GAL overstepping his role?

[GrandmaOH]

Then you have nothing. What your doctor says about you does not apply to him. A GP is not qualified to make the decision.

And since his current doctors have not been fully informed about his issues, and have not even interviewed us, they can not declare us unable to care for him.
Our psychological evaluations found us quite capable of caring for a teen with his problems. The fact that we had a licensed counselor before he called CPS to complain, and we hired a psychologist and made app'ts before CPS took him indicates we took action.

CPS response was to move him, lost his licensed counselor, cancelled the psychologist we hired, neglected to get him to a counselor outside of a hospital setting for 2.5 months, AND placed him in the first foster home without informing them he was a suicide risk indicates CPS is not able to care for him. They are not willing to get him mental health care more than weekly counselor visits. BTW, I'm aware some counselors are better than psychologists when it comes to talk therapy, but the psychologist is licensed to diagnose, a counselor is not. On top of that, he's now being taken to a place that uses college students under the supervision of a licensed counselor.
He is not being seen by a psychiatrist regularly, they use a GP to renew his prescriptions, one that they just call and get the prescription refilled. As of 2 weeks ago the GAL was still trying to get the records from his counselor at the group home transferred to the current counselor. He was moved out of the group home on Feb 21, so 2 months after being moved records are not transferred. I see that as another 2 months wasted by CPS in getting him help. I still don't know if they are watching his risk for diabetes. The combination of increased risk due to genetics and the meds put him at about a 50% chance of developing diabetes. I did see a picture of him taken about a month ago, he's gained a large amount of weight. That is an alarming indicator but with the lack of consistant supervision and informed doctors, I doubt anyone is checking his blood sugar. When I raised my concerns with CPS in January the CPS director blew me off saying, "we let the doctors decide those things".

I raised my concern with the GAL after that, I don't know if anything was done, I learned the meds hadn't been changed as of Mar 11. I maintain we are more capable of caring for our GS than caseworkers who see him once a month and place him in care of people who are not informed about his false claims.

 

[Ladyback1]

You have made your mind up that you and you alone are the best placement for the child, and that CPS and the GAL have failed him.

Frankly, in order to determine if CPS and the GAL have failed the kiddo, I would have to look at his case file. Your version of the story is just one side of the story.


I agree there are kids out there who are so manipulative and mentally unstable, that the OP's story is perfectly plausible and believable. I have worked with "troubled" teens in the past.

OP, if you feel so strongly about the alleged mishandling of your GS case, do you have an attorney to go to bat for you? If not, I highly recommend you find one, and have the attorney light a fire under CPS in order to get the kiddo the treatment/placement he deserves.

 

[Ohiogal]

We've not been allowed to speak to his current doctors. His family doctor, our minister & his wife(one phd, the other a licensed counselor), and the psychologist who did our psychological evaluations all say he should be returned to us. They all say we are fully capable and have been the only stablizing influence in his life.

There is a restraining order regarding speaking to his current doctors? If not, why haven't you been allowed? Who has NOT allowed you? If CSB, have your attorney file for an order in court allowing you to speak to his doctors.

 

[GrandmaOH]

There is a restraining order regarding speaking to his current doctors? If not, why haven't you been allowed? Who has NOT allowed you? If CSB, have your attorney file for an order in court allowing you to speak to his doctors.

No restraining order regarding speaking to his doctors. When I've found out who they are in the hospital because my insurance was paying them, they refuse to discuss GS with me because of HIPAA laws and CPS placed him and didn't give them authority to speak to me. He wasn't seeing a counselor until January after they cancelled the psychologist I had arranged. CPS did not/would not give me counselor's name and paid her through Medicaid. He was moved the end of Feb and started seeing a new counselor in March. Our lawyer has her contact information and exchanged it with the family counselor I have lined up, expecting them to arrange family counseling. That has not happened. Our lawyer filed a month ago to get GS's school and medical records. We got the psych eval and that's it.

The intake caseworker did not talk to us before filing the complaint. The ongoing caseworker refused to listen to anything we told him because "that's not his job, he had to go by what the intake caseworker said". He left and there was an interim caseworker starting March 4th. She did nothing. A new caseworker came on about April 4th. She talks like she has seen kids like our GS before. Unfortunately she doesn't call us back within the timeframe she promises either.

