2669 ParentsGuide

8/10/2019 2669 ParentsGuide

1/34

A PARENTS GUIDE TOCPS and the COURTS

How it works and how youcan put things back on track


2/34

W e hope that this handbook w ill be easy for you to use.

You ca n either read through the w hole thing so that you have an idea ofhow the w hole system w orks O R you can just look up the inform ation youneed at the m om ent.

To find inform ation about a certain hearing or topic, look at the nextpage. W eve m ade a list of the m ain topics covered in the handbook andw ha t page you should look at for tha t inform ation.

Rem em ber, any suggestions m ade in this handbook are just tha t. Youneed to do w ha ts right for you and your children in the best w ay tha t youcan.

W e hope tha t your experience w ith the system is, in the end, a helpful

and supportive one.

H O W Y O U C A N U SE TH I S H A N D BO O K


3/34

Check This Out:One Parents Experience Dealing with the System . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Heres How the Court System Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

When Do You Go to Court? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

What Happens When You Go to Court? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

How Do Court Orders Get Made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Different Kinds of Hearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Detention Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Jurisdictional Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Dispositional Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Whats Reunification? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Review Hearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16When do review hearing happen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

What Happens if

You Successfully Complete Your Case Plan . . . . . . . . . . . .18

What Happens if

You Dont Successfully Complete Your Case Plan . . . . . . . .18

What is a Permanent Plan and What Does it Mean? . . . . . . .19

What is a .26 (Two-six) Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Long Term Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

H ERE S W H AT S I N TH I S H A N D BO O K


4/34

Legal Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

PPH Reviews (Post Permanency Hearing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Other Words Youll Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

388 Petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23387 Petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

CASA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Settlement Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Mediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Dismissal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Exit Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

When Your Child Comes Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Your Rights as a Parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27


5/34

Check this out

I am w riting this because I w as a parent in the system and I w ant to help you

understand w hats up w ith the court.

If youre like m e, w hen you first com e to court you feel scared. Your child has been

taken from you. You dont know w hen youll see him or her and w hen they are

com ing hom e. You dont know w hats going to happen. Youll hear lots of w ords that

you dont understand. So Im going to break it all dow n for you the best I can.

You m ight feel like people are looking at you like youre a crim inal. Youre not. And

you need to know this is not a crim inal court. Everything in the dependency court is

confidential unless you have a crim inal charge related to the C PS case. So let that

one go..this is not crim inal court and youre not going to jail behind it.

You m ay think that people think that youre a bad parent. Thats not w hat its about.

Its about w hat can help you deal

w ith all the stress of life so that you

can be there for your kids in the w ay

that youd really like to be.

Everybody has problem sdoctors,

law yers, everyonedont trip. Life

can really be too m uch and there are

tim es in everybodys life w hen they

just cant keep it together w ithout

som e support.

A PARENTS GUIDE TO THE DEPENDENCY SYSTEM BY SOMEONE WHOS BEENTHROUGH IT

1

If youre like me,

when you first come

to court you feel

scared.


6/34

W hen I first cam e in the system I kept everything a secret because I didnt w ant C PS

in m y business any m ore than w hat they w ere. The w orker never knew that I w as

getting beat up cause I w as afraid that they m ight keep the kids aw ay from m e

even longer. So I stayed in that

situation w ithout any help. It took the

3rd tim e of m y kids being taken for

m e to finally get the help I needed todeal w ith the m ain issues that kept

m e in m y addiction and in the

relationship w ith m y husband.

Looking back, I know I couldve

gotten m y kids back faster and not

have them taken again and again if

Id asked for w hat I really needed. It

turned out that I couldve used help.

There w ere m any doors of

opportunity there for m e, but I didnt

open them . Thats because I had a lot of sham e from C PS com ing into m y life to

show m e how to be a m other to m y kids. I thought I w as doing O K and it w as

em barrassing to have som eone from outside pointing fingers at m e and telling m e I

w as not doing O K. I already w as blam ed for everything by m y husband and now

C PS w as jum ping in on m e too. I had a lot of fear: fear that m y husband w ould

beat m e even w orse or kill m e and fear that I w ould never get m y kids back.

