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Don't know if I ever mentioned it here but my wife and I are foster parents with hopes of adopting. Last October we received a 1 week old baby girl. She was born on September 25th and 2 hours after her birth parents left the hospital. It was as close to a safe haven as you're going to get but it did't meet the NJ criteria so child services(DCFP as it's known now, DYFS was it's former name) had to try to find the parents. 4 months went by and nothing until this past January when both parents were located, in another county lockup.
By law the division needs to offer both parents services to try to get their child back. The mother was on drugs when the baby was born and she was born cocaine addicted and the father is a registered sex offender with a rap sheet a mile long(come to find out he did time at the prison I work and was housed on one of my housing units). Anyway, as I said, both were locked up so we had a couple of hearings that went nowhere because both parents had to be given representation and the 2nd hearing, the father wasn't there but the mother was(she was locked up, not like she had a choice. It would be the last time she appeared in court). Again the hearing had to be postponed because the mother's lawyer didn't get to confer with her client so it was rescheduled for April. This time the father was there(again, locked up so he had to be) but mother was a no show. Even her lawyer said that she didn't think the birth mother was all that interested in getting her child back. So, another hearing was set for May because the birth father was now contesting paternity.
In the mean time, the division was looking for family members to take the baby but none were either qualified or they didn't want her. Well, paternity showed that birth father was indeed the father but not he wanted to fire his lawyer. They had to grant his request. So, next hearing was postponed by the judge because she had another case that she wanted finished that day. We din't go back to court until September. Keep in mind that the birth mother has been blowing off court all this time but the division kept on trying to get a hold of her(going to the address she gave and they only found her there once. Other than that, nada).
Our next hearing was in August but the hearing got started late and had to be continued in September. In that hearing, bio mom again was a no show but in a twist of fate, the bio father agreed to surrender his parental rights to my wife and I. 1 parent down. Now the case moves onto permanency. The first hearing there started in November. Unfortunately for us, the Friday before the hearing, the case worker found the birth mother at the address she gave and she said she wanted her baby back and asked for services. The case worker gave her the form to get another public defender and told her court was on Wednesday. Court came, she was a no show but the division asked for a continuance because birth mother didn't have a chance to get a lawyer. The continuance was granted but the judge laid down the low saying that the birth mother would have to jump through several hoops in order for her to not get her rights terminated. Well, then came today.
Hearing today. Again, birth mother doesn't show, never contacted the division for services, the case worker did deliver her the judges order so she had no excuse. The judge had it and today terminated her parental rights. Now the only hurdle we have to clear is the 45 day waiting period where the mother can appeal the decision. If she does that, we're now waiting anywhere between 1 year to 18 months minimum before the appellate court even hears it. But based on the apathy so far I don't see that happening. There's one more hearing scheduled for February called a review hearing when the judge wants to know if we still want to adopt her(silly question indeed). Then everything should be final by spring. Then I'll be able to show her off to the world. We can't post pictures until the adoption is finalized.
By law the division needs to offer both parents services to try to get their child back. The mother was on drugs when the baby was born and she was born cocaine addicted and the father is a registered sex offender with a rap sheet a mile long(come to find out he did time at the prison I work and was housed on one of my housing units). Anyway, as I said, both were locked up so we had a couple of hearings that went nowhere because both parents had to be given representation and the 2nd hearing, the father wasn't there but the mother was(she was locked up, not like she had a choice. It would be the last time she appeared in court). Again the hearing had to be postponed because the mother's lawyer didn't get to confer with her client so it was rescheduled for April. This time the father was there(again, locked up so he had to be) but mother was a no show. Even her lawyer said that she didn't think the birth mother was all that interested in getting her child back. So, another hearing was set for May because the birth father was now contesting paternity.
In the mean time, the division was looking for family members to take the baby but none were either qualified or they didn't want her. Well, paternity showed that birth father was indeed the father but not he wanted to fire his lawyer. They had to grant his request. So, next hearing was postponed by the judge because she had another case that she wanted finished that day. We din't go back to court until September. Keep in mind that the birth mother has been blowing off court all this time but the division kept on trying to get a hold of her(going to the address she gave and they only found her there once. Other than that, nada).
Our next hearing was in August but the hearing got started late and had to be continued in September. In that hearing, bio mom again was a no show but in a twist of fate, the bio father agreed to surrender his parental rights to my wife and I. 1 parent down. Now the case moves onto permanency. The first hearing there started in November. Unfortunately for us, the Friday before the hearing, the case worker found the birth mother at the address she gave and she said she wanted her baby back and asked for services. The case worker gave her the form to get another public defender and told her court was on Wednesday. Court came, she was a no show but the division asked for a continuance because birth mother didn't have a chance to get a lawyer. The continuance was granted but the judge laid down the low saying that the birth mother would have to jump through several hoops in order for her to not get her rights terminated. Well, then came today.
Hearing today. Again, birth mother doesn't show, never contacted the division for services, the case worker did deliver her the judges order so she had no excuse. The judge had it and today terminated her parental rights. Now the only hurdle we have to clear is the 45 day waiting period where the mother can appeal the decision. If she does that, we're now waiting anywhere between 1 year to 18 months minimum before the appellate court even hears it. But based on the apathy so far I don't see that happening. There's one more hearing scheduled for February called a review hearing when the judge wants to know if we still want to adopt her(silly question indeed). Then everything should be final by spring. Then I'll be able to show her off to the world. We can't post pictures until the adoption is finalized.
