[mbjones1972]

I was wondering if anyone on here knew how many times a child has to be removed before Marion Co. will stop place a child back in the home and TPR the parent!!!!! In our situation, the foster child is considered medically fragile/special needs and has been removed @ least 3 or 4 times for medical neglect and yet they keep placing the child back with bio. parent due to the fact that bio. has completed the services the court has ordered. But, I guess my point is just because the services have been completed doesn't mean that the parent can parent this child. Doesn't the track record indicate that ? When is enough, enough?????????

[po]

You are just getting started. We fostered for 21 years and had some of the kids for 4 years. I have watched how the kids were treated and am not impressed with the system. we have had kids put back that did not want to go back. Have seen kids try to hire a lawyer so they did not have to go back. watched them send the kids on visits to a home that had no door on the bathroom, no hot water, no stove. 5 teenagers and one was a boy. One girl even wrote to the judge asking to stay. They forced them all to go back and shortly after they started to run away. All have left now. I have seen them put kids back and have to live on the street. Do you really think that the system cares. They say they do, but when you have done this for awhile you can tell. In my county 2 years ago, living conditions was so bad for one family that the dogs were taken away and the toddlers left in the home. the toddlers had just been returned home from foster care so you know a cw had to have checked out the living conditions. Roaches were so bad that a year later the house was still condemmed. Animal feces was all over the carpet. Health dept. was involved and they could not believe that they removed the animals but not the kids. It had already been proven once that they were not being taken care of. We have really been disalusioned with the system. It does not matter what agency you are with, they all have to be accountable to the county DFC. The judge only knows what he is told and they only tell him what they want him to know. I had one judge tell me in court that he should have talked to me first that he could learn more by talking to me than the cw. That went over real well. We never got anymore kids from that county. They said they had problems with us as foster parents.

[Sonialei77]

I don't live in Indiana but did adopt two relative children who resided in Allen County and I can tell you that this is the reason the State has taken over cases.

And the sad part about all this is that they have no clue what they're doing! They made us jump through hoops for 3 yrs to get these kids out of foster care, even went so far as to get bio mom to voluntarily terminate rights promising to turn the kids over to me so they could be taken out of a dysfunctional foster home... 3 yrs is what it took them to do that, all the while the kids were being sexually abused, neglected, and denied medical care.

The state was given statements made by the kids when they arrived here but after so long, they threw the case out saying "cw believes children were abused, but the state finds no proof!"

The only thing I can tell you is that more people need to foster, and for the right reasons becuz I'm sure we've all seen foster homes who are literally falling apart and fp who don't care.

[lakin11]

I think it doesn't help when reports come out in the Indy Star among other reports that show IN has a high removal rate. There are just 'too many kids in foster care' in Indiana so the reports say. I know not ALL cases are going to lead to removal, but from our experience it has to be pretty bad for them to get off their tushes and remove here lately.

Seems to me we need to look at the bigger picture....what can we do to fix families before they come in to care? And what happens when you just CAN'T fix people who DON'T want help??? Why do they continually make the kids suffer just in case their bios decide to get it together?

It is frustrating, I hear ya!! Also agree, the judges can only make decisions based on what they know! If the CW's don't include all the information in the court report, then they don't know. Sadly, there are some CW;s who will misrepresent and yes, shockingly LIE in their reports.

I'm sorry for your foster child. I have a friend who works at Riley who gets sooooo mad b/c DCS pulls this all the time. Nothing is ever done.

[icekitty]

i am in marion cty and am currently going thru the same thing. reunification is the current goal, and mom is a registered sex offender. a violent one at that. the man my foster kid was left with may or may not be bio mom's "employer."

this kid obviously shows signs of sexual abuse and has told me several times that mommy and pop pop "touched his winky."

i am frustrated beyond believe and what i feel is a lack of a response in all this. i realize since he's so young, he may be confused over who did it, but i have a real problem at the idea that this person after committing a sex crime against a minor even remotely has a chance to get her kid back.

it seems to me there not only needs to be more scrutiny on the county and the state for allowing this to continue, but more advocacy needs to be done to get some of these laws changed. my roommate and i have seriously discussed forming a non-profit that works to change the laws instead of subjecting our kids to them.

i don't want to give up hope for him, but sometimes when you see the looks on people's faces when you try to tell them you have this uphill battle to climb, its almost like they look at you and think, what's the point, nothing is going to change.

and i guess if everyone had that attitude nothing ever will. my heart is actually sick thinking that he is going to have to go back to this nightmare of a life. it makes it worse knowing that according to the child advocate, for the first time since she has known him, he actually seems happy here.

