Santa Clara County foster-care court struggles to adjust to kids' larger role
After years of being largely left out of proceedings that decide their fates, more children are now joining the flurry of parents, attorneys and social workers churning each weekday through the Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency Court.
For the better part of a year I have tired to gain custody of my great nephew, Bruce. I thought that I had won when a court order was issued giving me, the biological Aunt, the right to take him back to Idaho. The foster Family Ken and Margret Jones filed a grievance with Department of Social Service to stop his movement. According to Malaika Mukuyoma (California Case worker), she had no idea what to do or how to proceed. Instead of following through with the court order issued December 13,2007 by Commissioner McCarthy , Malaika chose to ignore it and see what the office of DCS decided to do. .
ReplyDeleteSince when did foster parents gain more rights than birth families, and since when did DCS have right to play with families hearts and souls as if they have no cares in the world.
Since when did DCS become a place for childless couples to gain free adoption of our children that have a loving biological family willing able and ready to raise them.
This week a judge in Santa Clara County gave perfect strangers custody of an infant when there were blood relatives, approved by both states, that were willing to take him in and provide him with an extended, and happy family of people to whom he was related. The State of California has stolen a member of my family; going against the wishes of his parents. Please help me bring him home, I don’t know where else to turn. The legal system has failed me, and I have spent my life savings fighting for him.
Mona Weeks
Twin Falls Idaho
I am sorry to hear of your struggle. Yes, the child is worth about five thousand dollars a month to Santa Clara county, in California. As family you are only intitled to $468 dollars of it a month/child, the rest is kept by Santa Clara County. If you are a non relative you can get as much as $648/month (before you adopt them). If your child has a sibling it is considered special circumstances (and if you are a non relative) you can receive as much as $1203 (post adoption), or more/month per child...
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely KIDNAPPING in my book. I adopted two sibs (a boy and his half sister) both with ADHD and one became diabetic one, at age eleven... The social workers didn't think it was necessary to tell me the birth mom was mentally ill and had hep C. Thank goodness both of my children checked out not to have Hep C. I choose to keep the birth mom in their lives because I felt it was crappy what happened to her. She did not want to loose her children but was mentally ill. I felt it was in their best interest to continue seeing the birth mom as they were ages 2 and 3 yrs old when I got them.
I hope you get this resolved because I had two boys before this and their birth relative did get them. I fought for them but as a birth relative she had preference of the courts. Not sure what happened to your case but I do wish you the best. BTW, I do see my other foster kids on a regular basis and have become best freinds with their aunt who adopted them. We even go on family vacations together. Our story isn't a typical one and we had a happy ending, hope yours does too.