Foster Care: When Birth Parents Give Up.

I have not written a blog on this site in a very long time.  My apologies.  My former laptop is kaput and I just recently got this new laptop.  Blogging from work is highly frowned upon.  I miss writing!

I have this case.  Well, I have several of them, but this one case in particular is especially — trying.  This has been an ongoing case for several years and I acquired it in December.  This has been one of the most difficult cases I’ve ever had.  I have plenty of experience dealing with difficult birth parents.  This one takes the cake!

Here’s some history:
-Daughter came into care in 2012, initially.  She was placed back in mom’s care twice since then though the state has maintained legal custody since initial placement.
-Son came into care in 2014.  Mom and dad were incarcerated due to a domestic violence issue.  They didn’t have an appropriate caregiver for the kiddos to go to so they entered foster care.
-Since being released from jail, all mom needed to do was follow court orders and follow recommendations of (mental health, anger management, substance abuse, domestic violence, parenting) professionals and obtain/maintain employment and housing.
-Dad has been out of the picture since this past July.

At the beginning of December, the state motioned to change the permanency plan from reunification to adoption.  The change was granted and now the state will be petitioning the court to terminate parental rights in May.

Since January, I feel that mom has given up.  We’ve had a little more than a dozen scheduled supervised visits.  Of those, mom has canceled 5 visits and has been late to another 5 of them.

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been doing a dance around the visitation issue.  She finally said something to the effect of “what’s the point when I’m not getting my kids back anyway?”  **sigh**  These visits are so important to the kiddos.  I get that seeing her children is difficult especially when she’s right – she likely won’t be getting her children back.  She has the capacity to parent; however, I don’t believe she truly wants her children back.  She likes being “free”.  And at this point, the state’s hands are tied.  When a child has been in care for 15/22 months, the state is required to seek termination of parental rights.  Now, for the daughter, we should’ve moved forward sooner.  But now that the son has also met the 15/22 month rule, we cannot grant mom any more time.

The saddest part about this case is that reunification could’ve been so easy!  But instead of following through with court orders and following recommendations given by professionals, she has pussy-footed around and now… it’s too late, frankly.

I didn’t want her to give up though.  The kiddos are heartbroken that mom isn’t coming to see them and trying to explain to them why visits are continually being canceled… well, I don’t like making little ones cry.  If I could stop visits altogether at this point, I would.  At least I wouldn’t have to disappoint the kiddos week after week after week…

My job now is to document everything that happens, to continue building my case for court.  These children want their mother and yet somehow she is showing me that she doesn’t truly want them.  So, when a parent gives up, the social worker has to step-up his/her game.  I have to be harder on mom, easier on the kiddos, and more aware of my actions.  I have long discussions with the foster parents and my supervisor regarding this case as I need to make sure every base is covered.

Really, every case should be completely covered at all times – always documenting, always on point.  But cases like this need that attention ever more so.  My stress level is through the roof right now.  I’m not sleeping well, I’m gaining weight, I have difficulty concentrating at work, and I cry easily.

I need a vacation

I need this case to be done!

Outrage and Response.

I know my blogs are far and few between on here.  Let’s face it – I’m a busy lady.  Today though, I need to let this out.  A coworker happened across an article that has us both fuming.  Not because of the initial story, but because of the stereotypical outlook on CPS (Child Protective Services) Workers, the misunderstandings of what social workers do, and the outrageous lies the author of the article spilled for the world to read.

The article gave “10 Things You Must Do if CPS Knocks At Your Door”.

1. Take the accusation seriously.
2. Ask what the charges are.
3. Shut up.  Shut up now.
4. Find an attorney who has experience fighting CPS.
5. Be polite.
6. Never let them in your home.
7. Record everything.
8. Have a doctor examine your child.
9. Get family and friends involved in the fight.
10. Never admit guilt.