If I don't get answers from the caseworker tomorrow then I'll ask our lawyer to get a court order for me to speak to his doctors & counselor. It's pure BS but his current placement is a maternal great-aunt who never saw him before, he was there less than 3 weeks and the doctor doing the psych eval interviewed her!

The last I spoke with the GAL, he was still trying to get the records from the counselor GS saw between Jan 1 and Feb 18th and send them to the counselor he started seeing in March.


____________________________

Tues morning. I got hold of the caseworker. I got the typical "I'm busy" response. She is meeting with the GAL today to try to arrange a meeting for all of us with GS. It won't be this week because she is busy. GAL has a history of cancelling meetings and rescheduling for weeks later, so I don't have any hope for this meeting to take place any time soon.
I sent her a list of questions by email so she can get the answers. Our lawyer had previewed and edited a couple questions last week. I cc'ed my lawyer. I did ask her to check to see if GS has been to a psychiatrist to have his meds checked per the psych eval recommendations. She does not know, so if she hasn't told the foster family to do that, who would? Psych eval recommendations were available to the GAL 5 weeks ago, I presume CPS also had them at that time.
She does not know if I can talk to GS's counselor, she has to ask her supervisor.

Another question re:GAL. He prepared a report, our lawyer got to see it but we haven't been allowed. I heard a few things that he included in the report and what I heard was false or incomplete. For example, GAL stated GS started 'cutting' 6 months before he really did. I can easily prove that is not true because he was taking swimming lessons, going swimming at 3 different camps, and swimming regularly at another grandparents house during that time. One of the incomplete reports was friends & family he interviewed, he reported them saying GS was disrespectful to me but neglected to say they thought I addressed it appropriately with GS. Our lawyer said it's not submitted in court, so not to worry about it. What's the point of him doing this report if it's not used?

 

[GrandmaOH]

Caseworker called today. A meeting is set for the 15th. GS will NOT be there because this meeting will be to get the caseworker up to speed on the case, at least from our viewpoint. She spoke with GS 2 weeks ago. GAL will be there, & I sent notice to my lawyer that she can be there, too. Our son, GS's dad, will be there as he is willing to take custody back but currently lives with us. I've invited the maternal stepgrandmother because she was as close to GS as I, and can refute GS's stories.

GAL told caseworker that GS won't be at any meetings/family counseling until he wants to be. I told caseworker that our lawyer said the 'no visitation' order on me does not apply to family counseling that would include me. I also said the GAL's actions are preventing CPS from fulfilling the caseplan. Caseworker is going back to GAL on this, and also said the child does not get to dictate what he will and won't do.


A side-note, GS first threw his fit when he thought I was going to send him back to school 'T'. He thought claiming abuse would get him out of our house and the first caseworker promised he'd go to a foster family that would keep him in school 'S'. That did not happen and after multiple placements he is back in school 'T' and even if he came back home he would stay in school 'T'. School 'T' is our home district, school 'S' was under open enrollment. School 'S' will not take him back. Anyway, all his manipulations have been so he wouldn't be in school 'T'. From all appearances he is now trying to go the truancy route and be placed in an alternative school. I still don't have his prior school records from after he was removed from us, but in the current school he has missed 25% of the days enrolled, and if you add in the vacation days CPS approved then he's missed 33%. Ohio does not allow vacation days to be excused absences. This is just another example of what he is willing to do to get his own way.

 

[GrandmaOH]

Which is why I said you cannot manage the child and therefore should not be given custody. This seems more about you than about him. You should be making whatever decision will get him through school and to adulthood. Even if it means someone else being in charge.

You seem to be confused about who is managing him now, and in whose care he is failing school and dropped all extracurriculars.

 

[Proserpina]

You seem to be confused about who is managing him now, and in whose care he is failing school and dropped all extracurriculars.

Look back a little bit though - you've had him for 9 years, and his grades are dropping - it's possible that you'll get the blame for that.

 

[GrandmaOH]

Look back a little bit though - you've had him for 9 years, and his grades are dropping - it's possible that you'll get the blame for that.

