A question for those familiar with the foster system

[The Girls' Mom]

Hypothetical question here....

 

If children are removed from a home by CPS, can family members take in said children without a home study in place? (If they are like 2nd cousin related, but are known well by the children) If so, would a home study have to be done after placement?

[Twilight Woods]

depends on the situation. In my case my nephew was in a foster placement already and I needed to have one done. I think if it is a tempory emergent situation they would just require a simple background check. When I got my 4mo nephew [the youngest one] I only had to have a background check done.... then I went to court and got temp custody. 2 different situations one required a homestudy the other did not. Even though I had temp custody of the one I still needed a homestudy done for the other b/c he was already in placement.

[Bensmom]

It might be different for different states.? We fostered a child who was not related to us, but was well known to us prior to his removal, and did a homestudy before he arrived. We did not have to take the classes prior to his arrival. I think if it had been an emergency, they might have even allowed to homestudy to be conducted after placement too if you are already known/family.

[K&Rs Mom]

In MI, yes - I've seen this happen. Kids are placed with relative, then they have 30 days or something to bring the home to gov't standards with threat of re-placement if they don't.

[The Girls' Mom]

Thanks for the responses. Hypthetical children are still at home, but I kind of wanted to get an idea of what we would hypothetically have to do if such a thing happened. We wish/hope that such a situation wouldn't happen, but want to take care of the kids if it did. :crying:

[Impish]

If they're being investigated, you could call and let the sw know that you'd be willing to have the kids, and complete whatever might need to be done as a 'just in case' situation, so that they could avoid being placed in foster care.

[The Girls' Mom]

If they're being investigated, you could call and let the sw know that you'd be willing to have the kids, and complete whatever might need to be done as a 'just in case' situation, so that they could avoid being placed in foster care.

 

They aren't yet. It's a convoluted situation. Most of what I know is coming through the family rumor mill, but we are going to be in a position soon to be VERY involved. I don't have enough information first hand to do anything, but soon, if what I have been told is true, I will have no choice but to become involved. We are praying hard that we don't have to do anything, and that the adults in the situation will get their acts together and do what they should.

[Tarreymere]

In Pa our experience has been that CPS just drops them off at your door and rides off into the sunset. IF you are vaguely related, like 'half-sibling of adopted stepchild', which is what happened to us several years ago. That child and her newborn remained with us for a few years until adulthood with no further contact with CPS.

 

More recently I have had (and currently have) grandchildren placed with us through CPS and there was no home study or classes or anything. The grandchildren have so far returned to their mother eventually. Perhaps if it becomes the case that the children will not return to mom there will be some kind of official involvement.......but honestly I doubt it. Dh works for CPS, so maybe they are cutting us some slack but I seriously doubt that we could get out of all of the hoop-jumping if hoop-jumping was indeed required.

 

We've never gotten any kind of stipend for any of the kids either.

[Pamela H in Texas]

It *really* depends.

 

Here, they would expedite a homestudy if a family member wanted the child as he was coming into care. This can often be done within a week. IF they wait any, it can take a LONG time to get things going. Also, depending on how the case is going, they may not move them even then.

 

Oh, and a "homestudy" on a kinship placement isn't anywhere close to as involved as for a foster parent. We have to be close to perfect. Kinship just has to be acceptable. Big difference.

 

For example, the aunt of L and R wanted them and passed the homestudy. Dad objected. Dad presented people to get them. They didn't pass. The third time they go to court, mom had finished services but the program director wouldn't sign off on returning the kids (baloney if you ask me). Because it would only be a month longer as long as mom kept doing well, I offered to supervise a second visit per week rather than have the children moved then have them move again a month later as that wouldn't have been in the children's best interest. Everyone approved of that. Had mom had an issue, the kids would have gone to the aunt the next month.

 

My sister in law just filed for the kid. She wasn't in CPS custody. No homestudy necessary. Good thing because sil wouldn't have passed.

