Court Hearings

When Did CPS Change Their Mind About Us?

by Penelope · 3 comments

in Birthfamilies,Case Workers,Court Hearings,Foster Care,Lil Bit,Our Kids

Have you seen this inspiring movie about a former foster child? Watch the trailer!

At the end of this court hearing in March 2010, the State, CASA, and ad litem attorney were ambivalent.

Should our 7-month-old foster child, Lil Bit, stay with us or should he go live with his great-aunt?

None of them expressed concern either way !

UNTIL…

That one phone call to State CPS headquarters.

CPS Policy: A child should always be placed with family first.

Then, quick as a flash, the State, CASA/GAL, and ad litem attorney ALL adamantly opposed Lil Bit staying with us.

Suddenly, we were being accused of keeping our foster child from his family. Worse than that, we were keeping Lil Bit from his Mexican culture.

For 2 months until our next court hearing in May.

We met with the CASA before court. I wasn’t optimistic.

Then this miracle happened. A strange day in court for our foster baby.

What changed?

Birth mom moved back in with her abusive grandmother (her third move in 5 months)
Caseworker AB turned in her resignation

Is this what changed the mind of CPS toward us?

In June, we attended a meeting to discuss permanency for our foster baby when the State told birth mom that they would be terminating her rights (no matter what she did). The birth mom (and her mother) told the State that they did not want Lil Bit to go live with his great-aunt.

Is this what changed the mind of CPS toward us?

The fact is we don’t know what changed.

In August, we met with CPS and CASA in our home. They told us to work on conditions for an open adoption. Lil Bit would stay with us.

LIL BIT WOULD BE OUR SON!

The fact is we don’t care what changed the mind of CPS toward us. We care that our Lil Bit would be safe. With us. Forever!

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{ 3 comments }

Adoption Postponed. Yet Again!!!

by Penelope · 10 comments

in Adoption,Court Hearings,Lil Bit,Our Kids

Can you believe that there was yet another mistake in the court termination order that will delay our adoption of our foster baby, Lil Bit???

Apparently, Lil Bit’s full name listed on his Mexican birth certificate has FOUR names instead of the usual first, middle, last. This means that the court order to officially transfer his case to the State agency’s Adoption Division has to be re-done and sent back to the judge to sign AGAIN!

However, there is good news! The INS received Lil Bit’s application for certification of citizenship. Lil Bit will be certified as a citizen of the United States by the end of July!!! Do you think he can learn the Pledge of Allegiance by then?

On the other hand, there is some not-as-bad news associated with his application. A few months ago, I created a passport-type head shot of Lil Bit for his INS application for his certification of citizenship. I found a really, cute head-and-shoulders pose of him (without a shirt on) sitting in our yard. I cropped the photo to the correct dimensions and printed.

The staff LOVED the photo – with those chubby cheeks, thick dark hair, and sweet smile, they called him a “total cherub.”

But, guess what? He is sitting in the grass. Not against a white background that is the INS requirement for application photographs. Ug!

So, with the magic of Photoshop, I will crop Lil Bit from the photo and place him against a white background. My project for this weekend.

With everything going on with Lil Bit’s case, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

We are on target to adopt our foster child before Labor Day!!!

{ 10 comments }

Another Screwup to Postpone Adoption

Adoption

Can you believe it? Another problem to delay the adoption of our 22-month-old foster child, Lil Bit. Those of you that follow Foster2Forever on Facebook already have heard. For the rest of you… Last Tuesday afternoon, I was at work concentrating on compiling an annual equipment order, when the alarm on my phone sounded. As [...]

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Our Foster Baby is Officially an Orphan!!!

Adoption

The birth father’s rights were terminated in court today! We will be able to adopt our 18-month-old foster baby, Lil Bit, as soon as his citizenship is certified. My morning started with a call that my mom was in serious condition at the hospital with heart problems. Here are my Facebook status updates: On the [...]

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When a Lawyer Calls

Adoption

Remember that movie When A Stranger Calls? The memorable line was “The call is coming from inside your house!“ In our foster care version, the movie is titled: When a Lawyer Calls, which has the tag line: “The call is coming from inside your bank account!” Our attorney didn’t actually call, he just sent an [...]

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The Case of the Missing Birth Father

Birthfamilies

What do you do when a birth parent can’t be found? Can their parental rights automatically be terminated? Lil Bit’s birth father is missing. All we know is that he is somewhere in Mexico. The State has been working with the Mexican consulate to locate the father; however, the dad has a fairly common name. [...]