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My mother did foster care and it can be good and bad. It really depends on the social worker. Your niece is old enough to go to court for herself. She will be appointed a laywer and she has the right to tell the judge what she wants.
At 17 1/2 theres no reason that the judge shouldn't listen to her. If they refuse to let her go home she can emmancipate herself, or wait out the few months until she turns 18.
She does have an attorney, but its a public defender. My brother hired an attorney to rep both of them (not SIL). She is in a foster home that is about 60 miles away from where they live, in a different county, which I don't understand. I know that this probably isn't the norm, but it still just blows me away that this can happen to a family... they are very powerful.
My daughter went to school when she was about 8 or so and told the teacher I pulled her hair. The teacher in turn (as is law) reported me to DHS or CW here. The caseworker came out to my house and was ALL crazy in my face and stuff. I told her if I am brushing my child's hair and she is yanking her head around "I" am not the one pulling her hair. And anyway since when did DHS get excited over something that minor anyway?? I could see if the child was missing hunks of hair or if they had bruises.. but please... brushing their hair?? The caseworker did a walk through of the house and the ONLY THING she could even find to comment on was the cat's litter box needed scooped.
I had multiple witnesses saying she was always clean, well dressed, well cared for, ect. She wasn't removed but they recommended counseling. They are just unreal sometimes. I couldn't believe they would even bother..personally.
As a pass Foster parent I see things different sometimes. THey just can't take a child without having cause because it has to be held up in court.
But they can lie their behinds off in court and usually the judge will defer to them. I'm not saying most CPS agents are bad guys/gals or liars, but when they are, the safeguards and remedies offered by the system are woefully inadequate.
In my area, the CPS agencies seem pretty reasonable.
The teacher in turn (as is law) reported me to DHS or CW here.
This is a fallacy. Teachers have to report suspected abuse, but the law does not say that any harebrained statement a child makes has to be interpreted in the most sinister possible manner. Teachers who behave in that way are not breaking the law, but they are being unprofessional and violating an important trust.
Oh believe me they reported it as suspected abuse.
They are dang idiots but then DHS here turned around not long after that and gave a 3 yr old (Ryan Luke) to his Grandparents..who in turn returned him to his mother. The mother left him with her boyfriend (who was responsible for putting the child in a full body cast in the first place resulting in his removal from the home) and the poor child was beaten to death. I just couldn't imagine. DHS in Oklahoma took a severe hit for that one..but I doubt they decided to leave reasonable people alone and deal with people that needed it. I have had several run ins with them...but they have never removed my child nor done anything more than say they recommended counseling. It is all BS to justify a huge caseload for people that are already overloaded and overworked. If they had provable cases and dealt with them FOR REAL (as opposed to..get parenting classes and we will return your child to you even if you are a crack user and prostitute). Can you tell I don't like the way things are done?
This isn't a prefect system but this is what is there. I believe it should be looked into to improve for the sack of the children they serve. I know many caseworkers and none that I know ever lied in court. I have been in court for hearings many times. The judge in the county I was in was great, no bull. I know that Foster care differs depending what state you are in or even what county. One reason the child could be 60 miles away is that she might be listed as medically fragile. We took those children and sometimes they are hard to place. They always start by placing them in their own area but when they can't they can go outside the area. With the econmy like it is the states are loosing their funding. Foster care is changing and in many area going to the private sector of which I don't agree and fought against in Lansing Mi in the Summer of 2007. Also has the economy gets worse llike everything CPS will have more complaints. I can't remember what is was called but in Michigan if you feel that the system did something wrong there is a number for the whole state to make a complaint. I can remember the name right now.
Something I have always noticed with CPS... when they drop the ball on something and a child gets hurt/killed, an innocent family will suffer.
Each city and state have their own methods, but there is usually an initial court hearing within 2 weeks of the child being removed from the home. This is when CPS brings their case before a judge to make a decision. Before the first hearing, the family usually has minimal to no contact with the child (apparently it is for the benefit of the child). At the initial court hearing, the child could return to the household (but not normally) or continue in foster care with a Return to Home Plan.
For your brother's sake and sanity, I hope that everything gets resolved in the first hearing and she is returned home. However, if that is not the case, then he is going to be in for months of being treated like total doo-doo. The family will get a Return to Home Plan (or whatever that city/state calls it).
The Return to Home plan usually involves some or all of: parenting classes, psychological testing for parent and child, educational testing for the child, parent-child therapy, individual therapy for parent and/or child, home evaluations, and a googol more requirements that must be fulfilled. If there are other children in the home, they may be evaluated as well.
Until the second court hearing (3 months, usually), the family is usually only given supervised visitation. From there it could get worse or better. Based on the accomplishments on the Return to Home Plan, either the judge can return the child home, or the process continues for another three months. After the second hearing, it is possible that the family gets unsupervised and overnight visitation if CPS feels enough "progress" has taken place. This step will occur every three months.
Again, I pray he gets her back at the initial hearing. In the state I live in, children who are not returned immediately are usually in the system for a year to 18 months on average.
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