Comments on: my friend had her baby taken and dhs wants her to sine adoption papers?

By: Spotty-Dotty

Spotty-Dotty — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:49:14 +0000

Don’t give them to her! Nah, jk jk! Spotty-Dotty

By: Wundt

Wundt — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:45:23 +0000

In the majority of cases, the mother is given a chance to regain custody and that process usually takes 6 to 12 months. Her being under 18 isn’t the primary issue, it is the perception of the judge and the social workers that she isn’t able to and/or capable of raising the child is the problem.

If they are pressing her to sign the relinquishment papers it is because they don’t feel your friend has made any progress on her ‘plan’. If she was supposed to complete her high school education, stay drug free, and get a job, she is expected to achieve those goals, or at lease show progress on them. It may also be possible that the child is thriving in the foster home and they feel the long term prospect for the child would be better if it stayed where is it.

Your friend should discuss her ‘goals’ with the social workers, CASA volunteer, and attorney ad lidem (the lawyer the judge should have assigned one to her). Explain to them her desire to parent and find out what she needs to do… and then DO IT. If they want her to hold down a job… DO IT. If they want her to go into rehab… DO IT. That is the way she will get back her child. Wundt

By: Darla

Darla — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:12:25 +0000

she doesnt have to sign but she does have to follow her case plan.

@wellspring: i dont know what crap youve been reading but i should have been taken from my parents way before i was. they kept giving my family more chances because they were my “real” family. apparently that makes it ok to beat and molest your kids. and any of the other foster kids i was in my foster homes with needed to be taken too. Darla

By: sizesmith

sizesmith — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:49:33 +0000

No, she doesn’t have to sign anything, unless it’s in order to sign away parental rights in order to avoid criminal charges.

Usually, if she has shown that she’s trying to make an effort to do better and to take care of the baby, and do her visitation and what she’s asked to do, then she should have a chance to be reunited with the child.

She can’t just leave the baby in someone else’s care in foster care, then expect to get it back. The process includes having many, many visits with her, so this way, the baby doesn’t lose touch with her, and she’ll still be familiar to the baby.

If she’s been just leaving the baby with foster care, and not following the appointments she’s been given to be reunited with the baby, then parental rights will be terminated, and she might have criminal charges, depending on why the child was originally taken from her. sizesmith

By: kidmindi

kidmindi — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:36:44 +0000

NO she does NOT have to sign her rights away. However her clock is ticking. DHS has a time frame generally speaking a year to18 months in which the parent has to get their life together.

She should have been given a case plan. This will outline all she needs to do in order to get her child back. Most case plans include having stable housing, a way to financialy support yourself and your child, parenting classes, counseling, keeping a clean home and drug testing.

Tell her to tell the case worker she wants her child and is willing to follow a case plan to get him/her back. Then she will have to follow it perfectly. If she does all of this she will be able to get her baby, but if not, they can terminate her rights without her consent. kidmindi

By: Wellspring

Wellspring — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:09:35 +0000

First off, they want her to sign because they want to save money from having to go through the process of terminating her rights.
Second, the state may be receiving $4-5000 of federal funding for every child that gets adopted out of foster care.
Third, they may be assuring the foster care parents adopting the baby looks like a sure thing.
Fourth, she needs a lawyer ASAP to find out what she needs to do to get her child back. It’s a fallacy that CPS never takes children for no reason because it happens every day across the country.

eta: Darla - Since these are CPS facts and in response to the asker, it’s neither here nor there to interpret it as if I answered you. Are you even in the same country? Wellspring

By: Ariana

Ariana — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:36:38 +0000

It depends on what DHS says.. I mean she can get a job and get her act back together but it might take a lot to prove that to DHS.

Her baby wasnt taken away because she was a minor- there must have been something wrong with her parenting-otherwise they wouldnt have done it. Ariana

By: matkaantytto

matkaantytto — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:36:51 +0000

She doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to and should not no matter how much she is pressured. matkaantytto

By: SJM

SJM — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:21:24 +0000

No, she can’t be forced to sign anything, and if she wants her baby back, she shouldn’t sign anything. Some states can try to terminate parental rights in as little as six months if an infant is involved. That’s not very long to obtain employment and housing, especially if she was a minor for a good part of that time.

Tell her to request a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). CASA will advocate for her baby (not her), but if she’s just young and really trying, it might help. From the sound of things, it certainly couldn’t hurt. SJM

By: Doodlestuff

Doodlestuff — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:14:00 +0000

She should not sign the papers if she wants to get her baby back. She should in fact, DEMAND a case plan to reunite her with her child. Doodlestuff