Then cam e anger. It w as a lot of anger at m yself for letting this craziness go on. I

also had a lot of pain at not being there for m yself or m y kids. Som etim es the anger

can go tow ards C PS or the w orker but its really about the anger at your w hole life.

Looking back, I

know I couldve got-

ten my kids back

faster...if Id asked

for what I really

needed.

2


7/34

You know , I could just sit there and think about doing som ething different in m y life

and still not do it. Its very hard to have a plan to change things w hen you dont have

anyone to give you that support (and m ost tim es theres som eone trying to get in your

w ay). Som etim es this can get you so m ad and discouraged to the point you cant

do it even though you w ant to. You need to reach out for help.

And thats w hat I finally did. W hat m ade m e do the right thing the last tim e is that I

w as tired. I w anted a new lifefor m yself. W ell, I did it!! I

changed. I stopped thinking

about w hat I didnt do and

started thinking about w hat I

can do. And it w orked.

I w ent through the system 3

tim es because I didnt take

care of w hat I needed to take

care of. I really put m y kidsthrough it and m e too. I hope

that you can learn from m y

m istakes. M aybe you can

also learn from w hat I finally did that w orked. Take w hat helps and leave the rest

alone.

Youve got to figure out for yourself w hat youre w illing to give up or not. The choice

is yours. But once the court is involved, you have to decide w hether youre going to

m ake this system w ork for you and your kids. You can play the gam e or you can

really deal w ith the deep stuff that needs to com e out in the light.

3

I stopped thinking

about what I didnt do

and started thinking

about what I can do.

And it worked.


8/34

There is hope! M y w hole fam ily is m essed up behind drugs and the life so I had no

support. If I could get clean and stay clean, leave an abusive relationship, get m y

kids all back w ith m e and now have a good job theres no reason you cant do it,

too.

So, take advantage of the

things you think w ould be

helpful to you.let yourw orker know w hat you think

w ould be useful to your and

your kids during this hard tim e.

Keep focused and dont let

yourself get distracted w ith the

hurt, anger, guilt, or w hatever

it is thats eating you up.

4

So, take advantage

of the things you think

would be helpful to

you


9/34

5

The most important things you can do

Let the w orker and your attorney know right aw ay about any relatives or other

people w ho can take your kids if they cant stay w ith you. That w ay you m ay

be able to keep your kids in the fam ily.

G et your visits set up and m ake all your visits. Its im portant to your kids and

to the judge.

Keep in touch w ith your attorney

W ork w ith your social w orker and keep in touch

G et into the program s youve been ordered to attend. If its not w orking,

call your attorney or social w orker right aw ay.! D ont just get up and leave!

M ake an appointm ent right aw ay w ith the Fam ily Law Facilitator so you dont

get stuck on child support

If possible, keep in touch w ith your childs caretakers. D o everything you can

to m ake it a positive relationship. It w ill help you and it w ill really help your

kids get through this.

Tell your attorney if you, your child, or your childs other parent m ight be an

eligible m em ber of an Indian tribe.


10/34

When do you go to court?

If your child w as taken from you (this is som etim es called rem ovedor detained)

the social w orker w ill tell you w hen to com e to court for the first hearing .

After the first hearing you w ill be m ailed a paper that tells you the next tim e you need

to go to court. That s w hy its im portant to m ake sure the court has an address w here

you know youll get your m ail. You can alw ays give the court a new address if you

need to.

The first tim e you com e to court the judge w ill give you an attorney if you cant afford

one.

Its really im portant that you com e to court or the judge w ont hear your side of things

and could think you dont care about your kids. If you ignore the court your child

could be adopted by som eone else.

You should receive a report w ritten by the social w orker before each court date. Ifyou dont get it before the hearing, call your attorney right aw ay so you can see it!!

You should alw ays talk w ith your attorney before every court date, anyw ay.

