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Four nights ago we learned my SIL had her kids taken away 10 months ago by CPS due to drugs, domestic violence etc. We weren't told sooner because she thought she would get them back and was embarrassed...
Two were placed with their fathers, the third was only 2 months old and placed in FC because the father has a long criminal history of gang activity (he has lost his parental rights).
Two weeks ago the 4yr old was taken from her father and placed in FC due to unsuitable living conditions (they were sleeping on the couch while dad rented out the bedrooms).
MY SIL had asked my MIL to take the baby and 4 yr old but she doesn't want to she is 52yrs old on a very tight income, works random long hours and would let my SIL move in with her and the kids!
We have talked to the both of them and helped them realize that is not a good idea, they need to work on getting my SIL healthy.
The judge had given my SIL a year to get her self together: rehab, stable work, stable living conditions, etc. She is currently living on a friends couch, just recently started working part time min. wage and has not gone through rehab yet.
There is a court date in four days in which they will be will be filing to terminate her parental rights of the baby if she doesn't get everything done in 30 days... obviously that's not happening...
We have talked to the SW, ICPC supervisor in our state and her Lawyer.
The SW said he'll "consider us" adopting the baby. The Foster Mom is interested in adopting her though...
We are being told to write a letter of intent to the judge and file it with the case.
Her lawyer told us he will be trying to get an extension but the judge is very firm, however, he is retiring in Dec.
We will be writing the letter of intent. I'm not sure how to word that we would like to adopt the baby, and the four year old if she becomes available in the future. (The 4yr old has been in FC for only 2 weeks so we are told it is too early to try).
We would like to get a home study going but we are not sure how. We were told by her lawyer an ICPC home study is okay for custody and guardianship but isn't good enough for Adoption...?
Do we even have a chance? The baby has been with the same foster mom for 10 months and is interested in adopting. She has 4 bio children and 4 foster children.
Baby is in FL we are in WA.
We are trying to find out if they have a CASA worker.
We need advice all the advice we can get :)
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My advice would be to get an attorney, and fast. You are coming to the party late (although that isnt your fault) and if the TPR trial is 4 days away you are probably running out of time.
The good news is you are family so there is a chance that you can get the children, especially if your SIL supports you having the children.
Also you could try to get custocy of the 4 yr old as well. Placement with a family member is generally preferred over placing a child in foster care. It might not be allowed since you wouldnt be able to facilitate visits with the bioparents but Id definately discuss it with your attorney.
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GET AN ATTORNEY NOW IN FLORIDA!!!!We went through this for our nephew, now son. Ff wanted to adopt also and it got ugly. You must get an attorney that specializes on family law immediately, and have that attorney communicate with the court that you want your relatives placed with you.You will need an ICPC. Get that started immediately. FL has to request it--get your attorney to kick the SW's A** to get that going immediately. In the meantime, get letters of recommendation from friends and employer--friends need to have known you for at least two years. Prepare a fire safety plan for your home--how will you escape in case of fire, need at least two ways t exit the home. You will need to be fingerprinted by thie FBI for a background check--you might be able to make your appointment now, in our state they are really backed up.FL FC is like quicksand--act now, be aggressive and get that attorney--consult on the phone and be sure they know what an ICPC is, and who to call to get it DONE.
Find out what you need to do and do it NOW! Get an attorney who has worked within CPS and is knowledgeable on ICPC procedures. You can call the local CPS office and ask them for an attorneys name who they work with. We are in FL and our niece was in ID. Idaho required us to become licensed foster home here in FL. We did exactly that quickly. They had a accelerated MAPP classes here and home study and we were approved within 2 months and licensed for her only. Best bet is to contact SW in the other state, find out what is required, and get on it ASAP. You'd then contact your local FSS (Family support services) or CPS office and get registered for classes if needed. Our ICPC took 11 months because FL didn't send ID the license we had! You have to stay on them constantly. We called alot! We also made journals of everything we went thru and that came in handy when the attorney needed to prove we were very involved in whatever was needed. Documentation can be to your advantage! Good luck!
Thank you everyone for the responses!
The TPR trail was moved to Nov 15th. So I guess that is good news...
Since this whole thing was completely unexpected/unknown to us, I highly doubt we will be able to afford an attorney at this time (husband is military, we just bought a house, paid off debt, cars, etc.) Those of you that have gone through this, how much were your attorney fees?
The CW said he can not talk to us at all, he was extremely annoyed when we called him asking about initiating an ICPC, and said to speak with our SIL's public attorney only. According to everything I've researched the CW is pretty much the one that needs to initiate the ICPC.
My SIL called the CW to mention us and again the CW said he'd "consider" us. I have a feeling he is wanting to just let the FF adopt baby and conveniently misplace any mention of us.
Is there another way of getting the ICPC initiated??? :confused:
Is the CW lying to us about not being able to talk to us???
We are prepared to and plan on calling the CW's supervisor and climb the chain if necessary.
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Go up the chain of command to her supervisor and the director of CPS. If that doesn't work call the Governor's office in the state the child is in. [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Ours said the same thing about not being able to speak to us about the case because we were not licensed here. Once they got the license then they were all open about everything. They supposedly got our license while we were in Idaho visiting our niece! Imagine our surprise when she called saying we can come down there and they put us in a room and gave us her entire CPS file to review and told us if we still felt like having her after reading it we can. I guess they couldn't disclose anything until we were licensed because of the confidentiality of the issue but geeze she was our niece! You have to get licensed or find someone to get your more information.[/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Find out who her GAL or CASA is...get them on your side (that was our turning point when we flew there to actually meet face to face with our nieces CASA). It is so impersonal over the phone but in person is much better. Make a visit there if you can. We had to make 2 trips in the 11 months it took our ICPC to complete.[/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Also, you may have to find an attorney in the child's state. We had to and get a court hearing to be placed on the caseplan. We were NEVER on the case plan for placement and that was how the SW was able to get away with not talking to us about anything. If you do it and see a Judge you may find they talk to you more and you mean business. [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']You would NOT believe what we had to do for them to even speak to us or even get our ICPC started and completed. The longer you sit waiting, the longer they say the child bonded with the FP's which you do not want! Call everyone involved...get anyone you can to help you. [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Good luck![/FONT]
Candan1023
Is there another way of getting the ICPC initiated??? [/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Is the CW lying to us about not being able to talk to us???[/FONT][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
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They wouldn't talk to us either until we had our FC license. You need to get that first. They said it was a disclosure issue..and until we were officially licensed FP's we could not get any information on the case. I did find the CASA was a wealth of court info. We also had to fly there twice to visit with our niece in FC while going thru all the loopholes. Talking on the phone is different then seeing someone in person. Once we saw the CASA and SW in person they realized we were not the terrible relatives. I think they all see anyone related to a bad parent as a bad relative for some reason. We also had to hire an attorney in the sending state to get a court hearing to get us placed on the case plan. Once that was done we moved forward quicker. If you are not placed on the caseplan as a resource they may overlook you. The longer you wait the longer they will say the child is bonded. DO NOT WAIT! Call anyone you can think of...up to the Governor's office. Get yourself licensed. Inquire with the current SW what you need to do so they can disclose information to you. If you can't get anywhere you may need an attorney or to get the GAL or CASA on your side. But even then the GAL or CASA may also not speak to you. Good luck!
I was lucky to work for a company at that time that reimbursed attorney fees related to adoption. I got all my money back after finalization...but I had to come up with it first. We used a well known attorney locally who had many years working with CPS but branched out on her own practice. She was GREAT! She was very knowledgeable in ICPC too which helped immensely.