Ok a lot is going on with the kids' case and the whole legal process so I thought I would stop and explain how it all works.
The goal for every child that is taken into state care is to reunify them with the biological parent. DCF provides services to the parent, things like parenting classes, counseling, assistance with finding employment, etc. This is all done to help the parent eventually be in a position to get their children back. There is a set length of time that the parent has to complete all of this and show they are now able to parent. If the parent does not demonstrate enough progress towards completing all the steps of their plan, DCF moves towards terminating their parental rights (TPR). TPR happens in about 50% of all DCF cases, and when it does happen it typically takes place about a year after the initial removal of the children. The idea behind the one year cutoff is that children have a right to permanency and it is unfair to keep them in limbo for years on end. When DCF files for TPR, they must accompany it with a permanency plan. The ideal permanency plan is adoption, either by a relative or non-relative. If a foster family has had the children for more than 6 months, they equate that family to a relative.
All of that is just an overview of the process, and there are many more legal details involved. A Termination of Parental Rights is very serious and irreversible; it essentially severs the connection between parent and child forever. For the parent it is equivalent to the death of their child, and there is huge loss invovled on all sides. This is not taken lightly by the judge. DCF needs to prove that every effort was made to reunify the child with the parent and that the parent is unable to keep the child safe. Once TPR happens, the only way the child will ever have contact with their biological parent again is if the adoptive family chooses to pursue an open adoption.
In the case of Teanna and Zari, DCF decided around 6 months into the case that the prospect for reunification looked poor. We were asked if we were interested in adopting the children, and we said yes (had we said no, they would have moved the children to a preadoptive foster home). The official goal was changed from reunification to TPR/Adoption. This goal change does not mean that the parent stops being offered services, rather it is more of a warning to them that they have very little time left to complete their plan.
In December, DCF began writing the Petition for Termination of Parental Rights, which was legally filed the first week of January. This step of the process does not usually happen so quickly, however when dealing with children this young things tend to happen faster. This is is because children this young are still seen as "adoptable" and they don't want to drag the process out so long that the kids are too old to be adopted (a very real and valid concern considering the number of kids who age out of foster care without ever being adopted). They also consider the fact that children this young have less of a bond with biological parents than older children who have lived with their bioligcal parents for many years.
After the Petition for TPR is filed, a hearing is scheduled for the parents to enter their plea. Either they agree to the TPR and they sign their rights over, or they contest the TPR and it goes to trial. For us this will happen in early February. Of course we are hoping for both parents to sign so we can avoid the whole ordeal of a trial, however this is unlikely. In most cases it does to go trial. For us, the trial would likely take place in April or May, and then the judge has up to 90 days to make a decision. Only after the TPR ruling is made can the adoption proceed. So although everything looks very good for us to adopt the children, we are sitting tight for the long wait as it could be the end of the summer or into the fall before all is said and done.
So.... any questions? ;)
