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My ex-sister in law recently had her newborn (born 08/03/12) child taken by CPS. I spoke with CPS about being kinship care and they approved me as fictive kin. I am no longer married to her brother, but am still part of the family. My husband and I did the home inspection and fingerprinting and passed both. I went to the CPS hearing and the judge said I could not be considered fictive kin because the baby was not old enough to have formed a bond yet. After some confusion in the court, the baby was released to me that same day (08/08/12). I went and picked her up directly from the hospital and she spent the night with me. On Thursday, CPS called and said that she got clarification from the judge and I had to take the baby to Child Haven. The judge has decided I need to get a traditional foster care license before I can get the baby back. This takes 5-6 months in Nevada. I went to orientation on Saturday and they will try to expedite me as I am only interested in fostering this one child, however, they need permission from the court. The birth mother recently lost her 4 oldest children to TPR and court is only giving her 6 months to get it together. My question is, if it takes 5-6 months to get licensed and the mom doesn' get it together, wouldn't the foster parents who keep her while I'm trying to get my license in order have the first option to adopt her? My family is ready and willing to be a permanent home for this little girl. I'm going to plead with the judge at the next hearing to get her back while I get licensed, but I do not know how far it will go. Any advice will help. Thank you.
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I'm just one state away. Oregon. Here you can either go through the county or you can go through an agency like Boys and Girls Aid to take care of your classes. I know here in the Portland area Boys and Girls offers a three day class weekend a couple of times a year. Also check nearby counties. Sometimes adjacent counties will have class schedules that might work better. Some counties in our area offer these foster class weekends too. Good luck.
I'm in Nevada. Fostercare finger prints took 9 days for us just a few weeks ago in clark county. You should be able to start the classes with your prints from the emergency placement. Push that. If money is not an issue, see if you can have a private homestudy done that would qualify you. You would have to pay for it (about $3500) but you can probably have that gone within 2 months (you will still need to wait on prints). Also, there are private fostercare agencies here. See if you can be licensed through one of them faster. Finally, I would make the argument that NOW you have spent time with the baby and you are fictive kin NOW. So I would ask the social worker to go in front of the judge and request again given your new "bond" the baby has with you. As of a week ago I heard Child Haven was filling up with babies and by law they are not allowed to keep babies there for long, so you might be suprised what they might do for you. ANy chance mom would request temporary placement with you? Finally, request visitation in writing and keep the caseworker updated on your progress in classes. Last thought, it might be possible to get be homestudy approved before you are licensed and then the baby could maybe be placed with you while you finish the classes. You need to fight now for this child. You are not an actual relative. I don't think you would actually have preference over an unrelated foster family 5 or 6 months down the road based on what the judge ruled.
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@NevadaJen, I spoke with her caseworker this morning and was added to the visitation list. I just emailed my boss for the time off. The caseworker has already advised me to plead with the judge at the next hearing to get her back since I am going through the process. Unfortunately, money is an issue. At the initial court hearing, both CPS and the mother requested her to be placed with me, and I was the only placement option, but the judge still rejected it. The baby is not in child have, she is in a foster home. This whole thing is not fair to anyone, not the baby and certainly not the foster parents that are probably falling in love with her right now.
Well start visiting like crazy then! It sounds like the case worker is on the ball. I am sure she has let the family that has her know that you are a potential placement. If not, I suspect you will run into the foster family at visitation anyway. Get on the ball on the classes, I know there is one that starts on AUgust 22nd if you can get into it.
They won't let me start any classes until the case management team decides whether or not i can be certified foster for kinship. Ugh!! Visitations are structured and set up through Child Haven. They are Wednesdays and Fridays. I'm doing my best to be there, using my vacation hours. Unfortunately, my husband can not be there because he babysits 5 of the baby's cousins during that time.
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You might try calling your local senator or representative. Tell them you need them to help cut through the bureaucratic tape - to be able to get into classes now, to get fingerprints processed faster than the standard, etc. They can do all the checks, but ask for the rep to push for them to be done simultaneously, instead of waiting for each to be approved before they move on to the next.
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I did not have children with my ex-husband, so my children are not blood related. My husband and I talked about taking the cousins to visitation, but he babysits 5 and takes our 2 sons with him, so there is not enough room in the minivan. Traditional foster care licensing is what I was sent to. They will only register me for classes once the background check comes back. The only way around this is if the case management team allows me to be licensed for child-specific kin. The foster parent recruiter is pushing the management team and I am just waiting for their decision at this point. Even if they decide I can, that is still 2 1/2 months, which is 2 1/2 months longer than I wanted to be without this baby.