If you dont agree w ith w hats in the report you should call your attorney as

soon as possible and go to the court date; If the court doesnt know that youre

com ing, you m ight have to com e back on another date. So, be sure to let

your law yer know ahead of tim e so the court w ill be expecting you. Tell your

law yer to call the social w orkers law yer so that the social w orker w ill com e

to the hearing, too.

If you agree w ith the report, or if you just dont show up, then the court w ill

usually m ake orders that are recom m ended by the w orker in the report.

6

H E RE S H O W TH E CO U RT SY STEM W O RK S


11/34

What happens when you go to court for the hearing?

You should com e a little early for the hearing because you have to go into the

courtroom and check in w ith the C ourt O fficer. Then you need to w ait in the hallw ay

until your case is called. W hen your case is called you go into the courtroom w ith

your attorney and all of the other people in your case. Usually, the social w orker w ill

be there too.

The C ourt O fficer, w ho is a social w orker, w ill start the hearing by calling the case.

She or he tells the court the nam e and num ber of the case and then lets the court

know exactly w hos in the

courtroom w hose part of your case.

The law yers w ill let the court know

their ideas about the case and

som etim es there w ill be w itnesses

w ho w ill testify.

Som etim es the court w ill have som any cases it w ont have tim e to

give your case the attention it needs

on the day you com e to court. If

that happens the court w ill pick

another date for you to com e back.

This is called a continuance.

You should ask your lawyer before you go into court what is going to happenbecause every time you go to the court it will be a little different.

7

You should ask

your lawyer

before you go

into court what is

going to happen.


12/34


13/34

Although each hearing is a little different, there are som e things that are the sam e:

1. Before EVERY hearing is a good tim e for you to talk w ith your law yer and

the child w elfare w orker about w hat you think could help you get through all

this and w hat you think your child needs, too.

2. Like I said before, you should receive a court report before each hearing

date;

3. You should talk w ith your law yer BEFO RE each hearing date to talk about

w hat the report m eans and if you need to com e to court;

4. You should com e to court for EVERY hearing unless your law yer tells you that

you dont need to com e.

Heres the run down on the different kinds of hearings inthe system and what theyre for.

Detention Hearing

If your child w as taken from you (som etim es called detained) your first court date

w ill be the detention hearing. This hearing is only for fam ilies w hose children w ere

taken from them . W hen you com e to court you need to go into the courtroom and

check in. TH IS IS N O T A C RIM IN AL C ASE.

W hen you go to the court hearing you w ill get an a ttorney that the court pays for,

like I told you before. H e or she w ill give you a piece of paper to read. This is called

a Petition. The Petition w ill have a list of things that are num bered, like A-1 or B-1.These are called allegations and they say w hat the w orker thinks is going on w ith

you and your kids.

9


14/34

If your child has been taken from you, the court w ill decide at the first hearing w hether

your child should go hom e right aw ay or not. This is the first tim e the court w ill be

asked to m ake sure that your kids are safe. Its also the tim e that the court w ill m ake

orders about w hen you can visit your child and w here.

It is very, very, very important that you com e to this hearing so that thecourt hears w hat you think about:

W ho your child should live w ith, if they cant be w ith you right aw ay

(bring nam es and phone num bers of people you w ant them to stay

w ith) and

H ow often you should visit and talk w ith your children

Since this court date happens right after your child is taken from you, the court w ill

m ake another tim e to take a closer look at w hats happening. The next 2 dates in

court w ill be very im portant because thats w hen the court w ill decide w hether or not

your child needs to stay in the system and w here your child should live.

Thats w hy, as soon as court is over

you should talk w ith your social

w orker right aw ay so you can

know w hat you need to be doing

for the next court date. IT IS REALLY,

REALLY IM PO RTAN T TO START

DO IN G TH E TH IN G S TH E

W O RKER SUG G ESTS RIG H T

AW AY. It w ill m ake a big

difference in how soon you canget out of the system .

10

At the detention

hearing, the court

will decide whether

your child should go

home right away

or not.


