The Scoop

So Tuesday, our Licensing worker reached out via email. Let me know they were looking for a pre-adoptive home for a sibling group of four. It's their 3rd involvement with DCFS:

Bio Mom lost custody of 2 kids to Grandma in another state.

The oldest 2 were in foster care in Illinois for a year and returned home.

Intact Family Services were put in place a period of time later, risky behavior going on so kids were removed and all 4 taken into foster care.

In April they were placed with Godparents. They had their own child and were young so 5 kids under 8 didn't work out.

The youngest two went to one foster home. The oldest two went to another and were removed from there while the foster family was being investigated.

Now it's time for the Adjudication Hearing (legal term for proving the kids need to be in care) and the state is seriously considering concurrent planning of adoption and is therefore looking for a home that would adopt all four together if given the option. They don't believe there are any other services they can give the Mom that she hasn't already had and had proven she will just return to her old ways.

This is where we come in. 

Oh and the Caseworker is the same as the Fab Four. Which was a huge hesitation for us.

So we had what I call a "Come to Jesus  Meeting". 

And even though she had no answers to my questions, I did get a follow up email. It's a good start. 

We are going into this very cautiously. Even if they can get the DCFS attorney and the States Attorney to file an expedited termination, we are still looking at a year of Foster Care. Since they can't do any of the filing without the kids in a pre-adoptive home. (Circular thinking, I know.) There are still visits. The county the case in is fairly far. There is a Bio Dad in the picture (of two of the kids) and he's about to lose visitation as he's stopped showing up.

Aside from the youngest needing speech therapy and a case of recurring lice for the oldest two - the kids are healthy. 

We've asked to meet them. DCFS offered to check with the attorneys about the strength of the termination case. We shall see. School starts August 12 but the foster families are supposed to get 14 day notice before the kids get moved so I imagine we should find out more next week.

Luckily, I'm off next week I between starting my new job. So I will be painting and arranging the rooms to at least be better prepared than last time.