Hi. I am a foster mom in Indiana. My husband and I have been doing this for two years.
Something has recently come to my attention that you need to be aware of. There is a bill in the State House that has passed and is now headed to the Senate. It is called HB1001. Basically, the proposed law requires the Juvenile Judges to follow the recommendations made by the Department of Child Services. If the Judges do not follow the recommendations than the Judge would be ordered to give an explanation why and then the County would be responsible for any costs.
What does this mean?
Judges are going to be strong-armed into doing whatever the County office (Dept. of Child Services) recommends. We all know that the county's goal is reunification, and many of us have seen that goal take priority over what is best for the child. Not all the time, but they have a job to do, ya know? If the Judge decides to make a ruling against what the county recommends, then he has to take the time to submit in writing his reasons for going against the county office. I have worked around attorneys enough to know that the courts are overwhelmed with caseload and the Judges do NOT have the time to do all this extra paperwork. They were hired (voted into office) to do a job, one that weighs what is right and just, and now that power is going to be taken away from them and given to the county office??? This is really scary people-
What can we do???
This has already passed the House and is in the Senate. Everyone please contact their senator and voice your opinion. You can find how to contact the Senator by going to AccessIndiana at this link:
http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/
you can read the bill (it's long) by going to this link:
http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2006&session=1&request=getBill&docty pe=HB&docno=1001
And if you do not live in Indiana, please pray- this could catch on and head to your state next.
V8Momma