|
sarahbethsmommy is right; none of us knows. Probably every person who administers the laws and rules in CA or any other state has a different take on what they mean...
That said, as I understand it, CHINS in our state is kind of the flip side of taking a child into protective custody--it is used when the CHILD is dangerous and "in need of services"--too young to put in prison, too young to commit to a mental health institution for criminals. Usually end up in RTC until age 16 or 18, then a determination is made. If there is no conviction for a crime,...they often get discharged. That is another story for another thread. Anyway, it is the route for this situation here, but the child has to be proven VERY dangerous--if social services is content to put Matthew in a group home (who is he molesting there, I wonder?), then that part might be hard to prove. The only other route is to have ample dx and rx for RTC, then plead guilty to neglect (that is, neglecting to pay $120K/year for RTC because Medicaid does not pay for RTC here), getting a finding of "true" to that, and losing your rights and all the consequences that fall out of that. Sometimes families have to go this right even if the child is CHINS. I know a woman who was forced to do just that a few years ago. The school district now pays $300K/yr for her son's really special RTC. Heaven help us all when he turns 18.
But that is our state, not yours.
My only thought is that perhaps your mother can file for a fair hearing with social services or file an appeal or hearing before a judge so that she can bring what she has--including ample documentation of Mattew's issues, psychiatric reports, dx, and rx for RTC, even a medical narrative if she can pay for one--and explain the problem. It seems as if the subsidy should be reinstated, payable to the state--kind of silly, out of one pocket and into another, but there you are. Anyway, without a court hearing, my fear would be that she will simply go round and round with administrators forever, piling up who knows what kind of penalties or missing deadlines for a fair hearing or an appeal and really be stuck.
Good luck, it sounds horrible.
|