Ok.... which one is it?

HappyMomAnna

It's both...

There are federal guidelines on the amount of time children are supposed to be in Foster Care--generally, if the child has been in care 16 consecutive months the state is Required to make a Permanency Plan for the child. In some cases if the parent is showing effort with their case plan the Permanent Plan and the Parents Reunification Plan can be con-current. Meaning there is still a possibility that the parent may be reunified.

The state will try to make the Permanency Plan as it is connected to the funding they receive. The Goal IS to have children live in Foster Care for the Shortest possible amount of time--Period! And the GREATEST percentage of children in Foster Care ARE reunited with their biological families by a long shot.

Each case is unique and along with offering the parents a case plan the state is Mandated to conduct a Relative Search before a child in foster care can be adopted by non-relatives. So it's very possible for one child's case to include the parents case plan, the interest of relatives and their home study and certification and the permanency plan which may include adoption.

It really all boils down to HOW everything comes together and What a Judge hears..

They do not count how many chances the parents are given--they count the time and what has happened during this time. Did the parent show up for visitation? Did the Parent go to rehab? Did the Parent get a job? Does the job they got offer an income to provide housing? Is there other methods to provide Housing? If the parent has been working their case plan the case worker will have the insight and will be more likely to work for a successful Outcome.

The reality is that the so called bonuses for Adoption are much more rare then the perks for reunification especially if it's successful and families are not ripped apart. Statistically MOST Children in foster care are reunited and the benefits to society and the social service system are well rewarded when that happens. The bonuses for Adoption are all about ending the issues of children living year after year with no Permanent Family.

If the parents Decide to relinquish while they have a case plan and the state is moving toward TPR it would be possible to Change Their Minds but likely they would not win. Most states do have a waiting period for Foster Children placed for Adoption and keep the Case Open for a period of time for post placement supervision... It could be possible during this time period for a parent to appeal and hold things up.

There is Always a risk for the parents who want to adopt no matter what path is taken--there is always a chance that the parent will change their minds and with Foster to Adoption there is always a chance the State could change their minds too after placement before adoption... I have seen that happen a few times too.

Randy B

Under the system we have her in Alberta there are legislated minimum time frames for the TPR and adoption process. As long as the parents are moving forward in the process the child will stay TGO and the decision to go GPO (or TPR) is made by a Judge, not by social workers. I've seen parents given more chances then they deserve in my opinion but at the same time from what I have heard the system here in Alberta is one of the more effective systems in that they tend to go on the side of parents so that once TPR is granted there are not very often any grounds for appeal.

Mom to Foster Children

Our sons parents were given almost 5 years of chances. He was adopted 3 days prior to his 5th year as a foster child. His case made it lengthy as he was made a native american during a TPR. The parents receive counseling before signing over their rights and it was our understanding that their minds can be changed up to two years after the adoption was final but they must prove in court that it would be in the best interest of the child to be with their natural parents. Our Judge did have one such case come back to court but the natural parents lost and the adoption was not overturned.

â™¥â™¥Ritaâ™¥â™¥

M'kay...s one of those state paid social workers, I have NEVER seen a bonus, in fact...I believe child welfare workers in general are grossly under paid, never mind some bonus we are rumored to get. I do what I do because I do not like the idea of the next generation living in foster care and if I can do what I do and alleviate SOME of that burden then I have done my job...money aside. NO BONUSES FOR PLACEMENTS.

ASFA mandates children who are in custody for 15 of the last 22 months can become legal wards of the state, meaning their parent's rights are terminated.

If a parent relinquishes, they can back out at the last minute and for a period of time after wards (30 days in some states), but then they are then in permanent custody. The only caveat to that is if the child is still in state custody ( in some states) after a period of almost a year then the parents can ask for their parental rights to be reinstated and the process starts all over.

If a child is in state custody due to abuse/neglect, etc....then the parent is USUALLY afforded the chance to work a service plan so they can be reunited with their child, when that effort fails, then that is when recommendations can be made to terminate. Sometimes parents relinquish for a variety of reasons.

