[rmyoung]

A little background...

• our FS's bio-dad did not do any of his services (parenting classes; pay child support $50/mo) as of January 3 (staus hearing).
• Mediation ordered for Feb 27, and trial for TPR the 28th. He did pass his home study (out of state).
• Only 2 very short visists with bio-dad since March 2006. Both on days when he was in town for court. No other contact with SW- no phone calls to check on him, nothing.
• At trial date, FS will have been in our care for 11 1/2 months.

Bio-dad, in court, says he wants custody. But his actions say otherwise! FS's lawyer and CPS want TPR and the goal is adoption. This is our heart's wish, too!

I am not expecting bio-dad to relinquish at mediation.

My question is, since he didn't work any of his service plan, can he possibly get custody? What if he writes a check for the back child support now? How long are parenting classes- could he complete this from Jan.3 to Feb 28?

Thanks for reading... and I appreciate any insight you may have!

[texastanya]

In my experience, when a bioparent makes ANY effort at all, the state will give them an extension to encourage the effort. If possible, the state wants reunification - if they think another 6 months will help, they tend to grant an extension.

[sudeetoo]

You can never rule anything out and every situation is unique. There may be circumstances with the bio-dad that you are not aware of. New marriage, new job, loss of a job, blah blah.....poor communication with sw's (we've all experienced that!), it's not always so black and white. And everyone must remember, no matter how attached we become to these children the main focus should be reuniting them with family if at all possible. We see so much bad junk in this foster world of ours but it doesn't mean that every family member related to them should be classified the same way. We've all got people in our own families that are seriously messed up - but I would hope to God that no one associates me with their problems.
If the bio-dad has done the home study and showed the interest then the chances are that CPS will still want to pursue this. Even if he hasn't to your knowledge been diligent in his requirements. I've seen cases where the kids have been in my care for over 18 mo. and then go to a relative. You just never know.

[imadeeva]

I had a similar case. My FS has been in care for 13 months now. His bio-dad and bio-mom were thrown out of their classes 6 months ago. The state tried to TPR twice. Bio-mom received a six-month extension because her dad lied and said he'd been trying to request a home study, and bio-dad has recently relinquished. In my experience, the TPR could be rescheduled before anything happens. They want to reunify first. They may even find a relative to do a home study before the TPR happens. From my experience you have to keep loving the child and wait and see what happens.