 

WHen we were in Louisiana, we had a sibling group of three (placed by mother). SHe wanted them one evening and I fussed with her, but in the end, had to give her her kids. Something happened that night (I'll leave it at that). CPS called me the next morning and asked if I wanted to keep them. Absolutely. She did a walk through in the house, took me to KMart for some stuff to make our living arrangements acceptable (enough toddler beds, for example), did a background check. We set up an orientation for foster care then the classes.

 

(the last thing is called fictive kin...people who have a relationship with the kids but aren't relatives)

 

Anyway, so various options can happen.

 

If you believe a child is going to be taken into custody:

 

*** If there is already a family based service worker, let her know ASAP that you want the kids should they be taken into care. Make sure also that the family member knows you'll be happy to help keep the kid out of foster care.

 

***The SECOND the child is taken into care, follow up with anyone and everyone. DO NOT LET UP.

 

***Even if another family member is likely to get them or gets them, still do the above.

 

***DOCUMENT every time you talk to someone about the situation. Document every time you visit the child. Document document document

 

SOrry so long. I feel SO strongly about this. Our baby? She is kid#3 and mom isn't allowed contact with first two. Somehow CPS didn't know about baby until she was 3 months old. She went to a foster home. Grandparents got her but then couldn't keep her safe from parents. SO we got her. Now, when kid is 13months old, two relatives are coming forward (since Jan, the plan has been family out of state but even they don't have all their ducks in a row though they passed homestudy required by our state). So baby is 13months old, in her fourth home, and will be going to absolute strangers (family members but strangers). Worse? My agency director talks about how whoever it is sending her back to us (sounds wonderful for us but *I* am worried about the kid!) because she's so high strung (sweet as all get out, but y'all've heard me ask for help regarding her SCREAMING!). This is attachment disorder in the making.

 

OR my other kids....8 cases in 5 years. HUGE family. Instead, the kids have been bounced around so have major issues because it took so long to get them permanency and they were in SO many places before they finally made it. They hadn't lived anywhere a whole year :(

Edited July 6, 2012 by 2J5M9K

[CalicoKat]

Hypothetical question here....

 

If children are removed from a home by CPS, can family members take in said children without a home study in place? (If they are like 2nd cousin related, but are known well by the children) If so, would a home study have to be done after placement?

 

If the initial police check on the family members checks out OK the kids could go to the family without a detailed home study. The training and such would happen then post placement.

 

If the family or a member of that family has a record (drugs or violence) they wouldn't be considered as a placement.

[FaithManor]

In Pa our experience has been that CPS just drops them off at your door and rides off into the sunset.

 

:D That's our county here in Michigan! I have no idea what the official state regs are, but this area is so unbelievably low on foster families that as long as you aren't Hannibal Lecter and are likely to "feed and water" the kids and make them go to school, they'll drop and run and never look back!

 

Faith

[Truscifi]

In FL a homestudy would have to be done, but it is not as long and involved for a relative/kinship placement. The goal is to do it the same day of removal to avoid even a short term foster placement, though that is not always logistically possible. I'm aware of them having been done in the middle of the night on an emergency removal, but in that case everyone, including the parent, was very cooperative and bent over backwards to keep the child with family.

[godsaggie]

We had this happen to us a few months ago. My nephew was removed from his mother's home by CPS and placed in an emergency foster home. We contacted CPS and let them know that we would be willing to take him. They brought him to us and gave us all the paperwork to fill out and gave us 60 days to become certified foster parents. This is how it works in Colorado. I'll keep you all in my prayers.

[Tap]

Are the children in the same state that you reside? If you have to cross state lines it can get very complicated.

 

DD5 (my great-niece) was in Oregon, we live just over the border in Washington. We had to go by both states laws....and due to a single word difference, we had to become a fully licensed foster care before we were allowed to have custody of her.