How many chances are they given?? That varies upon the court system. Courts order service plans....they are not bonaifide until the court orders them and sometimes much tot he dismay of social services, families are ordered yet one more chance to work a treatment plan though it is clear the last three times they did NOTHING. Sometimes....too many....sometimes not enough. Though a child who has spent 2 years in custody with their parents not getting it together enough to be reunified.....well, 2 years is long enough. Time to move along and get the child out of state care and into a permanent home. There are some kids who can tell you they have been in care for ten or more years....way too long.

If you are fostering....then I encourage you to focus on the child being returned home, if adoption becomes the goal then that is when the focus changes.

Good luck and best wishes to you!!

ETA:

Gypsywinter....did you know that before ASFA was passed and the FEDS decided children should be moved more quickly out of care than they were.....children did languish in care far longer than they are now?? How has that changed?? Well, the FEDS said specialize an adoption unit, spend more time trying to place kids with kin, and move children out of care and back to their parents or in to an adoptive home.....and we will give you x number of dollars for each. How has that benefitted?? Well, in my state.....less children are now in custody, less children are coming into care and more children are going home............SO EVENTUALLY, maybe the FEDS can keep their money and more kids will be in permanent homes rather than foster care. Hmmmm....how can that be a bad thing??

Did you know workers who sling food stamps and TANF also earn their states incentive monies.....but let's not speak of that.....let's just buy in to mis interpreted info/propaganda dug up on the WEB.....geezus!! Must be why less people are given food stamps, TANF and Medicaid.....more money for the state makes workers do corrupt things.

sizesmith

Our social workers in our state do not get bonuses for placing in adoption. Their raises might reflect if they successfully place a lot of hard to place children, i.e. handicapped, over the age of 14, etc.

Social workers are state employees, and under the freedom of information act, I believe their salaries and bonuses are public record.

If a parent voluntarily relinquishes under foster parenting, the child would still be a ward of the state, even if they changed their mind. Parents would probably have time to change their mind if they voluntarily place, then before the time limits are up they change their mind. That time depends upon state law. Some adoption relinquishments are final within hours of parental signature, and some take 6 months. That part depends upon state laws. Changing their mind might also not be availalble to them, depending on what the abuse was.

We had a situation where our son was placed for adoption before he was born, but his first mom had 10 days to change her mind. Because she did a dose of meth the day he was born, we were told that child protection services wasn't going to take him at that point, because he already had a home to go to, but that the first mom had the right to still change her mind, however, we weren't to release him to anyone but child protection services, and even if the police had shown up to collect him, that we were told to ask them to stay until CPS services showed up. Because of "normal" changing her mind, and if she'd filed a stopping of the adoption, she wouldn't have been able to get custody for 30 days, and our son would have been placed into foster care instead of our home, because of the drug use.

It's a case-by-case decision on the social worker's part to decide how many chances the first parents get. If they've worked hard, and had a relapse, there might be more chances, but if they've never tried at all, and the day before TPR takes place, they try, and a week later relapse, they might not get another chance at all, because at that point they really aren't trying.

Opedial

Well the judges themselves are the ones who decide if a parent's rights are terminated. Sure they listen to the social workers but not always.

I think the SW heft bonuses are for children who are infants and NOT part of foster to adopt or adoption.

The main point here is that a child CANNOT be considered "adoptable" through foster care until all parental rights have been taken away from the parents. And that decision is judicial.

sarajnw6

I'm in my fourth week and hadn't heard of this before I will bring it up in my next meeting and email you. Thanks!

gypsywinter

Read these links on Adoption Bonuses given to States...The more adoptions that a state can 'fast-track' (and the younger the better), the more fed bonuses the individual states receive. So yes there is quite an incentive for the major public agencies to make sure more children are available for adoption...many times the children taken from their parents for vague and non-descript, if not outwardly fake reasons. The states have their 'quotas' to reach in order to get the Adoption Bonus $$$$..too much money involved in adoption, at all levels..leaves it wide open to corruption.
This was a Google search and these links appeared on the first 2 pages...if that is any indication..

http://www.fightcps.com/articles/bountypayments.html
http://www.ejfi.org/family/family-103.htm
http://www.kidsarewaiting.org/tools/repo...
http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/papers/...
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/sum...
http://www.openmarket.org/2007/06/15/soc...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2...

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