Frustrated in southern Illinois

[illinoisgranny]

Hi, I'm from southern Illinois, in Madison County. I have had my grandson as a relative foster child for 20 months. At the end of June we finally got to a TPR hearing, but the judge didn't approve the TPR.

I am really frustrated because it took so long to get to this point and now don't know what to expect.

My grandson came home from the hospital with two huge bruises over both eyes. My daughter swears to this day that it was an accident and he did it to himself while having a temper tantrum.

During this entire 20 months, I was never sent notices of court dates. My caseworker would tell me when one was scheduled but always told me to stay home.

I did as she asked. I'm wishing I had gone to every one of them now. In our county, foster parents are not allowed in the courtroom and are made to wait in the hall.

I have also never seen the guardian ad litem and only found out who she was after calling the Office of Inspector General. In Illinois we are supposed to get one face to face meeting a year with the GAL.

Because I'm a relative, even the 15 of 22 months rule doesn't apply to our case.

I'm hoping for an end to this mess and wondering if anyone out there has gotten to a TPR which was denied. What happens now? How long will we have to wait until a final decision is made?

I'm so tired of caseworker visits, many of which are unannounced, and want to have a life without all the intruson.

[sesa70]

Im sorry for your frustration. I can only imagine how complicated this must be for you!

We used to be foster parents (for about 5 years and also in Illinois) so I can understand the helpless feeling. I think it was a good first step to contact the GAL. I would suggest calling him/her asap, so that they know you, hear your concerns, and can hopefully give you some sort of information. The GAL is supposed to be representing the best interest of the child, so you might get a better idea of their long term goals if you speak directly to them.

Good luck!

[illinoisgranny]

I did contact the guardian ad litem and she seemed rather put off that I called. I told her my grandson needs permanency and she said that it's up to the judge. I asked if she would like to meet with me and my grandson and she said it wasn't necessary. The gall of these people! We're supposed to have a face to face interview at least once a year with the GAL and have not even laid eyes on her.

I decided to contact the Office of Inspector General and that got the ball rolling a little bit more. They contacted our area DCFS and got them involved in the case. The local DCFS supervisor called me this morning. She said she's going to follow the case, which was handed off to a private agency which I won't name because of forum rules. She has already called our new caseworker and told her that she would contact her at least once a month. Her hopes are that the outcome for the case can be converted to KinGap. KinGap is the Illinois plan for subsidized guardianship. I don't think the agency will be able to sit on the case like they've done to date anymore.

They're motivated for the $4000 adoption bonus they get when a child protection case gets moved to a final adoption and they don't want to go the subsidized guardian route because that wouldn't put any money in their coffers.

It's sad to say but it is true that some of these private agencies are out to make a buck off the hardships of children. I was told about this problem when we first got switched to the private agency and didn't believe it, but now I see that it's true.

[marsupial-mom]

Off topic, but whose brilliant idea was it to name a program kingap? Sounds too much like kidnap to me. Eeek!

[illinoisgranny]

I don't know who did that! It's really subsidized guardianship and is available to relatives who are licensed foster providers. It's the only option I've heard to get out of this system of craziness.

[Katrinaquerida]

It sounds like you have lots of experience and background knowledge that at least helps you navigate the system. Hang in there!

[illinoisgranny]

I will definitely hang in there because I love my grandson. I don't know how foster parents who do this for multiple children over many years deal with the stress. I have much more admiration for them now after the months we've spent in this process. The sad thing about it to me is how common these long stays in foster care really are. Children need permanency and this whole system needs to be overhauled nationwide to give all children a quicker transit through the massive red tape and judicial backlog.