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Hoping someone can provide insight & or talk me of my emotional ledge. DH & I have had our FS since he was 4 days old. Both Bios have extensive drug & criminal histories-had 3 visits in the first 2 months then visits suspended for non-compliance(they showed high to a visit as well) Fast forward 18 months-visits reinstated 1x per week for an hour-supervised @ DCCP office-even though neither Bio is working ANY part of case plan. (they never show up for ANYTHING) & have both been given what I would considered more than enough chances in the last 20 months to @ least start getting it together-yet BOTH are still using, jobless & homeless. Both have spent multiple times in jail over last 20 months (currently Bio M is there). Since visits have been reinstated Bio D has started showing up for visits, bonding evaluation etc. But is NOT working any part of his case plan. We are scheduled for TPR in April & case has already been moved to adoption unit-is there a chance judge will NOT terminate rights? If he doesn't what type of emotional hell are we in for??? (@ last visit Bio D ended visit as FS had a cold & was fussy-he even told case worker he wanted visit canceled if FS had a cold in the future). This was originally a fast track to adoption & we are nearing the 2 year mark...We are scared & so frustrated with the system ...Thanks for listening
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I think that every judge and situation is different, and I understand your frustration with the system. From my experience fostering/adopting, I've learned that part of the reason it takes so long to terminate parental rights and finish the adoption is because parenting is considered a fundamental right which is very difficult to terminate. Therefore, DYFS has to make sure that they have offered every possible service to the birth parents so that when they go before the judge they can show that they have done everything they could to try to reunite the child with their birth parents. If there is something they missed, the judge could say that they need to go back and offer it (more parenting classes, drug rehabilitation, etc.), which just delays everything even more.
If you have a good relationship with your case worker or child's law guardian, you could try to ask them their opinion. Maybe they will tell you if the judge is familiar with the case and what they "think" will happen. Sometimes they won't tell you anything though, which doesn't mean it's negative, just that they are maintaining confidentiality. It doesn't hurt to ask though.
Good luck. I hope everything works out for you and your family.
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I doubt that it will change the TPR...they just have to show that reasonable effort was given to the bioparents. The visits will give them more evidence that they can't parent if they are cutting a visit short because the child is fussy and has a cold. Seriously, what do they think will happen if they have the child full time? Parents have to deal with it all, not just when they are fun happy children. Visits can be hard on kiddos especially if they ended and started back up, so confusing for the kids....