15/34

Be sure to talk w ith your attorney after the hearing, too, so you can ask questions

about w hat happened in court. Dont feel stupid for having questions. The system is

very confusing and its hard to understand, especially if youre stressing.

If your child is going to be out of your care, this is also the tim e to go to the Fam ily

Law Self H elp C enter (its free and right in the courthouse). They w ill help explain to

you, and help you w ith, child support questions. Its really im portant to take care of

this as soon as possible!

Jurisdictional Hearing

If your child w as rem oved from you, the next tim e you com e to court the judge w ill

decide if the allegations in the Petition are true or not.

If your child is at hom e w ith you, this

hearing w ill probably be your first

tim e in court. Like I said before, the

first tim e you com e to court you w illget an a ttorney that the court pays for.

Youll m eet your attorney before the

hearing. She or he w ill give you a

piece of paper to read. This is called

a Petition. The Petition w ill have a list

of things that are num bered, like A-1

or B-1. These are called allegations

that say w hat the w orker thinks is going on w ith you and your kids.

W hether your child is living w ith you or not, if the judge decides any of theallegations are true, and your child isnt safe, your child w ill becom e a dependent

of the court. That m eans your child is in the system . Being in the system does not

11

Being in the system

does not necessarily mean that your child

will live with

someone else.


16/34

necessarily m ean that your child w ill live w ith som eone else. It only m eans that the

court is allow ed to m ake orders about your childs care.

If the judge decides none of the allegations are true then the case w ill be dism issed

and youre finished w ith the system . This court hearing is called a jurisdictional

hearing.

A lot of tim es it happens at the sam e tim e as the dispositional hearing. Ill explaindisposition next.

Dispositional Hearing

If the court has taken jurisdiction its because the court believes that your child w ould

benefit from your handling som e things differently. At this hearing (called the

dispositional or dispo hearing) the court w ill decide w hat things you should do to

m ake things better for your fam ily and your child. (Som etim es the dispo hearing

happens the sam e tim e as jurisdiction).

What Will the Court Do at the Dispo Hearing?

D ecide w here your child should live (this is called placem ent)

Should your child live w ith you or w ith som eone else?

If your child does not live w ith you, w ho should the child live w ith?

D ecide w hen, w here and how you can visit w ith your child

D ecide w hat services m ight help you to m ake your child safer

D ecide w hat services the D epartm ent should provide for your child

12


17/34

Bring the nam es and contact inform ation of any relatives or other people you think

could possibly care for your children.

I know it can be hard to tell people your business, especially fam ily, but it could keep

your kids out of foster care. Its the social w orkers job to call them and do a

background check, so its a good idea to talk to your relatives first to ask them if

theyre interested in keeping your kids.

If your child is ordered to live w ith som eone else (this is called out of hom e

placem ent) you w ill need to take care of som e things to have your child returned to

you. Those things are called reunification requirem ents. They are the things like

attending a drug program , parenting

classes, counseling, etc. This is also

called a case plan.

If your child is living w ith you (this is

called in-hom e placem ent), you w ill

need to take care of som e things toget out of the system . Those things

are called dism issal requirem ents.

They are the things like attending a

drug program , parenting classes,

counseling, etc. This is also called a

case plan.

The case plan is the services the

court has ordered you to do. If you

dont do them , the judge w illprobably think its not safe for your

child to com e hom e or to dism iss

your case if your child is already at

13

If your worker

referred you to a

program and it isnt

working, DONT JUST

QUIT..TALK TO THE

PEOPLE AT THE

PROGRAM AND TALK

TO YOUR WORKER.

Show that you are

responsible by taking

care of business.


18/34

hom e. Thats w hy its so im portant to talk to your social w orker w ay before you com e

to court. That w ay everyone w ill know your ideas about w hat w ould be helpful to

you and your fam ily before the judge tells you w hat you m ust do.

