[oliviasmom2be]

Does anybody know how long the parents have to appeal the termination of reunification services? Do they have to appeal prior to their TPR hearing or does the TPR hearing get pushed back if they appeal right before? Our TPR is scheduled for September (4 months to the day from terminating their reunification services). I tried calling my social worker but she is BUSY! I just want to be sure that the TPR date won't be affected when their appeal is turned down (cautious optimism!). Thank you for ANY and all responses.

[ckh8456]

Hang in there because there will be continuations if the BP's attorneys are doing their jobs. We have adopted twice thru Ca Dept of SS(LA Co.)and the time frame was very close. First of all when reunification is term. it does not mean the BP can't see the child anymore, they still have visits, it just means the State or Co. is no longer offering them services. In our case Reun. services term in @5/04(the children had been in the system 2 years by then)TPR was set for @9/04 and was continued twice until 1/05 at which time the atty's for the BP requested a trial which was set for 2/ 05 at which time TPR took place, the paperwork then has to go to Sacremento which took 3 months to process so now we are in 5/05 not until that paperwork returns do they process adoption placement paperwork. Our adoption finally took place in 11/05.
We had a completed home study, We saw their photos 11/03, they processed our match in 7/04, we started visiting in 11/04, we attended EVERY COURT HEARING(this is very important) even if we had to stay in the waiting area( for the first 2) we made sure the Judges Baliff knew we were there on that case so the Judge would know if they term the BP someone was waiting for the child. (SW's don't tell them) We ATTENDED ALL THE HEARINGS ON OUR FIRST ADOPTION ALSO. She entered the system in Jan.at 6 months old. In our home in June and 2 years later after many continuances the adoption was final.
I know it is hard to wait but hang in there.
I am adopted and am the proud mother of 4 adopted children.

[oliviasmom2be]

Thanks for the reply - I knew they got to continue with visitation and although it's not my favorite thing, it's not a big deal. I hope, beyond hope, that they don't get continuances that last that long. But, whatever happens, happens for a reason. - right? Can I ask when you started to feel confident that it was just a matter of time before the adoption took place? I'll keep posting updates as they happen. Thanks again, Tiffany

[ckh8456]

1. When they lost at trial
and 2. when
I knew the Judge was on our side and she was not going to allow any more lost time,but, I don't think you really feel ok until the adoption day.
We had one failed attempt in between our adoptions because the Judge was so on the side of the BP that she allowed re writting of reports from Counselors and over 1 year of continuances. She finally gave the children back to the father. It was very sad because you knew they would be back in the system soon but we were then out of the loop.
I don't know what Co. you are in but some are not in any hurry to finalize the adoptions, co's get alot of money for kids in the system and things seem to go slow.
I have been asked by many people in the system and the legal prof. how we were able to get things to move at a steady pace, you just have to stay on their case, I left a message a week and if my SW didn't call me back I left it with their supervisiors and on up the chain, don't give up, its not your job to make their jobs easy its your job to advocate for your child.
If you saw Primetime live last Thurs night about Foster Children we were on of the families shown.
Good Luck, Take breaks for yourself because this is very stressful. People don't realize what it is like to live in limbo until they have been there.
Keep us informed, Carolyn

[oliviasmom2be]

carolyn, Thank you so much for your reply. You worded it perfectly - it's hard to live in limbo. I read too much into every move the birthparents make and if I'm not doing that, I'm looking up case law and statistics! UGH! We are in LA county - Monterey Park Court. How about you? The judge was supposed to be very pro-BP but ruled against both of them at the last hearing so.....we'll see. I did find out that if they appeal the termination of services, the appeal will be sorted out prior to September 12. So the TPR date stands unless they win their appeal. On a good note: I just received a letter from DCFS saying that her case is moving to adoptions and they assigned me a worker. One small step for us. The new worker is wonderful - she already called me to introduce herself. We have a finished homestudy and I will have NO problem calling as much a necessary to get the ball rolling should it start to stall. Thank you again for your encouragement. I look forward to posting good news! Fingers crossed. Tiffany

[corazon]

We have a TPR hearing in September...the services were terminated 5/16 after a very long trial. We have great lawyers and that has really helped. I know people have mixed feelings about hiring a private attorney but, my hubby and I couldn't have navigated through the system without them! Thankfully the judge is on our side and it looks really good. People ask us, "well, now can you breathe easier?" and we always say "not until we finalize!" Most of the time I don't think about it...it would drive me nuts!

[straightblues]

I have had my 3 foster children for 13 months now. We were told that the TPR would take place within two months of placement and that they would be adoted by 6 months.