I’m not even sure if I can address the author’s comments on these 10 things with class.  I’m not a CPS investigator, but I do work closely with them.  Here are my basic thoughts on these:

1. Please, please do take the “accusation” seriously.  If CPS is showing up on your doorstep, this means that the report was “screened in” (the person taking reports gave said report to a Child Welfare Supervisor, who then reviewed the case and made a decision to have a CPS Worker begin an investigation).  This happens less often than one would think.  Many times we get petty reports (i.e. parents having custody disagreements and wants to make the other parent look bad by reporting abuse/neglect).  Sometimes we get superficial reports (i.e. healthy, responsible 15 year old being left alone at home for an hour).  My point is, if CPS shows up at your home, there is a damn good reason.
2. By all means, ask what the “charges” are.  Really, at the initial stage of an investigation, we don’t “charge” anyone with anything.  CPS is investigating serious concerns regarding risk and safety.
3. If you don’t talk to the CPS investigator you will be making his/her job very difficult.  CPS workers do not want to be involved with your family for any longer than they absolutely have to be.  Having a conversation does not mean that you will lose your children.  The goal of this whole process is to figure out how social services can help the family unit stay together, and if placing children in foster care/kinship care is necessary, then what can social services do to ensure the children are back home as soon as possible.  Social services does not want to rip families apart.  Really.  (I am saying “social services” because every state has their own version: Dept. of Health and Human Resources, Dept. of Social Services, Dept. of Child and Family Services, etc.)
4. You should absolutely find an attorney.  Every parent is given the opportunity to have legal counsel.  You can either get a public defender (generally, certain public defenders work solely on CPS cases and are very experienced in this area) or hire a lawyer.  I don’t like how the author of this article says to find an attorney who “fights” CPS.  Social services isn’t about “fighting”.  Social services wants to find the family’s strengths and identify the needs so that those needs can be addressed (i.e. drug treatment, parenting classes, therapy, medication management, daily living skills, etc.).  So, I’d say find an attorney who can be honest with you about your case.
5. Be polite.  Yep.  I know that being investigated is a terrible ordeal and can heart-wrenching and maddening.  Keeping your cool can help all parties move the investigation along so that everyone can get about their lives.  If you blow up, social services will understand.  If you become physically violent, that will be a problem.
6. Well, if you don’t let social services in your home, the CPS Worker (I just spoke with my coworker — who is an investigator) will report a high risk of harm in the home.  Because an investigation cannot really be done, the CPS Worker will indicate abuse/neglect and then close the case.  If more reports continue to come in and you continue to refuse to work with social services, court action will be taken at which point a judge will do his/her thing (this could include criminal charges, a mandated investigation, etc.).  I’m not an expert on the constitution, so I’m not sure about the 4th Amendment.  But there’s a link to it.
7. Record everything?  I mean, you can.  The CPS Worker will do his/her job the way they have to regardless of being recorded.  Social services has procedures for everything their workers do.  And I mean everything.  Social workers have multiple checklists for each case and many of those have to be done in a certain order.  So, record away.
8. CPS will want you to have your child examined as well.  And the CPS Worker will not care to whom you take your child so long as you share the results with the worker.
9. Social services really, really wants to identify as many strengths as possible.  If you have friends and family that wish to become involved, that is good!  Again, social services doesn’t want to “fight”.  Social services wants to figure out how to resolve any issues that may be identified as quickly as possible.  Social services wants to take a team perspective – everyone should be included in the decision-making: social worker, lawyers, parents, children (if they are capable of doing so), doctors, teachers, etc.
10. Admitting guilt does not increase your chances of having your child removed or (if a child has been removed already) returned to the home.  Everyone does stupid shit.  Sometimes that stupid shit gets you into a lot of trouble.  Talking about mistakes made or continuous struggles helps the process move along swiftly.

I could keep going and going.  I may continue this later in a new post regarding the comments about the article (REALLY PEOPLE?!  CPS DOES NOT HAVE A “QUOTA” NOR DO CPS WORKERS GET COMMISSION!).  Until then, keep your heads on straight and have a conversation with someone who works in the field.

Welcome to social work (stigmas, stereotypes, and other things that mean ‘bias’).

The Last Six Months.

Well, I obviously haven’t written in some time.  Part Most of that is due to not having regular access to the internet.

In May I started my new position.  In June I started what the state calls “Competency Training” which is a 6 week program to ensure that all state child welfare workers have a basic understanding of the system, terminology, procedures, etc.  So, In August I finished that training.  Then in September I finally started getting clients.  I’ve been doing my real just for just about a month.  I still feel as though I know nothing.

But hey, welcome to social work, right?

😉

I’ll try to write more often now that I do have internet again (yay!).

The Last Two Weeks.

Today I put in my two-week notice.

On April 18th I had an interview for a state position.  The interview went really, really well.  So well in fact that they had called my references as soon as I left.  Within a couple of hours I had texts from people saying, “I know I shouldn’t tell you this, but you’re frontrunner for the position!”  I was so excited for that happy news!  I received the offer phone call this past Friday while I was out-of-town at a tattoo convention (everyone has different outlets).

