Goal Change to TPR

TPR scheduled for 10 months after goal change (but has not happened yet.)

Goal change in Feb, tpr scheduled for June but continued for 6 mos, parents relinquished the day of the tpr trial.

there are generally some steps in between so that is why it will vary ... 1) announcement of goal change to TPR 2) actual filing for TPR (judge has to sign off on this) 3) TPR pre-trial (in court) 4) TPR trial (in court) in our case ... 1) October 2011 2) December 2011 (but no one told us until a month later for some reason??) 3) February 2012 4) March 2012-June 2012 and you may or may not have a judge who will rule from the bench, so that is another factor ... it took over 2 1/2 months to actually grant TPR after the trial. Our trial took so long because of continuances. the first time it was continued because bio dad's lawyer came hom from vacation two days before the trial and said he wouldn't have time to "prepare". (Seriously, how much time do you need to "prepare" when your client has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and is in prison??? And why couldn't he have "prepared" before his vacation???) Then in the April date they ran out of time. Then on the May date two days beforehand bio mom requested a continuance claiming she "wasn't allowed to talk" due to having some teeth pulled. (As proof she attached the note from a dentist, which said only to limit talking for the first 72 hours ... and the trial would've been over a WEEK after that. Still don't know why courts allow people to pull that crap! And, who on earth needs to "limit speaking" after having teeth pulled??) We finished up on the June date with like 5 minutes to spare. I'm not going to lie, the time from TPR filing to TPR being granted was the most horrible waiting period of this whole process. It's one thing to tell yourself that they have an iron-clad case, it's another thing to wait for a judge to agree. And we could have been in trouble because she ended up having a LOT more time to work her plan (here they don't stop visits or services until TPR is granted) which would've made TPR harder -- after TPR was filed she suddenly did much better for a couple months, but then she ended up on a downward spiral and by the time of TPR she was in a much worse place (metaphorically speaking) by the time AS had come into care. So that is another reason why that wait is so nail-biting!! Hope you can get into court and get it done quickly!! If bio dad relinquishes that will make it easier because you won't have two sets of lawyers/clients who might come up with reasons to continue.

We had a 120 day waiting period, then had to wait another 6 weeks for a hearing because the TPR was contested by bios.

I think officially it was March. Trial was set for June, but bio mom voluntarily signed at the pretrial in May. Adoption was finalized almost 6 months later in November.

Thanks you all. This confirms it can vary. Someone I know in my county said in her cases it was about 3 months from the goal change announcement to the TPR trials. So that sounds pretty fast comparatively. But this was 3 and 5 years ago for her so who knows now. I have been told March would be a reasonable expectation but it depends on the court dockets. Same here for goal change steps- CW meets with attorney and has a staffing to inform all parties goal is changed, then has 30 days to turn in paperwork to apply for petition to TPR. Petition can take a few weeks to return. When the petition is signed they apply for a court date for pretrial and TPR trial. So many steps! I hope we get blessed with a speedy process. So far for us this time it has been- goals don't normally change here until the annual review. We've had Daisy 8 months. But she was in care before for many months and had a failed RU so she is already at the 15/22 month mark, doesn't have to be consecutive. I just wondering if it will be a smooth process or if bmom will fight. :/

I have heard all different time lines for our area so I think it really varies on how backed up the courts are, how long the SW's take, et... We had a goal change in early January 2013 and then TPR was in late October 2013.Our kids SW is known to be on the slow side and a procrastinator though so hopefully it doesn't take as long for you! I have known people in our area that have about 3-4 months in between goal change and TPR but I also know people who have waited about the same length as us...

Monkey boy's Goal Was Changed December 2013. Tpr Is Scheduled For March And April. His Case Has Had Far ToO Many Continuances So I'm Not Holding MY Breath That This Will Be Wrapped Up In April. Everyone Is Praying That THIs Will Be Over In April Because They Are Tired Of Dealing With Bio Mom.

A-man's goal change happened in February of 2013. His TPR trial was May 2013. I would say the majority of people are in the 60-120 day time window from goal change to TPR. There are some that are really quick and more that are really long, but I would say the average is 2-5 months

Our goal wAs changed 7/9/13 tpr still hasn't been filed formally next annual review is 3/6/14

Wow- even more variances. I just talked to a woman at my father's church tonight- in our area, who has fostered and whose kids are fostering and have adopted. She was excited to hear that our goal was changing soon and said that when that happened for her daughter they had a trial within a couple of months after the change...so I REALLY hope that we get THAT time line. I am pretty sure this was in my county. But even CW has said she has had it take a couple of weeks for the petition to be signed and a couple of months- though she said lately she is getting them back really quickly. I have a visit tomorrow- so I am going to see what my LW thinks will happen based on how things are going with her other homes. Either way- I am looking forward to being able to change my signature ;)

The longest I had was 5.5 months to get a court date after the goal was changed to TPR.

That sounds more on line with my area- 2-5 months after. My LW visited yesterday and said the earliest she would hope for would be mid-summer. I said "For TPR??" and she said- "No- for adoption". (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) That seems really fast! Of course that is barring any craziness with court and appeals and you name it. They feel like the case is very solid- but as you all know things happen. I am still nervous about the judge likely changing- though the CW said she wasn't concerned about that and it happens a lot. Praying whatever judge officiates support the cabinet's recommendations!

My FS's goal was changed to adoption last week. The judge made a comment to mom that she has 6-8 more months to work her plan. I am guessing the TPR hearing won't be for 6-8 months??? I haven't met with the new adoption worker yet.

Our battle seems to be getting the goal changed from RU to adopt. We have had "Little One" 15 months (since birth). Parents have done very little in the case. They still have 1 hour supervised visits this far in.....if that tells you anything.