[craftingmama]

Ok, my cousin's children were removed from her care, TPR was a year ago this past september. their great aunti is trying to adopt them, was supposed to get them a year ago, DFCS is dragging it out as long as possible for some reason. Here's my question, she's a single mom of two, lives in govt housing, is on welfare, works in fast food. will a judge really give them to her?

On the flip side, i'm 'just' a cousin but am married with three kids, financially stable and would love to adopt them. we are licensed foster parents. Thoughts?

[Kat-L]

Originally Posted by craftingmama

Ok, my cousin's children were removed from her care, TPR was a year ago this past september. their great aunti is trying to adopt them, was supposed to get them a year ago, DFCS is dragging it out as long as possible for some reason. Here's my question, she's a single mom of two, lives in govt housing, is on welfare, works in fast food. will a judge really give them to her?

On the flip side, i'm 'just' a cousin but am married with three kids, financially stable and would love to adopt them. we are licensed foster parents. Thoughts?

In my case with "Angel", the answer is "yes". If she can pass a background check, she can have custody. With my baby, the aunt was in HUD housing and exceeding the number of occupants, she was receiving public assistance and even had her own bio kids removed for abuse (but it was years earlier). Although the cw didn't like the situation, the judge did give the aunt custody.

In these situations, they don't look at money. If they looked at who could provide a better lifestyle based on income, MANY people (include good parents) could lose their children to people with better jobs.

In your case, I don't understand why they would consider the aunt more of a relative than you. You're a relative and it's been a year. I don't see how they could move the children. There is really no "more related" or "less related" when it comes to family placements. It should be what's best for the kids. If they are already settled with you, they should stay with you. Maybe the CPS office was dragging things out to make the one year mark. Once it's been a year, you might be able to become a party to the case.

Also, if the children have been in a foster home (rather than with you) for this past year, they could become a party to the case and request to adopt. If they've been in the same home for a year and the family wants to adopt, they could become the preferred placement since the children would be settled.