Today I put in my two-week notice.  I had written the letter yesterday.  For those looking for a well-written letter of resignation, here’s my letter (with the personal info taken out):

Full Name
Address
City, State ZIP
Phone Number
Email Address

Date

Manager’s/Supervisor’s Name
Manager’s/Supervisor’s Title
Agency/Company Name
Address
City, State ZIP

Dear Manager/Supervisor,

I would like to inform you that I am resigning my position as [Position Title] from [Agency/Company Name], effective two weeks from this date.  I have accepted a position with [Future Agency/Company Name].

This decision was not an easy one to make.  Thank you for the many opportunities of professional and personal growth over the past [length of employment].  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with [Agency/Company Name] and appreciate the support provided to me during my time with the agency.

[Agency/Company Name] has a special place in my heart.  I wish you and [Agency/Company Name] the best.  If I can be of any help during the transition, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Signed Name
Printed Name

Today I put in my two-week notice.  The moment was bittersweet.  I really do love this agency.  I really am looking forward to advancing my career.  My boss saw this coming as she was one of the references on my resume.  The hardest part will be saying goodbye to my clients.  How do I explain to a child who has been ripped from his/her birth home that I am leaving and someone new will be taking over their case?  **sigh**

The scariest part is moving from the nonprofit world to the state world.  I know how to do nonprofits.  This is outside of my comfort zone.  And I must continue to push on through the discomfort because I am going to continue my good work and help individuals be the best them they can be through advocacy and education and prevention.

My new job will still entail working with foster care, except the individuals won’t be quite children.  These 18-21 year olds have been in the foster care system and have “aged out”.  Many (if not all) states allow these young ones to sign themselves back into foster care until they are 21 years old in order to facilitate and educate these kiddos on how to be functioning, productive adults.  I will be teaching them life skills (money management, communication, resume-building, etc.), helping them find/apply for jobs, helping them enroll in college classes, etc.  I’m excited to be expounding on my experiences and starting this new chapter.

Today I put in my two-week notice.

Awareness: Human Trafficking.

First, I am incredibly busy these days at work.  Therefore, I haven’t been blogging much.  That said, I made time to share this with you today…

Sometimes when I go to trainings, workshops, or conferences I get all worked up about a topic that was discussed.  Yesterday I attended a Crimes Against Children Training.  One of the topics was Human Trafficking.  I am worked up about Human Trafficking.  Human trafficking can be either labor or sex trafficking.  Human trafficking = Slavery.  Period.  Here are some other facts:

• Does not require smuggling/transportation
• Does not solely involve foreigners
• Does not require restraints/physical abuse
• Victims can consent
• Victims don’t always want to be rescued or see the need to be rescued
• 3rd largest international organized crime
• Generates multi-billion dollars in profit every year
• at least 50% of sex trafficking involves children

Common vulnerabilities for sex trafficking:

• Minor
• History of sexual/physical abuse
• Substance dependency
• Poverty
• Runaway/homeless
• Child protective services involvement
• Disability

Social media is used for recruitment.

Elements of Trafficking – AMP (Action + Means + Purpose):

• Action (one of these)
  • Recruit
  • Harbor
  • Transport
  • Provide
  • Obtain
• Means (one of these)
  • Force
  • Fraud
  • Coercion
• Purpose (one of these)
  • Labor
  • Sex

For minors, the elements of sex trafficking can be met with just action (recruit, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain) and the purpose of sex.

Hot Spots for Sex Trafficking:

• Backpage (seedy version of Craigslist)
• Craigslist
• Truck stops
• Strip clubs
• Escort services
• Casinos

Hot Spots for Labor Trafficking:

• Ethnic restaurants
• Nail salons
• Construction
• Agricultural/seasonal work
• Traveling sales crews

Combatting Trafficking:

• Be familiar with indicators
• Partnership with police departments, churches, advocates, etc.
• Proactive/targeted investigations
• Public awareness

Look, people.  Human trafficking is a growing business in the US.  Below is a documentary about underage human trafficking.  I encourage you to watch the video – and really think about how you would feel or what you would do if your child, niece, nephew, neighbor kid, or whoever was being exploited for sex.  This is me doing my duty to spread awareness about human trafficking.  I’m also seriously considering changing careers to help out children who are being trafficked for sex.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Social Work Topics: Law v. Best Interest.

