A comment left by Richard Brodie yesterday fits nicely in to what I planned to post about today. Richard says, "What a horrible thing to offer - contributing to the break up of these
families. These children don't want you, they want to be back where God
placed them - with their own mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters
whom they have grown up with! Isn't that what you would want?"
Today I planned to talk about reunification which is always the goal of foster care. As someone from the inside I can definitively say foster care stinks. It stinks for the children who get caught up in the middle of something that derails their lives. It stinks for the parents who want to be with their children. It stinks in a lot of ways for foster parents too, but the difference is we're volunteers, not draftees.
My answer to Richard's query is yes. I want these children to have a chance to go home. That decision won't rest in the hands of foster parents though. Foster families are here to provide a safe place to stay while adults work out adult issues. It isn't about foster families breaking up biological families.
Normally, a reunification plan is set up based on the nature of the incident that brought the child into foster care. If there is physical abuse in the home, parents are required to undergo parenting classes, and anger management classes. They may be required to undergo therapy. A history of drug abuse in the home typically requires random drug testing, and possibly rehab or other drug treatment program. If there is a history of homelessness in the mix the parents will be required to show proof of residence. There are periodic court reviews where the parents, social workers and attorneys meet with the judge to talk about how things are progressing.
In the best circumstances, parents work the reunification plan and their family is reunited. In the worst cases parents either cannot or will not work the plan and have their parental rights terminated. Currently parents have a year and a half to satisfy the court that they
can parent their children. At a year and a half the court must make a
ruling that will either send the children home or terminate parental
rights. This is so that children don't languish in foster care for an
indefinite period. It's not my job as a foster parent to worry about how the parents are doing on their plan. My function is to make sure their children are well-cared for while they're not with their parents, and to be supportive of reunification.
In this case I suspect things will get sticky. Because biological parentage is not clear in this case it sounds as if a court will rule that genetic testing be done to match children with their parents. Until this is established, no reunification plans can be made.
Because so much of what is being alleged is a part of their religious culture it's hard to predict how the court system will react, and what the consequences will be. Will the threat of criminal charges keep parents from coming forward for their children?
Let's say for the sake of argument that parents come forward and are genetically matched to their children. Their case plan is likely to include attending parenting classes and perhaps individual therapy. They would be able to see their children once a week during supervised visits. At the court review the judge will want to see that they now view the situation differently, that the children will not be sent back to the same circumstances that led to their removal.
Because I live so far away it's highly unlikely that any of the children will make it this far across the country. If they do make it this far, it means that something has gone horribly wrong in their lives and that they will not be going home.
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