His grades only dropped after CPS took him. When they took him, he was mad about being told he was being restricted from friends parties because he'd lied about doing his homework. Even with some missing homework he had nothing less than a B. It wasn't the missing homework as much as the discipline was about the lying.
His behavior got really bad 5 weeks after they took him, 11 days after the caseworker took his phone and he had absolutely no contact with friends or family.
His overreaction about the discipline does point to a mental disorder, but I didn't think it was major depression like the emergency room doctor diagnosed. The symptoms we saw just didn't fit. That's why I selected a psychologist for his counseling needs at that time. A psychologist is licensed to diagnose disorders. The psych eval he finally got after 4.5 months did not point to major depression, although it did diagnose an eating disorder that was never in evidence in our care.

I am really concerned about his disinterest in any of his activities he's always enjoyed. That happened after the first foster home. Or maybe it happened in the first foster home and that's why he tried his first overdose.

 

[Ladyback1]

His grades only dropped after CPS took him. When they took him, he was mad about being told he was being restricted from friends parties because he'd lied about doing his homework. Even with some missing homework he had nothing less than a B. It wasn't the missing homework as much as the discipline was about the lying.
His behavior got really bad 5 weeks after they took him, 11 days after the caseworker took his phone and he had absolutely no contact with friends or family.
His overreaction about the discipline does point to a mental disorder, but I didn't think it was major depression like the emergency room doctor diagnosed. The symptoms we saw just didn't fit. That's why I selected a psychologist for his counseling needs at that time. A psychologist is licensed to diagnose disorders. The psych eval he finally got after 4.5 months did not point to major depression, although it did diagnose an eating disorder that was never in evidence in our care.

I am really concerned about his disinterest in any of his activities he's always enjoyed. That happened after the first foster home. Or maybe it happened in the first foster home and that's why he tried his first overdose.

You know that Emergency Room Drs. and other medical professionals are licensed to diagnosis disorders as well, right??

All of this because he lied about one homework assignment (and was according to you, was still pulling a "B")? I got to ask, what exactly was the punishment?

And seriously? You don't see his disinterest, the slipping grades, the apparent suicide attempt, as significant signs of depression???

 

[GrandmaOH]

You know that Emergency Room Drs. and other medical professionals are licensed to diagnosis disorders as well, right??

All of this because he lied about one homework assignment (and was according to you, was still pulling a "B")? I got to ask, what exactly was the punishment?

And seriously? You don't see his disinterest, the slipping grades, the apparent suicide attempt, as significant signs of depression???

Yes, emergency room drs are licensed to diagnose and he was seen by a psychiatrist. However, he was seen during a crisis that has been viewed with skeptical eyes since that time, even the GAL says he doubts any suicide attempt at any time. GS denied any attempts at his first admittance.

He lied about more than 1 assignment and yes, he was still pulling a B or more in those classes. He's a bright kid and did not need to do homework to score well on tests, as long as he read the book or listened in class. But life requires you to do your homework.
He really fit in at the new school and had a lot of friends already there and got a lot more while there. He was invited to a party almost every Saturday. I had set a curfew of 11 pm at the start, he was not happy about that. The discipline was going to be no parties until interim report time, 4 weeks after grade cards came out. I'm not a hard-@ss about it, if there was a reasonable excuse for not getting it done, I would not hold it against him. But homework ALWAYS was to come first, then he'd have from 30 to 45 minutes of chores. The chores were related to the animals he had for 4H and FFA projects.

The disinterest didn't kick in until after CPS took him. He was active in 4H, FFA, Band, Boy Scouts, church group, and was going to do some other activities like Spanish club and wrestling. He held offices in the clubs, just had to do the reviews to achieve his Eagle rank, played several instruments and was awarded 'Superior' in band contests. He jumped in all those things again at his first foster placements but dropped them around the time he claimed his first overdose.

He slept and ate well at home. He got up easily and eager. The homework neglect was a long-standing issue. Like I said, he didn't need to do it to do well on tests so like many kids, he saw no reason to do it.

The counselor he saw at school did not see any reason to be concerned about major depression or suicidal ideation. If she thought he needed more counseling than he was getting, she would have told us.

