What are our rights as foster/adoptive parents?

Question

My husband and I was called to adopt a child. When his case worker and her supervisor came by with him we agreed to adopt. We were told at the time his mothers rights were being terminated and that he had no other family member interested in adopting him. He was taken from his foster mom after 1yr of living with her and placed into our home. She didnt want to adopt him so he had to be placed in an adoptive home. After going on several court hearing the judge okayed the mothers rights to be terminated. After 3 months i recieved a call from the case worker saying that he had a uncle in Detroit, we live in Louisiana, that was interested in family placement. the case worker stated that his worker before her didnt contact the uncle and he wrote a letter asking about the outcome of our sons case. What are our rights and what can we do about this? We have a seven year old that is so attached to him and we love him as our own. We shouldnt have to be punished for their job not being done right.

Answer 1

It isn't about them not doing their jobs.....unfortunately, they can't possibly contact ever extended family member...especially if the family member's wherabouts are unknown or out of state. It is a state run agency and there really isn't a whole lot of funding.

That being said, if the uncle shows interest, he must first petition to adopt, attend adoption courses and complete a homestudy. Afterwards, he could technically be considered for perm placement, though it would be a long shot given the time that has elapsed....one question would be why he has waited so long to make contact about interest in the child. Anyway, a state family judge would hear the case and make a determination for the child. Your child's guardian ad litem would be a good resource. I would think it unlikely that they place the child with a stranger after 13 months separation from his/her first family.....but stranger things have happened. Until the child is officially yours, you do not have rights to the child...and CYS makes all legal and placement decisions for the child.

Answer 2

Essentially, as I understand it, you have no rights in this case.  Family adoption (as long as the family member is qualified) takes precedence to non-family adoptions.  

The earlier worker should have done his/her job properly but as you can see now there is no way of knowing for sure that it was done until something like this comes up.  

If you have not formally adopted the lil one yet and you are just waiting for the process to play out it looks like it played out against you.  Part of the process is to ensure there are no family members available who want to adopt and it looks like there is now.  You will just have to wait to see what plays out and I wish you all the luck possible.  Just remember though, if you had adopted this lil one and then the family members came forward to complain they were never contacted and the first worker didn't do her job right you could have found yourself in court at that time fighting to keep the adoption you already thought was completed.  Its a hard situation for all I'm sure.

Answer 3

While you are right it is not fair for you to be punished for the worker's mistake, the law is set up so that all relative placements must be explored before putting a child for adoption. Now, just because the uncle is interested doesn't mean things will work out with him, the case worker will still have to go through the process of assessing theadequacy of the uncle's home and doing all the background checks on teh uncle and other members of his household. Even assuming all that is good, they should still have to go to court and have a hearing about modifying the child's placement from your home to the relatives home. At that time you can argue your case about why you believe it would be damaging for the child to be taken out if your home, his pre-adoptive home; and make sure your case worker knows about your concerns as well. In the end it will be up to the judge to decide what is in the child's best interest. Good luck with everything and sorry to hear about this potentially devastating situation for your family.

Answer 4

They don't contact or 'try' to find extended family members. You really don't have any rights as you are not a blood relative.  It is a sad situation, but if the uncle is found to be fit as a parent, then he should be given the chance to raise his nephew.

Answer 5

You have none.  If he goes to live with his kin, I hope you will always have a place in his life as a kind of extended family.  I hope this can be worked out amicably for everyone - particularly for the child.