If your w orker referred you to a program and it isnt w orking, D O N T JU ST

Q U IT..TALK TO TH E PEO PLE AT TH E PRO G RAM AN D TALK TO YO U R

W O RKER. Show that you are responsible by taking care of business.

D uring the tim e your child is out of hom e, visits are very im portant. Be on tim e and

go to every visit. If theres an em ergency and you cant visit, be sure to call the w orker

ahead of tim e so that everyone know s w hy youre not visiting . This is really im portant

for your child, too. Your child w ill be really disappointed not to see you and needs

to know there w as a good reason you didnt visit. O therw ise, your child w ill think

its because you dont care about him or her.

If your w orker referred you to a program and it isnt w orking, dont just quit..talk

to the people a t the program and talk to your w orker. Show that youre responsible

by taking care of business.

I know it can be really hard to visit, know ing your child is going to get upset w hen

you leave. But you gotta do it. I cant tell you enough tim es that its one of the m ost

im portant things you can do. If you need help

figuring out how to help your kids w ith saying

goodbye after a visit, talk to your social w orker,

your law yer, or w hoever you trust.

The num ber one thing to get your kid back is for

you to take care of yourself by follow ing the caseplan and visiting your child. D ont be trippin ..

just do w hat you need to do.

14

...it can be

really hard to

visit...But you

gotta do it.


19/34

If your child w as taken from you som etim es the court w ill m ake orders for a

perm anent plan at this hearing. But this doesnt happen very often. W hats a

perm anent plan? Ill tell you in a different section.

Whats Reunification?

If your child w as taken from you one of the w ords you w ill hear a lot is reunification.

Like I told you, reunification has to do w ith getting your child back. To get your child

back you have to successfully com plete all of the reunification requirem ents that the

court ordered at the dispo hearing. Also, the court has to be sure that if your child

is returned to you, that he or she w ill be safe and w ell cared for. Successfully

com pletem eans you have to really pay attention and be involved in the program s

you are required to do. Its not enough to just show up. Actually, I found a lot of these

program s helpful. Since you need to go anyw ay, see w hat you can get out of it.

The tim e you have to take care of business is really short so you need to get on it

right aw ay. If your child is under 3 years

old you only have 6 m onths to be doingyour case plan. The Judge w ill only

continue to offer you the chance to reunify

if youre doing w hat you need to do. ITS

O N YO U !

Ask your attorney about all these rules

about tim e. They are really im portant. You

need to know that if you dont take care of

business your child can be adopted by

som eone else.

15

The time you

have to take care

of business is

really short so

you need to get

on it right away.


20/34

Review Hearings

D uring the tim e your child is in the system (w hether your child is living w ith you or

som eone else) the court w ill have a hearing every 6 m onths. Those court hearings

are called dependency status review hearings (som etim es called D SR). H eres w hat

theyre about.

Why is there a review hearing?

To m ake sure that you are w orking on your case plan

To m ake sure that the Departm ent has referred you to the services you need

to do your case plan

If your child is living w ith som eone else, to decide if your child can be returned

to you

If your child is living at hom e, to decide if the case can be dism issed

To m ake sure that your child is being w ell taken care of

When do Review Hearings Happen?

The first review hearing w ill be about 6 m onths after the dispositional hearing. O ther

review hearings w ill be about 6 m onths after the first one. The purpose of these

review hearings is pretty m uch the sam e: its to have the court decide if youve been

really w orking your case plan and if its safe for your child to be returned to your

care, or if your case can be dism issed (w hen your child is living w ith you).

16


21/34

If your child is not living with you (out of home) at the timeof the hearing, it can go three ways.

Your child could rem ain out of hom e and you m ight have another 6 m onths

to reunify; or

Your child could return hom e to you; or

The court can term inate your reunification services if youre not doing w hat

youre supposed to be doing. THIS D O ES N O T M EAN YO U VE LO ST

YO U R PAREN TAL RIG H TS. If the court decides to term inate your services it

can m ake w hats called a perm anent plan for your child.

So w ake up and do the right thing for your childs sake. Rem em ber youre not alone.

And stay focused.