Here’s a little snippet of one of my cases:

Kids were removed in August 2013 for neglect, probable possible unsubstantiated physical abuse, and dangerous housing. The birth parents are not doing well in their improvement period. The state worker is going to advocate that parental rights be terminated. The three youngest are in a foster home together. The foster parents want to adopt. A kinship home has an approved home study and they want these children (there are two older half-siblings in a different home that this kinship home is not interested in taking).

Law states that if at all possible, children should remain with family (kin).

My job is to advocate for these children’s best interest. I tell my families and children that I have three main tasks in my cases:

1. Ensure the children are safe
2. Ensure the children are healthy (body, mind)
3. Ensure the children are happy

Here’s my dilemma:

At the beginning of the case birth mom was pregnant with the youngest of these children and she knew that she’d be having a girl. A kinship home stepped forward stating they were interested in adopting the baby girl should that become an option. They did not want the two boys. The boys were placed in their current foster home and the little girl joined them when she was born. The boys literally bounced off the walls. These were normal behaviors:

• Biting, hitting, scratching
• Pulling safety caps off outlets (I can’t get those out without some sort of tool)
• Taking off outlet covers with no tools
• Tearing all of their clothes out of the closet
• Pulling closet doors off the track
• Opening doors and dashing outside
• Escaping from car seats
• Climbing out of high chairs
• Throwing food
• Waking up with night terrors at least once a week

Now when I go visit these children they are well-behaved. They’re still very, very busy children, but the foster parents are able to keep them in line. They sit through dinner. They listen to and follow through with directions. They can sit for several minutes at a time without tearing something apart. These children are so completely different than when they were first placed.

Law states that if a kinship home is found that we (the children’s team) should do everything we can to place the children with that family IF we feel the family is an appropriate home. This family has passed a home study. I do not know if this is the same family that initially just wanted the baby girl. My fear is that if the state worker advocates that this family should become the caregivers of these children that these precious kiddos will end up back at square one – wild. And then, if this family decides they cannot handle the behaviors that they’ll just toss them back into the system…

My job is to make sure these kids are safe, healthy, and happy. I do not feel that these children would be healthy (mind) or happy if they left their current placement.

Decisions, decisions.

Really, this isn’t a decision. This is more like a I-need-a-game-plan-to-ensure-the-judge-sees-things-my-way type situation. I’ve received letters from service providers and doctors. I need to talk to the kids’ GAL (Guardian ad Litem) and get her perspective. I need to talk with my supervisors and have more advocates in the courtroom.

Sometimes the law and best interest of the children do not coalesce.

So, which should/will be upheld?

Social Work Topics: Saying Goodbye.

Telling a client goodbye falls on an emotional richter scale like none other.  I’ve said goodbye to many kiddos over the years.  Sometimes I’m very joyful at the goodbye because the child is going back to his/her birth home and the situation is now good.  Sometimes I get pissed at the department and saying goodbye is difficult because the child is not going back into an optimal living situation.  Other times I’m neither happy or sad.  And other times the child is moving to an foster/adoptive home outside of my agency for any number of reasons.

That is today’s case.  This particular child has been in foster care for a couple of years.  He has been in a foster home, a pre-adoptive home, back to the original foster home, moved to a different foster/pre-adoptive home, and will be moving to his (hopefully) forever home tomorrow.  The home is not one of my agency’s homes and so I will no longer be working with this little guy.  He’s really not emotionally or chronologically little.  Well, sometimes he’s incredibly little emotionally.  Poor guy hasn’t had the ability to really bond with any family.  Bonding is one of those things that should happen just after birth!

Anyway, I had to say goodbye to him today.  He responded to the news of the upcoming move in his own special way.  He didn’t show much emotion.  He changed the subject.  He shrugged his shoulders.  He didn’t have any questions to ask.  When I said that I would no longer be his worker he said, “Really? That sucks.  No, that’s great. Good.  Whatever.”  My poor little, big guy.

I do worry about him.  He’s such a good, smart kid.  He’s also a handful.  If I could adopt him, I would do so in a heartbeat.

The good side is that the family he’s going to now is really, really amazing.  I really like them and wish they were a home through our agency.  I am hoping and praying that I get notified of the adoption hearing date so that I can attend!

Interns.

I apologize for my lack of posts recently.  I’m a poor social worker and I just recently moved and have yet to figure out if I can afford internet.