[EandDmom]

Originally Posted by lakin11

I think it doesn't help when reports come out in the Indy Star among other reports that show IN has a high removal rate. There are just 'too many kids in foster care' in Indiana so the reports say. I know not ALL cases are going to lead to removal, but from our experience it has to be pretty bad for them to get off their tushes and remove here lately.

Seems to me we need to look at the bigger picture....what can we do to fix families before they come in to care? And what happens when you just CAN'T fix people who DON'T want help??? Why do they continually make the kids suffer just in case their bios decide to get it together?

It is frustrating, I hear ya!! Also agree, the judges can only make decisions based on what they know! If the CW's don't include all the information in the court report, then they don't know. Sadly, there are some CW;s who will misrepresent and yes, shockingly LIE in their reports.

I'm sorry for your foster child. I have a friend who works at Riley who gets sooooo mad b/c DCS pulls this all the time. Nothing is ever done.

I read that same article boy did it make my blood boil.

[jenni236]

In regards to the "high removal rate" for Indiana, they must be putting the brakes on- we had our infant foster baby returned to an unsafe situation right before Christmas (after having him 5 months with a "no chance at reunification" accorinding to cw) and now have received no calls at all. Two other families that have always had foster children with them have not gotten a single placement either since before Thanksgiving. Marion County has now begun removing less children and offering more "in home" services, possibly in answer to the statistics or reports that show a high removal rate as compared to other states? Anyone else experiencing this? We are open for up to 3 children, ages birth to 5, any race and can accept some special needs and caseworkers always tell us this is a prime need, so we are not understanding this lapse at all, unless it is budgetary or a panic in not removing children at all right now. Homefinder has said they just don't have any children right now. I find that nearly impossible with a county as big as Marion! Any comments or other experiences from licensed Marion County foster parents? Thanks everyone- hope you're having a great evening!

Mom to 3 great bio children

[EandDmom]

Originally Posted by jenni236

In regards to the "high removal rate" for Indiana, they must be putting the brakes on- we had our infant foster baby returned to an unsafe situation right before Christmas (after having him 5 months with a "no chance at reunification" accorinding to cw) and now have received no calls at all. Two other families that have always had foster children with them have not gotten a single placement either since before Thanksgiving. Marion County has now begun removing less children and offering more "in home" services, possibly in answer to the statistics or reports that show a high removal rate as compared to other states? Anyone else experiencing this? We are open for up to 3 children, ages birth to 5, any race and can accept some special needs and caseworkers always tell us this is a prime need, so we are not understanding this lapse at all, unless it is budgetary or a panic in not removing children at all right now. Homefinder has said they just don't have any children right now. I find that nearly impossible with a county as big as Marion! Any comments or other experiences from licensed Marion County foster parents? Thanks everyone- hope you're having a great evening!

Mom to 3 great bio children

I was talking to a lady at work today and she knows someone that can't get a placement either. She is in Marion county. Said she has been waiting for a couple of months.

[Mumofmanee]

jenni236, it isn't just you. Last year, all year, I stayed filled up with 4 foster positions, and one that I adopted at the end of August. I had two babies for 7 months, and also, right before Christmas, they were suddenly moved with family after months of no interest from anyone. It really got to me, considering there were no visits with the family member prior to them moving with her. All year long, I could barely go a day without at least one phone call to get a child, since before Christmas, when every position in the house came open, I've received no calls!? I really wasn't sure how to take it, not used to zero calls and this is a really big county for everyone to be so silent suddenly. I used to take the babies like yourself, now am listed for either sex from 2-9, so considering, there is definitely a huge change happening in the background somewhere.

[gemanda]

We're empty too in Marion County and have been for a few months. We do medical/therapeutic care of infants and toddlers.