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We were matched with a great 2.5 year old FS just over a month ago, we had him just over 3 weeks when a member of his bio family was discovered and actually passed their checks. He has been gone just over a week and my DH and I are devastated. My DH took all of our FS belongings to our local office and spoke with our CW asking how we proceed. We loved this boy like he was our own, and had just gotten him on a schedule and we made a great family. Our CW said that the bio family has no interest in adopting our FS and his brother, they just feel they need to help the family out. CW also said this is the last of the family and if this placement doesnt pan out he would be coming back to us, which is what we really want. Also if the bio parents are sentenced to jail time we would most likely be able to adopt both boys (which we really want to do). Our CW sent us an email saying that the transfer went well to his family, I sent her an email back with a few questions with NO response. CW gave me the last name of the person that is taking care of FS and his brother, she is on facebook and is friends with no other than FS mom and grandmother. FS grandmother is posting pictures of him (wearing the clothes we purchased for him) with bio dad and it isnҒt in the local office, they are supposed to be supervised visits. I am mad beyond belief, children were removed for lack of supervision and abuse, and bio parents are using this placement as a way to see their children when they want. FS brother has many issues and dr visits due to the abuse suffered at the hands of bio parents, and we currently are unable to take care of him because my DH and I work fulltime. Being new to foster care we really dont know what to do. Any advice would be much appreciated!!
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Unfortunately, family trumps almost everything in FC. So, if the family members who have the boys now don't mind them seeing the bioparents, there's no problem, in the eyes of DHS. As far as "supervised" visits go, in our county there are different levels of supervision, and relatives are often "supervising" in cases where DHS doesn't feel like they have to supervise the visits themselves.
It is crazy, but it happens all the time. We've had cases where the kids were removed from mom to foster care, then removed from foster care to go live with mom's sister in the same house where mom lives. Nuts.
Your best bet in terms of 1) getting the kids back or 2) ever getting cooperation from the workers/other kids in future is to not make a fuss. Let the kids' worker know that if they ever come back into care, you'd love to help them. Then don't mention it again.
Don't start calling saying "I saw Jimmy with his biomom on FB and he wasn't at a supervised visit!" or you'll quickly be written off as too difficult to deal with. IME.
Best ever story of total incompetence in a local DCS office:
Two sisters, one with three kids under 5 and the other with 2 under age 3. Sister 1 had kids taken away due to serious abuse, sister 2 stepped up and took them all in.
Three months down the road, sister 2 physically beat her 4 year old daughter in a grocery store parking lot and cops were called. They found out she had 3 FK's (small community) and they called DCS. The agency couldn't find any home that would take all three plus her two, even unable to find anyone in the area to take them when they tried to split them up, decided to put all 5 back with Sister 1.
Imgaine explaining that reasoning to the judge at the apprehension hearing!!!