 

Oregon has both a foster license and a kinship license. The latter requires very little to receive and is basically just a stamp of approval on the abode. Washington only has a full foster license. They do not require a license for kinship care. Since Oregon's law says you have to have a 'license' to receive the kids, and since Washington only has a Full foster license, we had to get a full license to get the kids. :glare: Classes, home study, references, TB tests...the whole shebang! We had both Oregon and Washington case workers, but only went to court in Oregon. Luckily we are only 45 minutes from the county that had removed the baby or else we would have had to travel extensively for the numerous court cases.

 

I know families that were waiting for over a year to get the 'inter-state compact' done. Ours only took 3 months. We have had MANY caseworkers tell us that having custody in 3 months is unheard of when crossing state lines.

 

In our situation, we had her in our home after only 2 months because they allowed her to come for an 'extended visit'. LOL I found out later, that again, this is unheard of. LOL

[Tap]

Just wanted to add that if the Child is Native American there are a whole 'nother set of laws that are applied to the situation, and that the child HAS to be placed with family if one is available and it is an appropriate situation. There are federal laws that apply to NA children that makes it very hard for them to skip over family willing to take the child.

[Dobela]

It depends on the state. And how overworked the system is where you are. In my state, I have seen children go directly to relatives without any checks if no foster homes are available and the nature of the removal is neglect. Sometimes the children will go into a foster home and the family will have 2 weeks to get background checks and such completed.

 

If you are wanting to get prepared for the possibility, I would ask to start a homestudy and get background checks started. We had to do fingerprints, FBI, Child Abuse and Neglect... You can begin it in your county.

[Tap]

In your situation, I would contact Family Services and let them know you would like to get the process started. You may be able to find out if there has been a file started on the family. If they won't tell you, due to confidentiality, you can ask them to put your name down as a first contact placement 'just in case there is a file that he state can not tell you about.' We did this for another nephew that is in the system. We knew he had a file already, but they added us as a emergency contact for placement. Oregon foster care is so overwhelmed that they were Very happy to have a family member willing to take a child.

 

When we got our foster license, we had them approve us for more children than just the one niece we were expecting. We also only had us put in system as "family only care", so we would not be asked to take other foster children. We were expecting to end up with our nephew at some point, but so far the dad has remaining 'minimally adequate' so we haven't needed to step in. Having the house approved for more that only the one child we were expecting would have made us an immediate first choice for the other child.

[Momling]

In our county in Oregon, kin (and kith) placements are really common. I think the birth parents and social workers sit down and construct a family tree and list of family friends and start calling. It's considered ideal to keep the child in a situation that allows them to be around family or family friends. The relative foster care providers get a temporary foster care license following a quick background check. Later, they have to go through the training. They are held to a "minimal standard" of safety, unlike community foster care providers who have more stringent requirements. For instance, I believe they can actually have been convicted of crimes (some certain crimes, obviously not all crimes) and be smokers or not meet income levels or have a medical marijuana card.

[frugalmama]

We're in this boat too with my niece and nephew who are in a neighboring state. We don't know if they have a CPS case or not, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. Right now we're still in the boat of having not heard from her or my neice & nephew in nearly a month as she changed all her numbers :glare:

 

In your situation, I would contact Family Services and let them know you would like to get the process started. You may be able to find out if there has been a file started on the family. If they won't tell you, due to confidentiality, you can ask them to put your name down as a first contact placement 'just in case there is a file that he state can not tell you about.' We did this for another nephew that is in the system. We knew he had a file already, but they added us as a emergency contact for placement. Oregon foster care is so overwhelmed that they were Very happy to have a family member willing to take a child.

 

When we got our foster license, we had them approve us for more children than just the one niece we were expecting. We also only had us put in system as "family only care", so we would not be asked to take other foster children. We were expecting to end up with our nephew at some point, but so far the dad has remaining 'minimally adequate' so we haven't needed to step in. Having the house approved for more that only the one child we were expecting would have made us an immediate first choice for the other child.

 

How does one go about contacting CPS to be put down as a contact for placement, especially if it's in another state? Do I call CPS in the county they live in or can I just call the main state agency?

 

Are the children in the same state that you reside? If you have to cross state lines it can get very complicated.

