FP and has adopted several children. She told me that a review board should have met with me at least once if not more before this court date. I haven't heard from anyone other than the LG, CW and her nurse. Is there someone I should contact about this before the permanency hearing?
Also, how do you find out who your resource worker is? I have been a licensed resource home for a year and I have no idea who mine is.
Thanks!
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We are 18 months in and 52 days away from TPR hearing and have never had a meeting with the review board. Our goal was changed from reunification to adoption by us back in April and we attended that hearing. We could not be in the room for the entire hearing, but we were able to address the judge and tell him, we were willing to adopt. I was worried about going, but thanks to people on the forums, I did and was glad afterwards. It's always good to put a face with a name. As for your resource worker, you should ask your CW, they can find out for you or contact the original one. It may still be the same person. Good luck to you
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I appeared at my FS's permanency hearing. Same as PP, I was only allowed in for my "tesimony" which was basically saying that should FS become available for adoption, I would love to make him part of our family.I have been involved in one review and was informed about another one which I was invited to.My RW visits every single month.
The Review Boards do not review every case as often as they used to. Its a fairly recent change to how the boards are being utilized. They now only do the initial 45 day review hearing. They used to serve an important role back when a lot of kids were voluntarily placed into foster care (those cases werent regularly reviewed by a Judge in court, so the boards reviewed all kids in placement) Since voluntarily placement agreements are no longer used in NJ, ALL kids in placement are now reviewed by judges in court. So the review board doing so was seen as duplicative and thus eliminated. So, there is nothing you are missing!! Go to the permanency hearing and let the Court know your commtment. Good Luck!
NJMama
The Review Boards do not review every case as often as they used to. Its a fairly recent change to how the boards are being utilized. They now only do the initial 45 day review hearing. They used to serve an important role back when a lot of kids were voluntarily placed into foster care (those cases werent regularly reviewed by a Judge in court, so the boards reviewed all kids in placement) Since voluntarily placement agreements are no longer used in NJ, ALL kids in placement are now reviewed by judges in court. So the review board doing so was seen as duplicative and thus eliminated. So, there is nothing you are missing!! Go to the permanency hearing and let the Court know your commtment. Good Luck!
Mykids - how did you get them to change the goal? Just by going? They told me I don't have to go - but I will have to go to the adoption hearings. Apparently they are sure this will go to adoption. My friend told me to send a 'collage' of pictures of her first year to the LG and CW so the judge can see she is well taken care of and is with a loving family. What do you think about that? If I go, do I have to stand in front of her family and basically say that I am willing to take her child? I'm not sure I can do that if they are there. Thanks for the info on the review board. My friend adopted from foster care about 8-12 years ago so I guess things have changed.An unrelated question - how do you create a signature? I've done it on boards like this before, but I can't remember how. Thanks!
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NJMama
The Review Boards do not review every case as often as they used to. Its a fairly recent change to how the boards are being utilized. They now only do the initial 45 day review hearing. They used to serve an important role back when a lot of kids were voluntarily placed into foster care (those cases werent regularly reviewed by a Judge in court, so the boards reviewed all kids in placement) Since voluntarily placement agreements are no longer used in NJ, ALL kids in placement are now reviewed by judges in court. So the review board doing so was seen as duplicative and thus eliminated. So, there is nothing you are missing!! Go to the permanency hearing and let the Court know your commtment. Good Luck!
RedLadi
Mykids - how did you get them to change the goal? Just by going?
No, the attorneys asked for the goal to be changed from ru to adoption by us and the judge approved.
They told me I don't have to go - but I will have to go to the adoption hearings. Apparently they are sure this will go to adoption. My friend told me to send a 'collage' of pictures of her first year to the LG and CW so the judge can see she is well taken care of and is with a loving family. What do you think about that? If I go, do I have to stand in front of her family and basically say that I am willing to take her child? I'm not sure I can do that if they are there.
In our case, the pgm was there , not the parents and I was stressed about that, but the important thing was making our intentions clear to the judge. They also told me I didn't need to go, but I was advised by many people on this foum to go and I'm glad I did. My adoption worker told me it's good to show up at every hearing. You may not be able to go in, but the judge will know you are there. Totally opposite of what the cw told me before it went to the adoption unit.
An unrelated question - how do you create a signature? I've done it on boards like this before, but I can't remember how.
Thanks!
I would usually send the judge an update letting her know what Z had been up to, how his health conditions were being managed, his progress with Early Intervention, some milestones (singing, using 3 word phrases, etc), some of the fun stuff we had done. I'd also include a few pictures.
As for going to court and seeing or speaking to your child's family, yes it's uncomfortable, but it also gives them a chance to see who is caring for their child. I tried to bring a few pictures to give Z's mom - even if she didn't want to talk to me, I could hand her an envelope with a little note saying 'please enjoy these pictures of Z, signed, my first name'.
Going to court is no fun and can take hours, but it is important, particularly if you think there's a chance this child will stay with your family. Most of what I can tell my son about his first mother is stuff I learned from talking to her while we waited for her case to be called. Best of luck to you.
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I was certified through Just Babies in NJ and they told me that I should go to every hearing, even if the SW's told me I didn't need to be there. I was not allowed into the court room until called upon. When called upon I gave the court updates on how my son was doing and told them that I wanted to adopt if he became available.
I also attended a review board who asked me the same type of questions.
Thanks again for all the great info. The court date is this week and unfortunately its also my last week of work so I can't ask for a day off. After this I will be home and be able to make any hearing. Her CW told me that this hearing is to decide if she will continue to work towards reunification or if it will change to adoption so its not important that I am there since they have the letter from me saying I will happily take her if this happens. It sounds like its more for the family to see if they complied with the courts requests and the findings of the evaluations of the family, etc.