Fostering Update: Adoptions and Court

All three social workers came by this morning (our licensing social worker, Aaron's social worker and Baby Girl's social worker). I found out that Aaron and Baby Girl's cases will be taken to Adoption Committee together on July 28th or 29th. That, of course, is contingent upon Baby Girl's Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) case being heard on July 23rd. If all goes well on the 23rd, her case will be approved for adoption along with Aaron's.

After Aaron's case goes to adoption committee I will meet his social worker at the clerk of court and file all the paperwork needed to legally change his name and make him an official Beaver. Then they hold the paperwork for 10 days (just some rule they have) and file it all after the 10 day mark. Once it is filed, he is legal! Woopie!

Baby Girl's case will not move so swiftly. When and if her case is heard on the 23rd the DSS attorney then has to draft the TPR petition. That petition goes to the judge that heard the case. Once that judge signs the petition Baby Girl's birth mother has 30 days to file an appeal. Now, don't think that drafting the TPR petition and the judge's signature is a quick thing either. I've heard of it taking as little as 6 weeks and as long as 2 years. (Yes, the 2 years was an exception, but it has happened in our county. SO frustrating!)

30 days after the judge has signed the petition, and if birth mother does not appeal, then Baby Girl would be legally free for adoption. All that would be left would be meeting the social worker at the clerk of court once more and then the 10 day waiting period (that is assuming that we were approved for her at adoption committee).

Whew! I inteded for this to be a quick update, but I guess when you have so much red tape, you're dealing with the legal system and when you are referencing adoptions, quick posts are an oxymoron.