A story by Gail Rosenblum was published today in the StarTribune that is, unfortunately, not all that uncommon a scenario in the child welfare system these days.
Tomorrow, the MN Court of Appeals will hear arguments on behalf of two families that want to raise two young girls that have been in foster care.
We often say that a child can never have too many adults in their lives who love them, but what if these adults are fighting over who gets to claim parenting rights?
This case brings up many issues that permanency workers and families struggle with when making permanency decisions. When I read this article, I had the following questions:
- Was the grandparent given the opportunity to be the foster parent?
- Was there bias on the part of the agency toward the extended relatives of these children? (I once had a county worker tell me, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” regarding placing children with extended relatives)
- Whose responsibility was it to ensure the grandparent’s information was being submitted, particularly since it turns out Mississippi did not send her information to MN?
- Why was Minnesota allowed to withdraw its request for the grandparent to adopt based on “frustration over lack of communication?” What follow up could or should the agency have had when this happened?
- What recourse do families have when agencies fail to communicate and/or advocate on their behalf?
- Was there bias on the part of the agency toward moving the children across state lines?
- Was there racial bias, as the foster parents are white and the grandparent is black?
- Was the county agency afraid of violating the MultiEthnic Placement Act/InterEthnic Provisions?
- Have all the adults in this issue (foster parents and biological grandmother) discussed what an open adoption and/or open relationship would look like? Would the foster family, if they adopted, be willing to facilitate having the grandparent in an active role in the girl’s lives?
- Why wasn’t there more effort to emphasize an open relationship that truly shows that there are never too many adults who can love a child?
For the full story, see the Star Tribune’s article here.
| Tweet |