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"foster parent legal rights" is unfortunately an oxymoron!!! At least in our state! I hope your state is better.
I know of cases where foster parents have had children for years but couldn't adopt because birth relatives were priority!I And of course, the birth relatives did not have to meet the normal standards or criteria for an adoptive family!
I also know of a foster family (caucasian) here that received a foster baby straight from the hospital ( 3 days old caucasian/aa). They had the little girl for 8 years and they were the only family this little girl had ever known. AT 8 years of age the little girls' parents' rights were terminated ( year was 1994). The foster parents asked the worker how they could start the adoption proceedings. the worker sid they couldn't because they needed to look for African American or biracial family! Never mind the foster parents had been the only parents she ever knew and never mind they had 2 adopted AA children. The foster mom contacted an advocacy group for help and the next day received a call from th eworker that the little girl had been picked up at school and moved to another foster home. The worker told the foster mom to put the liilte girls belongings on the porch and someone would pick the items up. They never even got to say goodbye and haven't heard a word since! WOW--- no one seemed to care about the child's best interest! They hope the little girl remembers their name and will search for them!
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