————

The office got a new intern this week.  Interns are wonderful for doing the dirty/busy/boring/time-consuming work that the actual employees don’t want/have time to do.  For example, I work for a nonprofit.  As a nonprofit agency we need to find funding sources.  I don’t have time to sit around purusing the internet or dreaming up ideas.  My coworker works with pregnant women and infants up to 1 year old.  She needs a steady source of diapers, formula, blankets, clothing, etc.  She doesn’t have time to find all that on top of her work either.  These are the things we love our interns to do.

Our new intern is an undergraduate social work major.  She’s young and immature in the way that young adults tend to be.  She giggles a lot and seems like she’d fit right in with the popular girls from my high school.  Yes, I’m judging.  Everyone judges.  I tend to judge quietly.  Like, I would never actually say these things out loud or let these first impressions dictate how I treat her as an individual.

Anyway, while my intern and I were waiting for the new intern to arrive, I was printing a bunch of stuff, stuffing envelopes, and all that jazz.  I placed the stuffed envelopes on the new interns desk and put a bunch of stuff in the to-be-filed file.  And I said (out loud), “New Intern can mail those and file those.  Welcome to social work.”  My intern busted out laughing, telling me that was her favorite line of mine.

My intern is nearly done with her placement.  I will miss her when she goes.  She has been a wonderful student, quick learner, and, honestly, I hate filing.  But my intern has brought about a cheeriness in the office.  She’s always so bubbly and happy.  And we can talk real life stuff without those judgments getting in the way.  She has a heart for social work and will do well in whichever career path she chooses.  I’m quite proud of her.

Joys of Foster Care: Camaraderie.

I woke up at 5:55am.  My alarm was set for 7am, however a coworker had text me asking, “are we still going to the meeting today?”  Said meeting was 2 hours from the office.  My response: “it’s not mandatory.  So, no.”  She said, “Yes it is.”  I rolled my eyes and let out a loud, “UGH!”  So, my boss, this coworker, and I met at the office at 7am (I pulled into the parking lot as my alarm went off).  I had informed my boss (who also didn’t realize the meeting was manadatory) that I did not think we needed to go to the meeting and that I was a bit cranky.  I kept saying, “the meeting that was canceled last week was mandatory.  The email for this meeting did *not* say ‘mandatory’.”  But I got in the car like a good social worker and headed out to the meeting.

Shortly after getting on the road we were chatting about the weather, kids, cases, parents, and other social worky things.  About 3/4 of the way to the meeting place, my coworker received a text, “Community based workers do not have to go to the meeting.”  I glared out the window and wanted to shout, “I TOLD YOU SO!”  But, I didn’t.  We decided to go about another 20 minutes past the meeting place to one of the main administraive offices.  My boss needed to sign paperwork and I felt like visiting with my fellow foster care workers.

While at the office I completed supervision with my immediate supervisor, gave advice to another worker about how to get the state to send her current license quicker, and got a referral for four children ages 1, 2, 4, and 4.  They’re all siblings (yes, 4 and 4).  So far I haven’t placed them.

On the way back to our office, my coworker, boss, and I talked about men and dating.  This is a fairly popular topic since my boss and I are both single.  We were all chatting away happily through our lunch stop at Chipotle.  That’s when I realized I am so glad we made the trip even though the trip wasn’t needed.  I really enjoy the company of my coworkers.

Later when we were back at our office I received a call from a dear friend and fellow foster care worker.  He works for a different nonprofit agency in the same city.  We were chatting about 2 girls that will (more than likely) be making a transition from their current foster home with my agency to an adoptive home with his agency.  Then we discussed another shared case.  And then I asked, “did you get a referral for four kids?”  Yes, he did.  We discussed our options and concluded that he would call the state worker back to inform her that his agency did not have a placement.  And then I would call and say that I have placement IF we can split the children into two homes.  The two foster families are good friends and the kids would see each other all the time.

See how that works?  Talking with fellow foster care/adoption workers makes the world go ’round.  Of course, I haven’t received a call back from the state worker regarding our plan for these kiddos.  But, the agencies in this community are working together to really try and provide the best services possible to our children and families.  I love that.

——–

P.S.  I’m really tired.  This blog could’ve been much better had I waited until tomorrow to tell the tale.