If your child is living with you (in-home) at the time of thehearing, it can go two ways:

If you have successfully finished all of your dism issal requirem ents the court can

dism iss your case and youll be out of the system ; or

If the court believes that you have som e m ore things to do to get everything

together, the court can order that you have m ore services. Another review

date w ill be set for 6 m onths later to see how youre doing.

So w ake up and do the right thing for your childs sake. Rem em ber youre not alone

and stay focused.

17


22/34

What Happens if...Youre in Reunification and you successfully complete your case plan

W hen you finish the services the judge told you to do in the tim e youre allow ed,

your child m ay be returned to you, if the judge thinks its safe. The court calls this an

in-hom e placem ent. Your case w ill stay in the system until the court is satisfied that

everything is going w ell and that your child is safe at hom e. You w ill be able to show

the court everything is O K by com pleting your dism issal requirem ents. The court w ill

have 6 m onth review s every six m onths to decide if your case should be dism issed,

just like I talked about before. O nce the court is satisfied that everything is O K the

case w ill be dism issed. That m eans you and your child are out of the system .

As soon as the court sends your child hom e

you should contact the child support bureau

right aw ay so that you are not ordered to

pay child support anym ore. Ask your law yer

to help or go to the Fam ily Law Self H elp

C enter at the courthouse, w here they w illhelp you for free.

At the end of this handbook Ill tell you som e

things about reunification that I learned the

hard w ay. M aybe som e of it w ill be helpful

to you so that things can go m ore sm oothly

for you.

What Happens if...

Youre in Reunification and you dont successfully complete your case plan

If the court thinks that youre not participating in the services you w ere ordered to do,

or if tim e runs out in the reunification period, the court w ill order that the D epartm ent

18

Termination of your

reunification services

does NOT meanyouve lost your

parental rights, SO

DONT GIVE UP.


23/34

does not have to provide any m ore services for you. This is w hats called term ination

of services. You can continue in the services you w ant but the D epartm ent w ont have

to pay for them anym ore.

Do not confuse this with termination of parental rights! Term inating your parentalrights only happens if the court decides that your child should be adopted by

som eone else.

What is a Permanent Plan and What Does it Mean?

O nce the court term inates reunification services (this is only for kids living out of your

hom e) it m eans that the reunification tim e has ended and the court m ust m ake a

perm anent plan for your child.

Som etim es people get frightened w hen they hear the w ord perm anent. Even though

the court calls this a perm anent plan, som etim es it can be changed. But you need

to know upfront that its harder to have your kids returned to you after a perm anent

plan has been m ade. So, do w hat you gotta do upfront.

The perm anent plan w ill be either:

adoption;

legal guardianship; or

long term placem ent (foster care).

Adoption is always the courts first choice! Legal guardianship is the second choice.

19


24/34

What is a .26 (Two-six) Hearing?If the court stops your reunification services and the D epartm ent thinks that your child

should be adopted or in a legal guardianship, you w ill get a paper from the court

about another hearing. That hearing is called a 2-6 . (O n the court papers it looks

like .26 or 366.26).

At the .26 hearing the court can order a permanent placement that will be:Adoption;Legal Guardianship; orLong Term Placement

What is Long Term Placement?

Long term placem ent just m eans that your childs placem ent w ill continue in foster

care (its still called foster care even if your child is living w ith a relative). The case

stays in the system and the court w ill have review s every six m onths (called PPH

review s). Ill tell you m ore about that later.

What is a Legal Guardianship?

A Legal G uardian is like a substitute

parent. A Legal G uardian has all the rights

and responsibilities that any parent w ould

have taking care of a child. Your rights as

a parent are not terminated but are on

hold during the tim e the guardianship is in

place. U sually the case w ill be d ism issed

from the system and you m ay have certainvisitation rights w ith your child.

20

Your rights as a parent

are not terminated but

are on hold during the

time the guardianship is

in place.