I think one main reason he overreacted when he thought I was going to send him back to school 'T' was his first serious girlfriend. He was just 14 in July and was put in classes with Sophomores through Seniors because he was advanced. His girl is 16.

But when does CPS have the right to move in to take a kid? I know kids who've been in and out of hospitals even more than GS, they're still in their parents care. One of GS's old friends never had any indications of trouble, she hung herself in March; should her parents be punished for not seeing she was in trouble?

But this thread was supposed to be about a GAL who is getting in the way of CPS completing the caseplan to get GS to family counseling. He did nothing to force CPS to get GS to individual counseling or to get GS to more intensive counseling. He did nothing to prevent CPS from sending him to a group home for kids 1 step away from being in the criminal system.

 

[GrandmaOH]

Question for Ohiogal: Does the GAL have a duty to determine if the child he represents is telling the truth? For example, GS made claims he had been cutting for months, that can be easily disproven by the fact he was taking swim lessons, going swimming at 4 different camps, and swimming at his other grandparents throughout the whole time. There are others, but this one is important because GAL said I ignored this for months and did not do anything until CPS was called.

 

[Ohiogal]

Question for Ohiogal: Does the GAL have a duty to determine if the child he represents is telling the truth? For example, GS made claims he had been cutting for months, that can be easily disproven by the fact he was taking swim lessons, going swimming at 4 different camps, and swimming at his other grandparents throughout the whole time. There are others, but this one is important because GAL said I ignored this for months and did not do anything until CPS was called.

Taking swim lessons doesn't mean he wasn't cutting. The GAL does NOT have a duty to determine if someone is lying or telling the truth. They have a duty to do an independent investigation. Read Rule 48 of Superintendence through the Ohio Supreme Court to find out more about what a GAL is supposed to do, what they are responsible for, what training is required and other things. Also look at section 2151 of the ORC and read the section on GALs.

 

[GrandmaOH]

Taking swim lessons doesn't mean he wasn't cutting. The GAL does NOT have a duty to determine if someone is lying or telling the truth. They have a duty to do an independent investigation. Read Rule 48 of Superintendence through the Ohio Supreme Court to find out more about what a GAL is supposed to do, what they are responsible for, what training is required and other things. Also look at section 2151 of the ORC and read the section on GALs.

Thanks, I'll read those sections. I know he did talk to the grandparents where he swam all summer, but he didn't ask them about cutting. They told the GAL he was cared for and should be returned here.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Just an observation... But right now, the GAL seems to see you as opposing him, not being all about the kid. I've been lurking for a while, and it seems your strategy is not working for you.

I get that you're frustrated - it'd be hard not to be - but if a GAL gets the impression that you're adversarial, well...

The GAL is there to represent the child. Remember and focus on that. Stay calm, not combative.

Another observation... not everyone can be saved from derailing their life. If everything is as you have represented, your GS may be one of those kids. Maybe a little distance would be good. At least if he can't see you he can't make up imaginary stories about you abusing him. Right now... he clearly doesn't see that he is the one who has put himself in this place, that all the attention seeking behavior has garnered the wrong sort of attention.

 

[Ohiogal]

Just an observation... But right now, the GAL seems to see you as opposing him, not being all about the kid. I've been lurking for a while, and it seems your strategy is not working for you.

I get that you're frustrated - it'd be hard not to be - but if a GAL gets the impression that you're adversarial, well...

The GAL is there to represent the child. Remember and focus on that. Stay calm, not combative.

Another observation... not everyone can be saved from derailing their life. If everything is as you have represented, your GS may be one of those kids. Maybe a little distance would be good. At least if he can't see you he can't make up imaginary stories about you abusing him. Right now... he clearly doesn't see that he is the one who has put himself in this place, that all the attention seeking behavior has garnered the wrong sort of attention.

Actually the GAL does NOT represent the child -- at least not the child's wishes. The GAL's purpose is to make recommendations based upon the child's best interests and wishes. IF the wishes do NOT correspond with -- and conflict with -- the best interests, the GAL MUST file for an attorney to be appointed to represent the child's wishes.