[Joei_in_NJ]

Hi All

I have a question regarding bonding studies. After how long in care with one foster parent? can a foster parent request one? Has anyone rquested one when their fc was about to go to TPR?

Thanks! Jo

[Joei_in_NJ]

thanks guys - I was hoping someone would share their experience

[stevenstwin]

I hope you get some responses - I just don't want you to feel ignored! I really don't know, though - I always thought bonding studies were initiated by case workers to assess the bond between the bios and the children, or sometimes to help in deciding whether to go RU or TPR. I've never heard of a foster parenting requesting one, and I'm not sure what good it would do, depending on what you are thinking of doing with it. In other words, even if you went to court to say "I have a completed bonding study that shows the kids are very, very bonded to my family" I don't think that would carry any weight against the bio family. Not sure how to phrase what I mean, but it goes to that old idea that the courts do NOT decide if the baby would be "better" off with bios or fosters, but just if the baby will be safe and healthy with bios.

[Joei_in_NJ]

I apologize for being a baby - thanks Stevestwin - like I posted on the NJ board I was asking because a new coworker - who is also a new foster parent has a 3 year old who she has had for the last 3 months and she was told that they were going to have a permanency hearing and bring up TPR- and she wondered if she had to ask for a bonding assesment or if they would give one automatically. She has tried reaching out to her RFW and still hasn't heard anything. Thanks again

[hkolln]

I don't have any experience having one done but the attorney we used in Idaho while going thru the process of getting our daughter here said we should think about getting one done. But, he did say it could backfire on us if we don't show as bonded as the FP's did. Luckily we didn't need one but he suggested we think about it if we needed something to show our bond with her.

I hope you get some response. I'm sure someone here has had to do one.

[stevenstwin]

Originally Posted by Joei_in_NJ

I apologize for being a baby - thanks Stevestwin - like I posted on the NJ board I was asking because a new coworker - who is also a new foster parent has a 3 year old who she has had for the last 3 months and she was told that they were going to have a permanency hearing and bring up TPR- and she wondered if she had to ask for a bonding assesment or if they would give one automatically. She has tried reaching out to her RFW and still hasn't heard anything. Thanks again

I don't think they are done automatically; from what I can tell on here, only a few people have been involved in bonding assessments. In my own case, they DID do a bonding assessment on the parents, but did NOT do it on either set of foster parents (we had the 14 year old and someone else had the 2 and 3 year olds).

[mamachell]

I looked into getting one but I think these are usually initiated by the court or cw. I have heard that the court may order one to assess which party the child has more of a bond with: fp's or bioparents. So, the psychologist (or professional) could have a few sessions with the fp(s) and then with the bp(s) and give an opinion of who a child is more bonded with.

If I fp really thought one was needed they could pay for one for themselves but they are fairly expensive ($800-$1000) and the court may not give it as much weight since they initiated it. Perhaps the best thing would be to see if the GAL/fc's attorney could request one.

The other thing is that at TPR they are really looking at the fitness of the parent to be able to parent their child so I don't know if it's even an issue to bring up bonding at the TPR.

[mamachell]

Here's some more info on bonding studies in general. It's from Bonding Assessments

You may be able to call this office and they might be able to refer you to someone locally who can conduct one of these studies.


Q:
What is a Bonding Assessment?

A: In situations where child protection agencies, attorneys, or courts need feedback in deciding whether to work toward a return of custody – versus exploring options such as guardianship, change of placement, continued foster placement, or adoption – psychologists often complete what is termed a “bonding evaluation.” A bonding evaluation is a specialized type of assessment whose goal is to determine the nature and quality of the child’s attachments to birth and/or foster parents, often to address the question of who occupies the position of greatest centrality in a child’s emotional life. This is roughly equivalent to determining which adult(s) serve as the “psychological parent” to the child. While mostly conducted in the context of child welfare cases, bonding evaluations are also used in divorce and custody cases, particularly if there are questions about the bond and relationship between a young child and a parent.

While each evaluator may conduct a bonding assessment in different ways, there are common themes. Typically the evaluator pays close attention to certain characteristics between the parent and the child such as:

• The frequency and nature of touching between parent and child as an index of comfort level;
• Comfort seeking and guidance seeking behavior by the child;
• The capacity of the parent to engage the child effectively and to respond to the child’s expressed needs in an appropriate manner;
• Whether the parent and child make eye contact and smile at each other;
• Whether the child displays signs of upset if a separation occurs during the session;
• How the parent responds to the child’s signals of hunger, thirst, want of comfort, or need to use the bathroom;
• Whether the child is willing to explore the environment while the parent is in the same room.

[Withay]

...has a 3 year old who she has had for the last 3 months and she was told that they were going to have a permanency hearing and bring up TPR- and she wondered if she had to ask for a bonding assesment or if they would give one automatically.

I wouldn't think that a judge would think that a 3 year old child who has been with a foster family for 3 months would have more of a bond with them than with anyone else, bio-family or other foster family. What I have heard in the past is that a bonding study being done would not even be considered in this case.