 

DD5 (my great-niece) was in Oregon, we live just over the border in Washington. We had to go by both states laws....and due to a single word difference, we had to become a fully licensed foster care before we were allowed to have custody of her.

 

Oregon has both a foster license and a kinship license. The latter requires very little to receive and is basically just a stamp of approval on the abode. Washington only has a full foster license. They do not require a license for kinship care. Since Oregon's law says you have to have a 'license' to receive the kids, and since Washington only has a Full foster license, we had to get a full license to get the kids. :glare: Classes, home study, references, TB tests...the whole shebang! We had both Oregon and Washington case workers, but only went to court in Oregon. Luckily we are only 45 minutes from the county that had removed the baby or else we would have had to travel extensively for the numerous court cases.

 

I know families that were waiting for over a year to get the 'inter-state compact' done. Ours only took 3 months. We have had MANY caseworkers tell us that having custody in 3 months is unheard of when crossing state lines.

 

In our situation, we had her in our home after only 2 months because they allowed her to come for an 'extended visit'. LOL I found out later, that again, this is unheard of. LOL

 

Do you have any advice for someone dealing with the across state lines bit? We're dealing with OK {kids residence state} and TX {our residence}. Are there websites out there that help with this issue?

[Tap]

We're in this boat too with my niece and nephew who are in a neighboring state. We don't know if they have a CPS case or not, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. Right now we're still in the boat of having not heard from her or my neice & nephew in nearly a month as she changed all her numbers :glare:

 

 

 

How does one go about contacting CPS to be put down as a contact for placement, especially if it's in another state? Do I call CPS in the county they live in or can I just call the main state agency? I would call CPS in the county they are in to get put on the file (if one exists) and your local CPS to get the ball rolling on getting background checks etc. If your local office isn't helpful, ask about becoming a regular foster family and start that process instead. You can always decline children being place in your care after you get the license....you won't be forced to foster outside the family.

 

 

Do you have any advice for someone dealing with the across state lines bit? We're dealing with OK {kids residence state} and TX {our residence}. Are there websites out there that help with this issue? I would call the office in the county the children are in and start there...then talk to your state as well. Start trying to fufill both states requirements, so you have as many ducks in a row as possible. YOu may not need all the steps for a kinship placement as you will with traditional foster care, but it can't hurt to be over qualified.:D Ask both states aboug the process for an 'interstate compact' worker (if they have one who specializes)

 

 

It is a hard road to go down...if you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

There is some information here

Edited July 7, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap

[Pamela H in Texas]

Texas believes in true kinship placement so once they do the background check, you're good. So find out what OK does in regards to kinship.

 

The other consideration is logistics as the great majority of cases will have a goal of reunification (RU) with parents. If you take physical custody, then how will maintaining the relationship with parents look? If you do NOT take physical custody during the RU period, you want to make sure you have a relationship with the child somehow. Visits as reasonable, gifts (practical, family-related, etc as caseworker deems appropriate would be good here though of course you'll send kiddie things too), send necessities through caseworker (unless foster parent will allow; either way DOCUMENT), etc.

 

And at some point, there is best interest of the children. Sure, we want kids to stay in their birth families, if possible. But sometimes (especially when crossing state lines because it often happens so late in the case and often takes a *really* long time), I think that goal is misguided. A child who has spent most his life with a foster family, who has jumped around a lot, etc, may be best served by remaining in the foster-adopt home or going to another person they know well instead. Many times, these people are well aware that family members didn't cause the issue at hand and will be happy to do an open (to some degree) relationship. Of course, many times, though tough, a kid can move and because of the great care he got in fostercare he has the ability to attach, learn, etc. Being in a good home means he'll transition to a new home just fine. But I think it *is* a consideration to be had. I have seen plenty of 11th hour family come forward for different people as well as dealing with our baby's current situation. I wish the birth family would have done different from the get-go and would rethink their current requests for the best interest of the CHILD.

Edited July 7, 2012 by 2J5M9K