25/34

Som etim es people get frightened w hen they hear that w ord perm anent. Even though

the court calls this a perm anent plan, a guardianship or long term placem ent can

som etim es be changed and your kids m ight be returned to you. Thats w hy its im portant

for you to continue to w ork on your case plan. But you need to know up front that its

harder to have your kids taken out of a stable placem ent to be returned to you after the

reunification tim e has passed.

What is Adoption?

This is w hen the court term inates your parental rights. That m eans that you are no

longer legally your childs parent: his or her adoptive parents are his legal parents.

N ot only that, your fam ily is no longer related to your child either, unless they are

related through som eone other than you.

There is one other thing you should know about adoption. It m ight be possible for

you to have som e kind of contact or inform ation about your child after the adoption

if the people adopting your child agree to w hats called a post adoption contact

agreem ent. But you need to know this does not happen in every case.

ONCE AN ADOPTION HAPPENS IT CANNOT BE CHANGED NO MATTERWHAT YOU DO! If your parental rights are terminated you need to let the child support bureau know right away so that you are not ordered to pay child support anymore. Ask your lawyer to help or go to the Family Law Self Help Center at the courthouse for help.

21


26/34

PPH reviews (Post Permanency Hearing)The court w ill have a hearing every 6 m onths after a perm anent plan is m ade for

your child. The hearing is so the court can (1) m ake sure that your child is getting

any help he or she needs; (2) m ake sure that the place w here he or she is living is

still a good place to be a t; and (3) m ake sure that the perm anent plan is the right

one and (4) consider visits w ith you, and w hether the case should be dism issed.

22


27/34

388

This is a legal paper (also called a 388 petition) to ask the court to change any

order already m ade by the court. Like, if you think that youve done everything you

w ere ordered to do, you can ask the court to return your children to you. O r if your

visits are supervised, your attorney m ight file a 388 to ask the court to change your

visits to unsupervised. Anybody in the case can file a 388 through their attorney.

387

This is also a legal paper (also called a 387 petition) to ask the court to change the

place w here your child lives because its no longer a safe place for him or her. O nly the

Departm ent can m ake this request. A 387 is only used to request the court to change your

childs placem ent to w hats called a m ore restrictiveplacem ent. This means if your child

is living in your hom e as a dependent, a 387 w ould be used to ask the court to place your

child out of your hom e. If your child is living w ith a relative, a 387 could be used to request

placem ent of your child in a foster care hom e of a non-relative.

CASA

A C ASA (C ourt Appointed Special Advocate) is a volunteer w ho is hooked up w ith

som e kids in the system . They get special training to w ork w ith children. They w rite

reports for the court that has inform ation they get from teachers, parents, the children

and other people. These reports help the judge m ake decisions that are in your

childs best interest. The law requires a C ASA volunteer to report any suspected child

abuse or neglect if it com es up.

23

O TH ER W O RD S Y O U LL H EA R


28/34

Settlement Conference

This is a tim e w hen you, all the other parties, and everyones law yers com e to court

to try to m ake an agreem ent. A ll of the law yers and the social w orker go into the

courtroom to talk w ith the judge to see if they can w ork things out. You have to w ait

outside w hile theyre talking.

Your attorney w ill com e out of the court to talk w ith you to see w hat you think about

the ideas that cam e up in the court. If everyone agrees, including you, the court w ill

order everyone to do w hat the agreem ent says.

If theres no agreem ent, the court w ill order everyone to go to m ediation or w ill set

a trial date.

Mediation

M ediation is w hen you, the social w orker, your childs other parent and all the

attorneys sit dow n together to talk about w hats w orking and w ha ts not w orking .

Som etim es other people m ight com e, too. For exam ple, your childs caretaker or other

relatives.

Each person has a turn to say w hats on their m ind about w hats best for your child.

The goal is to try to help everyone w ork together to m ake things w ork for your child

and you.

You w ill have a chance to help m ake that plan. A lot of things can get cleared upw hen everyone is included in the discussion. It can help stop the confusion.

