My grandkids

[rudypoo98]

I live in Gentry County Missouri.My grandkids were taken by DSS .My daughter wants them placed in my home.The caseworker has a personal vendetta against me because I told her the lies need to stop and the truth be told.She has beeen telling people that I am crazy.What can i do about this with no money for a lawyer?

 

[CSO286]

I live in Gentry County Missouri.My grandkids were taken by DSS .My daughter wants them placed in my home.The caseworker has a personal vendetta against me because I told her the lies need to stop and the truth be told.She has beeen telling people that I am crazy.What can i do about this with no money for a lawyer?

well, I rather doubt you'll get placement. If the caseworker doesn't feel you will be able to work with the agency, then you are out of luck.

 

[theSquidNYC]

Try asking DSS to change your caseworker. Make sure they know that you would like to be a resource for your grandchild. Send them a dated letter saying so, and keep a copy for yourself.

If that doesn't work, go to the family court and file a custody/visitation petition. While grandparents usually have no right to do so, when DSS removes the children from the home, most states, if not all, must inquire about all 'kinship' resources before they can place a child with a nonkinship foster. Its called a 'diligent search.'

Also, make sure you attend all of your daughter's court dates. The family court judge may ask whether any other family members have come forward to take the child, and you can present yourself then. DSS will then have to do a home study, so make sure your home is neat and your fridge and cupboards are full!

 

[theSquidNYC]

Try asking DSS to change your caseworker. Make sure they know that you would like to be a resource for your grandchild. Send them a dated letter saying so, and keep a copy for yourself.

If that doesn't work, go to the family court and file a custody/visitation petition. While grandparents usually have no right to do so, when DSS removes the children from the home, most states, if not all, must inquire about all 'kinship' resources before they can place a child with a nonkinship foster. Its called a 'diligent search.'

Also, make sure you attend all of your daughter's court dates. The family court judge may ask whether any other family members have come forward to take the child, and you can present yourself then. DSS will then have to do a home study, so make sure your home is neat and your fridge and cupboards are full!

 

[CSO286]

Try asking DSS to change your caseworker. Make sure they know that you would like to be a resource for your grandchild. Send them a dated letter saying so, and keep a copy for yourself.

If that doesn't work, go to the family court and file a custody/visitation petition. While grandparents usually have no right to do so, when DSS removes the children from the home, most states, if not all, must inquire about all 'kinship' resources before they can place a child with a nonkinship foster. Its called a 'diligent search.'

Also, make sure you attend all of your daughter's court dates. The family court judge may ask whether any other family members have come forward to take the child, and you can present yourself then. DSS will then have to do a home study, so make sure your home is neat and your fridge and cupboards are full!

Have you ever participated in a home study? Because those two things you mention--they aren't all that high on the checklist.

Sure, DSS will want to seee a home that isn't "dirty", but a messy house isn't a black mark. Lived-in is expected. And making sure the cupboards and fridge are full? Again, that's kind of ridiculous.

If there are only one or two people in the home, why would the cupboards and fridge need to be "full"? My fridge has a gallon of milk, a package of chicken breasts and a container of spinach in it right now. Seriously. (Unless LittleCSO made a salad, then it just might have a gallon of milk in it.)

I stole this from a website, but here is a summary of a Home Study from someone who has been through two. I wouldn't expect it to take quite a long for a relative placement, but you can expect any/all of the following:

A home study is a thorough investigation, for lack of a better word, of your home, family, relationship, and more importantly, to determine what “type” of child would be the best fit for your family. You will fill out countless papers, answer questions that you don’t think have anything to do with raising a child, and have virtually every part of your life probed. Following is an explanation of some of the paperwork and questions you will have. Hopefully, this will help you understand the process a little better.

•Background checks
The agency will conduct criminal background checks on each of your family members. Children over the age of 10 are included in this. This check will be looking for major criminal violations, and any history of domestic abuse, battery, alcohol problems, etc. This is not to see how many speeding tickets you have.

•Employment checks
A reference request will be sent to your current employer, and possibly past employers, depending on the length of employment in your current job. They are looking for things like:

1.Dependability- do you show up to work, are you on time, do your supervisors feel that you are a good, and reliable employee?
2.Length of employment- how long have you been at your job? Do you change jobs often?
3.Stable income-Will you be able to financially provide for the child?


•References
You will be asked to provide references for the case worker to contact. These need to be people you have known for a while, and have insight into your personalities and/or parenting style. Ask them for permission first, and tell them when you have an idea it will be coming. These are lengthy forms, and will take them some time to fill out. All answers are confidential, unless your reference chooses to share them with you.

If you have older children who are out of the home, the social worker will contact them as well. They will ask about your parenting, how your child views your parenting skills, what methods of discipline you use, etc.

•Physicals
Each family member will be required to have a current physical, and have the results of that physical disclosed to the home study agency. This is to determine your medical ability to raise the child to the age of 18. Each person will also be required to have a tuberculosis test done.

If you have a physical or emotional disorder, or disease, you can still be eligible to adopt a child. It does not rule you out completely.

•Home visits
The worker from the home study agency will come to your house to interview you, and to check the capabilities of your house to handle the child. In states where you are required to be a licensed foster parent first, they will check to make sure that your home complies with foster home regulations. You may request a copy of those regulations from your state to make sure that your home complies.

They are NOT looking to see if you have dust bunnies under your bed, or if your home is spotless. Many parents spent countless hours cleaning. It’s OK for your house to be “lived in”.

During these visits, you will also spend time with the worker, who will be asking more questions. The worker needs to get a feel for your personality, your parenting style, and your expectations to better assess the type of child that will fit best into your home.

 

[theSquidNYC]

Of course I realize that the two items I mentioned are really the least of concerns in a home study. But because they are so minor, and easy to fix, I figured I should mention them. Plus, if the agency already has issues with the OP, she should make sure they have no pretextual reasons to 'fail' her on the home study. It wouldn't be the first time an agency has done that.

 

[Proserpina]

OP -

Why were the kids removed?

Where is the other parent?

Is there a reunification plan?

Kinship placement is never a guarantee - and even less likely if there is a risk that such a placement would expose the children to the same abuser (if abuse is actually the issue).