We had 4 hearings that were suppose to be TPR's. Finally at the 4 hearing I hired an attorney and am a glad to say the court TPR'd just 3 weeks ago.

The parents have already filed an appeal. There are no longer any visits or phone call. Wow, I didn't realize how much these phone calls and visits were destroying our sanity. We now have our large part of our lives somewhat back now!!! We still don't feel safe and won't until the apeal is heard and denide.

We were approved as an adoptive home last August. It has been a horrible wait and I feel for everyone who has gone through this. I really wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy. You are in LIMBO and it won't change until adpotion is finalized or they take the children from you. It sucks!!!! I still believe that the rewards will be worth it as long as you don't let the journey destroy you and your partner's relationship. This one has been hard. The realtionship between my wife and I has been stressed to the near breaking point by this. We have been married for 10 years and this has by far been the worse year of our lives.

It sounds like you are still handeling it well. Hang in there, pray and hope. Please consider hiring an attorney of your own. It will help and give you a voice.

[morandi7]

In my situation, the birth parents had 60 days to appeal TPR. Even if they appeal, the likelihood that TPR would be overturned is extremely low. It usually only delays things. They would have to have been denied visitations or something major in order for it to be overturned. Good luck. Lisa

[straightblues]

Originally Posted by morandi7

In my situation, the birth parents had 60 days to appeal TPR. Even if they appeal, the likelihood that TPR would be overturned is extremely low. It usually only delays things. They would have to have been denied visitations or something major in order for it to be overturned. Good luck. Lisa

In California that is correct. They have 60 days to file an appeal to the TPR. But then the court takes weeks or months to put together all of the documents from the case and get them to the parents new appeals attorneys. Then the appeals attorneys review the files to determine if they believe that there is a legal basis for an appeal. If they think there is, then they agree to represent the parents in the matter. If the state hired appeals attorney doesn't think there is a legal basis for the appeal, then the parents can go hire there own private attorney to take up the case.

My attorney told me to be patient and wait, but be prepared for a potentially very long (up to two years) wait. Most don't go anywhere near that long (60 to 180 days is the norm) but they could.

Again, this puts the fost/adopt family in further limbo.

[morandi7]

Our case with our daughter went like this:

Taken from b-mother and placed in foster care on date of birth
Transfered to Adoptions December 2, 2005
Placed with our daughter (2 months old) December 5, 2005
TPR March 28, 2006
Appeals period up May 28, 2006
We filed our petition to adopt papers on June 20, 2006
Our finalization hearing is on July 21, 2006

So, it can happen to go smoothly - it is possible! Keep your chin up! I hope your case goes like clockwork too, but even it doesn't, don't stress too much. I know another family who had to wait for many months because the b-father appealed everything, but they did finalize. It just drags things out.

Lisa

[knudsons]

We are in this boat also only we are interstate adopting and San Bernadino won't place until TPR is finalized. TPR hearing is July 27 and ** has already hired a private attorney to contest

[kennasmom]

Shelly, Best of luck. I can't believe you have to wait for TPR to happen before they place. Ugh! Our lawyer definitely made me realize what an uphill battle it is for the BP's right now. Once the courts order a .26 (TPR hearing) it's almost impossible for the BP's to do something to change the outcome. So, our attorney put my mind at ease but I'm now going into visitations with a different attitude - feeling badly that this woman who gave birth to our blessing of a baby will soon be told that she can't see her again. It's a true rollercoaster of emotions. Keep me updated! Tiffany

[knudsons]

Tiffany could you pm me with what attorney you used and about what you had to pay for services. I am going to start making some calls in the morning to see if that could help straighten things out.

[Mommajanet2006]

I'm In LA county the reunification services were terminated in July. Now the BP's have disappeared. Does anyone know how this delays tpr. I thought we were doing TPR on 11/9, now I find out that maybe it's not TPR. My boys CSW is a moron, so I can never find out what is going on, and he has caused delays in paperwork because he doesn't understand how file the correct way. I have my CSW working at double checking him so that we don't have anymore cancellations due to misfiled paperwork. Does anyone know what else I can do to get the ball rolling? They all say don't worry, but until the ink is dry saying the boys are mine forever, I'm not willing just to go through life hoping for the best. Any suggestions?

[Momoflele&bernie]

Well for me....The Serives were Terminated on August 31...The TPR court date is four months from them. Right now im fostering through an agency and i told my worker that i would love to adopt them. Now all i have to do is make sure that the County worker knows this and so that she can start building my case. Im not to sure of the system and i really dont know what to do....its like im left in the dark...and suggestions...