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So it sounds like our case is being extended to 18 months. I have been told from day 1 this is VERY rare, but clearly not that rare now that we are here....We have our 12 month court date in 1 month. But had over a CPS worker that said she spoke with our CW and it will for sure be extended... This CPS 'specialist' came over to discuss with us whether or not we will take the kids back into our care if/when they come back into the system, because from what she saw she is fairly certain that will be the case. She even said she told the CW it was ridiculous they were even extending, but supposedly there is no firm ground to TPR on.
My questions...
1. What's the likelyhood RU will happen when taken to 18 months, bio dad just lost car, they still are waiting on governement housing (they live no where the kids can go), and bio mom takes meds, but still mentally ill, and they likely hood she will continue is prob. rare. And visits are still only 4 hours a week at a local park, and the additional 3 hours only got added on about 3 weeks ago.
2. Is there any chance the judge would over rule the CW's decision to extend?
I guess all in all what I would like to know is how often does RU happen at this point for those that have BTDT?
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Honestly, I think it is totally up to the whims of the CWs and the judges.
Our agency is dealing with a case this week. Infant was placed in home at 2 days old. At the first court hearing, the judge gave a automatic 18 month case plan! At the end of 18 months, a visiting judge decided to extend and give another 6 months of services. They are not even getting unsupervised visits! Child has now been with FF for 2 years...and because of things the judge stated during the hearing this week, they are extremely nervous that he is not going to TPR this time either!
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Guard your heart. Our adoptive placements were Ru'd at exactly 18 months. The same thing happened to us. They all of a sudden expanded the visits from 2 hr supervised, to 8 hr unsupervised, to weekends and BAM fully moved in with biomom at EXACTLY 18 months.
I hope the best for you and the kiddos, but again, guard your heart.
I wish I could give more positive feedback.
I'm in CA, too, and have an "extended case".
My FS has been in care just shy of two years. He has never had unsupervised visits. His mother has never worked, his father has moved out of the area. Neither has completed their case plans.
His case has finally been moved to TPR, but the judge keeps continuing the case.
I swear, they just don't want to terminate the parents in this state. Don't get me wrong, I am a FIRM supporter of RU when it's appropriate, but after two years and no movement? Let's wrap this up for the sake and sanity of all.
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Moja - That's very interesting and that is what I am so afraid of. I love my niece and nephew, but at some point I need to move on and start my life, either with them as my kiddos or them moving home. I don't want to continue with this limbo...it's not fair to me and my spouse or especially the kids. I don't understand how the system feels that it is healthier that children go back with their 'parents', after such an extended amount of time bonding with another parent/s, then simply keeping them in a home where somewhere truly wants, loves and takes care of them? I get they may be their 'parents' but in my case at least they don't deserve these kids...unfortunately that's not up to us though... :-(
Now out of curiosity, are you looking to adopt?, I know that they said in our case they would never TPR without having a permanent home...Just curious. Thanks for the input and I hope your case works out the way your are hoping...SOON! :-)
Moja
I'm in CA, too, and have an "extended case".
My FS has been in care just shy of two years. He has never had unsupervised visits. His mother has never worked, his father has moved out of the area. Neither has completed their case plans.
His case has finally been moved to TPR, but the judge keeps continuing the case.
I swear, they just don't want to terminate the parents in this state. Don't get me wrong, I am a FIRM supporter of RU when it's appropriate, but after two years and no movement? Let's wrap this up for the sake and sanity of all.
We are looking to adopt now, but it didn't start that way. I just cannot imagine allowing this baby (he wasn't even two years old when he moved in) to bond with us for a year and a half and then sending him off. It's not fair to him. And, if I'm being honest, we have fallen completely and utterly in love with this little boy. I can't imagine sending him on.
Moja - we are in the same boat, we are going on a year and I just can't imagine saying goodbye, talk about being between a rock and a hard place. CPS I think knows this too and they know they can drag it out because the kids are in a good home and know that we start to care so much. I don't have children of my own yet, but I am already planning on it if they go home, how do you go from kids to no kids especially after this long? I can't imagine...nor do I want to....
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For both my son and daughter, parental rights were terminated at tge 12 month mark. For baby, depending on what they decide at court next week they'll either terminate or allow the case to reach the 15 month mark. We will see, but my CA experience and the experience of the other foster parents I know in my area is certainly different from yours. I don't see kids going so long without permanency unless an adoptive home isn't found. Good luck!
I represented CWS in California for fourteen years and appeared in court daily. (now retired 7 years) I am very surprised by some of the posts here regarding extending reunification. I guess it depends on your county, but CA has some of the most progressive laws in the country regarding getting children out of foster care and into permanent homes. Our juvenile court judge was very proactive and our kids moved thru the system quickly. We frequently didn't even offer parents reunification on newborns if they had received services in the past for other children and hadn't corrected the problem. (usually drugs) I live in Texas now and their statutes give parents so many more rights than CA does. We often terminated at 6 months for children under 3 (as allowed by CA statute) and rarely went to 18 months. When we did the parents had either made significant progress in their plans or the court found that the social worker blew it and didn't offer reasonable services. From attending conferences with other CWS attorneys my experience was that San Diego County was one of the best in offering services and getting to permanency quickly.
This is all so scary! How can you not fall in love with the child the moment they are placed... and then hand them back at 18 months. I'm glad the Bio parents get their lives together and everyone is reunified but... ouch! Heart gets stomped on in the process. I guess we knew the chances going into foster to adopt. We are still pushing forward! Seeing all the 'finalized adoption' in people signatures sure does help my nerves!
Life Changes- your story is a lot like mine. My husband's niece has been placed with us since nov. 2010. His sister is mentally unstable to take care of her little girl, yet she continues to challenege it instead of realizing that her daughter is doing great with us. We have have monitored visitations the whole time. Last week we had our 18 month hearing (at 21 months) and the SW recommended to terminate RU. Of course she objected and now it is going to trial in October. Attorneys told us even if judge does TPR it will be 4 months till hearing and then more appeals. And that this process would take at least another year. It is so hard to be in limbo b/c we feel like all our lives are on pause and DH and I want kids of our own but we want to know what will happen with everything. All I can say is yes, this could go to 18 months or longer, and even then, be prepared for a lot longer than that!
Good luck!
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