Social Work Topics: Perspective

This week’s DPchallenge asks us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes in order to tell a story.  When training perspective foster/adoptive parents I encourage my students to do the same.  How do they think the birth parents are feeling? What might the birth parents’ side of the story be?  Here’s one story from the perspective of a birth mother (names are of course changed):

“You know, Gizah, I was sitting in court wondering what the hell had happened.  One minute we’re having fun and the next my baby is being ripped away from my arms.  Where did we go so wrong?”  I had asked the social worker this question more than once during our foster care experience.  I knew the answer of course.  Chris and I fell in love, like really in love, several years ago.  I mean we haven’t been together forever, but we do love each other.  And we love our little Toby very much.  He’s such a bright little guy.  I guess it all started a couple of years ago.

We had some friends who liked to party.  At the time I was pregnant and didn’t do any of the drugs and I didn’t drink either.  I was so excited to be having a baby!  After Toby was born I still didn’t do the drugs.  Sometimes I drank though.  Chris liked to drink and snort cocaine sometimes.  After about a year I started doing cocaine too.  I mean, we all smoked pot, but that’s just pot.  Who the hell cares about pot, right?  Wrong.  The state cares about pot.  Anyway, one day Chris came home with a new drug, something neither of us had done.  It was called bath salts.  I heard nasty stuff about it.  I told Chris that we shouldn’t do it.  I heard it was worse than meth.  But, Chris didn’t listen.  He did the bath salts.  I’ve never seen anyone freak out like that before.

A few days later the neighbors got upset with us over something.  Their kids had been in foster care for several months already and I don’t know. Maybe they were mad because they knew we sometimes did drugs but still had Toby.  The thing is, we took care of Toby.  He was just two years old and almost potty trained!  He could walk and talk better than any baby I’d known.  The neighbors though?  They’re hoarders and she prostitutes herself.  They wouldn’t feed the kids.  The baby was always crying.  They were always filthy.  Half the time the oldest kid didn’t go to school.  Or if he did he never had a jacket on.  Their two year old was a handful, too.  Always causing problems.  Those kids were obviously not taken care of.  And then one night an ambulance came and took the two year old away because he’d been beat so bad he almost died.

I’m not that kind of mother.  My baby is my world.  After the neighbor’s kids got taken Chris and I didn’t do much partying.  Then Chris brought those bath salts home.  That’s when CPS showed up.  Chris was having a fit at the time, thought there were bugs crawling around the couch and on him.  There weren’t though.  I keep my house clean.  We don’t have roaches or anything.  I think the neighbor called us in.

I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore.  My Toby was gone.  I didn’t know where he was.  I didn’t know if he was crying.  I didn’t know if he was safe!  I called and called and called my state worker to figure out when I could see Toby.  A week after he was taken we got a visit.  We’d taken drug tests and had a meeting with our lawyers and the state worker. We knew this wasn’t going to be an overnight fix, but we were ready to fight for our Toby.  We’d do anything for him.

When I saw Toby at that first visit I just held him close.  Chris and me and Toby just held each other.  The visit was only an hour long.  I didn’t think that was fair.  But I wasn’t going to cause a scene.  I just wanted to do everything to get him home.

The next week we had a meeting with everyone involved with our case.  I got to meet the foster parents.  They seem really nice.  They said that we could call Toby at night to say goodnight to him.  That made me tear up.  Everything seemed to make me want to cry.  The foster parents had a lot of questions like if he was allergic to anything or if there were any discipline techniques that we’d like them to use.  I thought foster parents just did what they wanted so they could get a paycheck.  I didn’t know they were so involved and wanted so much of our input.  That made me feel a little better.  I mean I was jealous that they got to be Toby’s parents for a while and not me, but I could tell they were good people.

Each week we got visits.  After a while the visits got longer and more frequent.  Chris and I went through drug treatment and counseling.  We also took parenting classes.  The foster parents were wonderful.  They’d send pictures of Toby to the visits and also pictures he had drawn for us.

Night time was hardest.  Not being able to sing him songs or read books to him.

After the longest six months of our lives we finally got to bring Toby home.  I was so happy!  I thanked my social worker, Gizah, because without her I wouldn’t have gotten my baby home as soon as I had.  She fought for us.  That’s her job though I guess.

So, where did everything go wrong? Drugs.  Don’t do drugs.  Keep a clean nose, do your bit to help those around you, too.  Love your family and do everything you can to cherish each other.  I know one thing for sure.  I will never lose Toby like that ever again.