Need help with statutes...

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tnradmom
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Need help with statutes...

Postby tnradmom » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:38 pm

Okay... we finally notified the umbudsman in Tennessee for the DCS stuff. We told him what was going on and he seemed very concerned. After he made a few phone calls he called us back and aside from saying that DCS says we didn't say things we did say and that they did say things they didn't, he comes up and says that when a person becomes a foster parent they are told in writing that their lives will NOT be inconvenienced in any way by them taking on the foster child(ren) he cited that it was a state statute. Now I know unless it is a new one that it is not a state statute.... my question does anybody know if it is a law or mandate that is just not there for the general public? I have tried looking it up and I can't find it.

We are getting to the point that more and more it looks like they are going to adopt him out to the foster mother right from under us even though we have jumped through all the hoops.

We don't want to give up, we are just sick of fighting.... It's been 10 months, and we are no closer to getting J home.
What the Lord gives you, man can not take away.

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Dazeemay
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Postby Dazeemay » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:09 pm

I am not sure I understand your question.

Here is a link to the Bill of Rights for foster parents.
http://www.tfaca.org/rights.html
**********************************
This is not legal advice;hopefully wisdom

To put it in simple terms…when the authorities ARE the perpetrators and the perpetrators ARE the authorities, there is no earthly justice or recourse, at the end of the day (unless the American people wake up).

Therefore, those who have achieved the highest levels of power seek to ‘enjoy’ the most grievous and extreme injustices. For many of those in the highest circles of power, the greatest statement of power is to perpetrate the greatest possible injustice…the savage, brutal traumatization and abuse of an innocent child.
http://themurkynews.blogspot.com/ MattTwoFour

"Ultimately, the law is only as good as the judge" --- D.X. Yue, 2005, in "law, reason and judicial fraud"
http://www.parentalrightsandjustice.com/index.cgi?ctype=Page;site_id=1;objid=45;curloc=Site:1

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tnradmom
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Location: Tennessee

Postby tnradmom » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:48 am

I will check the link....

I suppose to better word the question would be. Do foster parents rights supercede parent's rights? Is there a statute for that?

My husband's rights are intact. He has no restrictions.
What the Lord gives you, man can not take away.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:58 am

.

Foster parents have to go through training, and they are given literature about the program, which the general public may not see.


"Best interest of the child" would be an issue or justification for placement decisions.

Go to your state courts website and do a search for

termination of parental rights

and anything else relating to your case, and see if you can find cases to cite for you court hearing.

For example, one court opinion stated that just because the foster home offered a better lifestyle, that does not mean being with the foster parents is in the best interests of the children.

Someone I know recently trained to be a CASA, and the issue of attachment was a major concern. If children don't appear to be attached to the parents, then they interpret that as a justification for removing children.

.

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Dazeemay
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Postby Dazeemay » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:56 am

Below is an example of a case law. It is these types of laws that your lawyer should be showing the courts.

Personally I would start writing up a letter to send to the ombudsman regarding these type of case laws. Also I would remind them of this case law Brian A vs Sundquist http://library.adoption.com/childrens-r ... 536/1.html pointing out to them you are not the only one who makes mistakes and that you should be given the same chance as DCFS to better your decision makings as a parent. However, this law is partly about them letting kids hang in foster care for months and months, etc.

Case Law Development: A "Better Family" is Insufficient Justification for Termination of Parental Rights
The Texas Court of Appeals reversed a termination of a mother’s parental rights for insufficient evidence that the termination would be in the child’s best interests. The court reviewed the testimony of the CASA volunteer’s observations and criticisms of mother’s parenting, making this a great case to turn into a class discussion problem given the extensive summaries of the testimony and the clear framing of the issue regarding what is minimally acceptable parenting.

The case involved a mother and father whose two young children were removed from the home after a domestic violence incident in which each parent claimed the other was the aggressor. There was also an admission by mother that she had smoked marijuana in front of the children. The court concluded that, while these offending behaviors could form a basis for termination, they were not “egregious enough to warrant a finding that termination is in the children's best interest.”

