[craftingmama]

is it typical to put in a case plan 'psych eval of parent?'

[carlychan]

Our birth mom had to have one. I could be required when there is known mental illness or something.

[birdiebabee]

Our kiddos BPs had a psych eval as did the 8 year old child and our 4 year old FS.

[CaddoRose]

yep. I've been able to read those psych evals too. Very interesting stuff. All parents of kids in foster care here, have to have one done. They take a while and include an IQ test as well.

[waitingtobeamom]

All of our kids birthmom have had to have them done too!

[amy_b]

Yep, our FD mom and dad both had them as part of their case plan. Then they both had to attend therapy.

[greenrobin]

Absolutely.

Every adult involved in our kids' lives had one--mom, dad, grandpa, great grandma.

Bubba had one. Sissy had a mini one. If they hadn't had it before, they had to have them for the adoption.

It's pretty eye opening stuff in there, too.

[craftingmama]

how much standing does it have in court?

[EandDmom]

They have ordered one for my fkids mom. They think she may be bi-polar. I am very anxious to see what they find out so far she hasn't taken it. I was told if they find a mental problem with her and she refuses to take medication for it (if available) then they can file TPR on the kids for mental abuse.

[Happywife]

Ours recently had one. It stated that she is not capable of caring for herself, much less a child. The JO, CW, and GAL think it will have a big influence in what happens with this case.

We got to read the entire report yesterday. Very interesting. It said which tests were administered and what they indicated. It was incredibly thorough.

[mrstkg1]

I will say that I have read several, and to be honest, I'm not sure any of us would pass with flying colors. Some of the ones I've read have taken some pretty far leaps, like "the respondent said her favorite color was black, indicating a possible fascination with death." I guess there is science behind it and I'm definately not an expert, but some of it seemed really far fetched.

My husband had to have one during his custody fight for his kids. Some things were accurate and other things were waaaay off. So, I would take them with a grain of salt.

[greenrobin]

Our kids' family's evals were very much used against them in court. It might depend upon which way it comes out--maybe prosecution wants it, maybe defense.

And like the pp said, the evals are just odd. I hate that they can say people show a strong indication that they could be physically abusive to the children.

Heck, I would probably show a strong indication of losing my mind on most days, but for now I'm still standing. It kind of reminds me of that Tom Cruise movie where he was going into the past to arrest people for crimes they might commit in the future which was his present.

Yeah.

I know that most of our kids come from not very good home circumstances. That's why we have them. But the point is supposed to be to help the families get them back. If, and it's a big if, the report is used to tailor services to improve their skills and circumstances, test away. But if they're only being given to prove what evil people they are, then I have a real problem.

Sorry for the hijack. Stepping down from the soapbox now.

[AmahMama]

Psych evals didn't seem near as popular several years ago. I'm thinking that, because of the media coverage on disasters involving families, the 'system' is using every tool much more than historically. I'm rather ambivalent on the use of them... I don't like the idea of being 'charged' for something I may have the ability to do... because I may also have the stregnth not to do something that I know is wrong. Just because someone has an issue - does not mean it cannot be overcome. That is what makes us humans. And it happens all the time... we hear miracle stories all the time... Thank God!

But yes, it seems as tho' they are requiring and using them much more often than they used to.