I’ve been noticing a shift in the willingness of social workers, and sometimes judges to place foster children with family. It seems that all the political lobbying foster parents are doing in Sacramento and amongst the County social workers is paying off. It is imperative that you know the following: YOU MUST FIGHT TO PLACE YOUR […]

Foster Parents may have certain rights in the relationship, custody and visitation of a foster child. They may not have the same rights that a parent has, or a relative. But they do indeed have rights. Many times I’m confronted with foster parents who have been told by a county social worker that they do […]

If you haven’t regained custody of your children by the conclusion of the .21F hearing (Chapter 12), the court will schedule a hearing pursuant to WIC section 366.26. This hearing is supposed to select the best permanent plan for your children. The first plan the social worker is likely to recommend is adoption by another […]

Assuming the children were not returned at the .21e hearing – this is the 12 month hearing. During this period, you are still assigned a social worker, (FR Worker). It is supposed to be his/her job to reunify the parents with the children. During this period “Concurrent Planning” continues, and seems to take on a […]

Assume you won your case at the dispositional hearing, the case will most likely be continued for a 6 month review pursuant to WIC 364. During this period of time, a new social worker is assigned to your case; a family maintenance worker. As the name sounds, this social worker’s job will be to visit […]

I mentioned this hearing here, because I’d like you to be thinking about this tool all during the juvenile court process. Theoretically, it cannot be used until after the dispositional hearing; therefore, I mention it now. This is a petition that ANY PERSON can file asking the judge to change a prior court order, and […]

If the parents lose the adjudication phase, or if they plead at the adjudication phase, the next hearing is the Dispositional Hearing. This is probably the most important hearing in the entire juvenile dependency process. And, we must remember, if you lose the adjudication trial, this does NOT mean you will lose the dispositional hearing. […]

Assuming that you were not in agreement with some or all of the recommendations of the DI in the Jurisdictional/Dispositional report filed by the social worker; you are entitled to a trial. I refer to this trial as the Adjudication Hearing, or trial number 1 (ADJ, Trial#1). The first thing you should do is schedule […]

After the Arraignment & Detention Hearing, the case is assigned to a social worker called a Dependency Investigator (DI). It is this workers job to independently, and objectively, investigate the allegations of the Emergency Response (ER) social worker, the allegations in the WIC 300 petition, including reviewing documents and interviewing witnesses. It is my humble […]

On occasion, the judge may set an interim hearing, if requested, for the home of a relative or parent to be investigated, so that the children can be placed there, and not in foster care. I find that these types of hearings are being used less and less; and being asked for less and less […]

Many times, children are placed in foster homes when they are taken from parents. In my opinion, placement with friendly relatives is always better than placement in a foster home. The reasons for this opinion are almost infinite, but include:  better visitation schedule (frequency & duration) for the parents; children are in a more familiar […]

After your children are taken by the social worker, the law requires that you be given the opportunity to go to court and challenge the social worker. This can be a long process. The social worker has to notify you, within 48 hours of you losing your children, that you have a court date. Some […]

Juvenile Dependency cases usually begin in two ways. First, the social worker, generally an Emergency Response (ER) worker, becomes aware of the suspected child abuse, which was reported by a third person.  California, like most states, has a long list of “mandated reporters” of suspected child abuse. Teachers, doctors, therapists, day care providers, or any […]

The Juvenile Dependency Court System is administrated by two different entities. The Superior Court of California, Juvenile Dependency Departments – which is part of every County Superior Court system in California.  This system is part of the judicial branch of the local government. The County social works have different names from County to County. In […]