While there is evidence in the record of Mother's poor parenting skills, poor decision making, and inadequate protection of the children in the past, the evidence is uncontradicted that Mother has done everything that CPS has required of her and more. There is evidence CPS's goal initially was to reunite the family. After Mother and Father divorced, the goal became placing the toddler with Mother and the infant with Father. No significant event occurred between the time CPS planned to return the children to appellant and the time CPS sought termination of Mother's parental rights other than her divorce from Father and Mother's move out of her brother's house and into a sparsely-furnished two-bedroom apartment CPS deemed "unsuitable." The best interest standard does not permit termination merely because a child might be better off living elsewhere. Termination should not be used to merely reallocate children to better and more prosperous parents. The evidence shows Mother has made significant progress, improvements, and changes in her life. The evidence also shows Mother has attended 100 percent of her visits with her children, and she obviously cares for her children.

In the Interest of C.E.K., 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 9838 (November 14, 2006)
Opinion on the web (last visited November 15, 2006 bgf)

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family ... al_rights/


I hope this is of help to you and that I am not just blowing off steam because I get very intense with anger over how we are treated as parents and grandparents.
**********************************
This is not legal advice;hopefully wisdom

To put it in simple terms…when the authorities ARE the perpetrators and the perpetrators ARE the authorities, there is no earthly justice or recourse, at the end of the day (unless the American people wake up).

Therefore, those who have achieved the highest levels of power seek to ‘enjoy’ the most grievous and extreme injustices. For many of those in the highest circles of power, the greatest statement of power is to perpetrate the greatest possible injustice…the savage, brutal traumatization and abuse of an innocent child.
http://themurkynews.blogspot.com/ MattTwoFour

"Ultimately, the law is only as good as the judge" --- D.X. Yue, 2005, in "law, reason and judicial fraud"
http://www.parentalrightsandjustice.com/index.cgi?ctype=Page;site_id=1;objid=45;curloc=Site:1

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tnradmom
Posts: 72
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:40 pm
Location: Tennessee

Postby tnradmom » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:37 pm

It is helpful. There is a lot of sorting through that we will have to do. See, after our last visit in May, we chose not to see J until it went back to court because J manipulates and lies and was telling the CM and FM things that did not happen. He had also told us things that we didn't believe happened too... Well, the CM made a big stink about it and raised a ruckus so our attorney said it would be best since I am on probation with this crap (ridiculous) that we not take him.

We get into court and the Judge agreed with us that the CM and FM were being ridiculous and that he understood with them acting the way they did that it was best until we could get into court to hold off on visitation. At that time he threw out the CM's request for visitation to be refused.

We started visitation back immediately and have only missed the one weekend DH had to work. Now we miss this weekend because of them.

Then 2 weeks later is all the stuff about being told he wouldn't be available for 2 weeks and when we asked the CM about it she knew nothing. That was resolved in he went to respite for a weekend and we still had visitation.

Right now, he's in Disney land against our wishes because the foster mom wanted to take him. This child has attachment issues, the FM has made these issues worse in relation to our family, and because DCS refused to find a respite provider we will now miss our visitation plus they canceled a therapy appointment that he was suppose to go to that the judge ordered.

And we are in the wrong. We called the umbudsman and he told us that nothing can inconvenience the foster family. And that it was more important for J to maintain the bond that he has developed with the FM for the last 6 months then for him to have his visitation with us.

We have repeatedly told them that M-F visitations are near impossible because of our schedules and him being an hour away. Plus DH works one weekend a month typically. So they say that it's our fault for not cooperating with them to make up the visitation time.

Over and over again we are told that we are right and things will be done this way and then it is changed at the last minute because it is inconvenient for the foster mom.

Plus, we are suppose to be getting therapeutic visitations with a therapist that will pick up J and bring him here and work with getting him back in the family... DCS CM told us this was happening. When she showed up Wednesday night, she said she was there for parenting classes. We've already done parenting classes.

This is just so crazy... we can't afford a different attorney and the one we have isn't willing to screw with political ties. Then on top of that we aren't able to represent ourselves. The stress has caused too much trauma to us. I can't even eat anymore. While normally I wouldn't complain I have lost 15 pounds in 10 days... That is not good. Even if I do have plenty that I can lose.
What the Lord gives you, man can not take away.


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