24


29/34

Dismissal

D ism issal can go in a couple of w ays:

if the court orders a legal guardianship, the case is usually dism issed;

if your child is living w ith you or his or her other parent, the case w ill be

dism issed w hen all dism issal requirem ents are done.

Exit Orders

W hen your case is dism issed the court w ill m ake exit orders, if your childs other

parent and you are not living together. An exit order w ill include custody and

visitation orders.

There are tw o kinds of custody: one is called physical custody and the other is called

legal custody.

Physical custody m eans w ho your child lives w ith m ost of the tim e. Legal custody

m eans w ho m akes im portant decisions, like m edical needs, school, and religion.

Parents can share physical or legal custody. If you share custody its called joint

custody. Parents can also have w hats called sole custody.

You and your ex can m ake any com bination of custody agreem ents. For exam ple,

you can have joint legal custody w ith sole physical custody to you. O r you could

have joint legal and physical custody.

The w ay you and your childs other parent share tim e w ith your child effects child

support. This can all be very com plicated , so ask your law yer to break it dow n. Thats

w hat theyre for.

25


30/34

W hen you hear your kids are com ing hom e you feel a big relief. But w hat you need

to think about is how overw helm ing its going to be even if you just have one child.

Its been a w hile since you last took care of your child and its going to be different

because youve been through changes and so has your child.

Find out all you can about changes in your kids life like school stuff, counseling, and

behavior issues. A lso, w hat kinds of new goals does your child have and w hat

activities does he or she like? It w ill m ake things easier if your kid has the sam e

schedule in your hom e as he or she had w hile out of hom e cause theres no w ay that

a child can m ake such a big change w ithout that structure. If you cant talk to your

kidscaretaker, then PLEA SE get this inform ation from your w orker or your kidslaw yer.

If I had know n all this before m y kids cam e hom e it w ould have been a lot easier.

Expect challenges. You know youre going to get tested. This is because the kids have

been gone from hom e and its all about getting to know m om and dad all over again.

Think about how to p lan for them com ing hom e so you dont get overw helm ed by it

all. For exam ple, if you have m ore than one

child you can request that one or tw o com eat a tim e, not all of them at once.

G et a support system set up for yourself

before your kids com e hom e.

D ont forget that you should also let the child

support bureau know right aw ay w hen your

children are back w ith you so that the court doesnt keep ordering you to pay child

support. A sk your law yer for help or go to the Fam ily Law Self H elp C enter at the

courthouse w here they w ill help you for free.

W H EN Y O U R C H I LD C O M ES H O M E

26

Get a support

system set up for

yourself before your

kids come home.


31/34

Parents, be aw are that you have rights, and here are som e of them :

You have a right to a law yer. If you cannot afford a law yer the court w ill appoint

one for you; You have a right to be present and to participate in a ll court hearings;

You have the right to understand w hat is going on and w hat you need to do in order

to get your children back hom e w ith you and to get help w ith doing it.

O ne last thing to know : theres som etim es going to be som e different w ays the court

does things. This includes that the law s m ight change. This handbook gives you the

basics. The rest, dont trip, just ask your law yer to explain w hats up. And dont feel

foolish if you dont understand them insist that they explain it to you until you really

understand w hats going on.this is deep stuff and you need to understand w hats

happening.

I hope that this little book has been helpful to you. M y final w ords to you..Keep

focused, get back on track, and dont stress. Do your best and dont be afraid to

ask for help.

Remember, dont trip and do what you gotta do.

27

Y O U R RI G H TS A S A PA REN T


32/34

28

I M PO RTA N T I N FO RM A TI O N

My Attorneys Name:_______________________________________________

Phone number:_____________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

My Social Workers Name: __________________________________________

Phone number:_____________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

New Workers Name:_______________________________________________ Phone number:_____________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

Next Court Dates:__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Other Appointments:________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Things to Do:______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________


33/34

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

N O TES

29


34/34

2005 Reprint, 2nd Edition 2001 K. Harmon & N. McCarthy, San Francisco Unified Family Court

Documents

2669 ParentsGuide