Right Now help: Adoption questions - Help.com

chunkymove wrote:
Was illegally adopted, but no use in answering your question.

Perhaps the welfare people who give out food stamps etc be a good start?

Thanks for responding anyway. Illegally adopted? That sounds interesting. Hopefully it was to your benifit.

Raspberry Jam wrote:
She needs to let the Court know that she is interested in caring for the children. She would probably get custody simply because she is a relative and because she is already caring for them

While waiting on the Court, she needs to apply with local Child Protection Agencies to become a foster parent. She will need to do interviews; have a home visit; and make sure her home is safe (for example, I had a woodburner in my house when I was a foster parent and it had to be gated off). She and her husband or any other adults living in the home will also have to do a background check (around $30 per person). There will also probably be 16-25 hours’ worth of classes to take

When she does contact a child protection agency, she should indicate that she has been taking care of the children and cannot afford it. They will give her “respite” or “emergency” funding for the kids

In addition, if there was a police report that was made against the parents, she may be able to get some funds from victim’s rights groups (usually funnelled through the Courts)

Once she has completed all the necessary steps to be a licensed foster parent, she will be paid to take care of the children. In my state, the state pays $500 a month per child and also pays for medical and school expenses.

If, after being a foster parent for a period of time, she decides to adopt the children, she will STILL get monetary aid; it just won’t be as much as it would have been if they were foster children and wards of the state.

That is what I was thinking to. I thought financialy it would be better if she did not adopt them. I think her concern is that their mother right now has custody of them, not the state. Although she is an addict and has been to prison and has a warrant for her arrest right now, the kids have never been taken away from her because the Grandmother had them. And now my friend does. So as of right now they legally belong their their birth mother.

So if she does not addopt them, she does not want the mother to have the ability to try and take them back later.

I will tell her to start with she should seek that emergency funding through the child protection services.

Thanks

Legal Guardian wrote:
She could petition the court to be the legal Guardian of the children. Is there no other family members of the children that can help?

It is all really sad to tell you the trueth. My friend comes from a family of 7 and only her and one other sister are not addicts. One brother is fairly stable and is helping out a little. Like today the one child is sick and my friend had to go to work, so her brother is taking care of him.

The other sister who is not an addict and is raising a happy healthy family, chooses not to be involved. Which is understandable because with all the problems that this family brings, she has to look out for herself and her family.

Zirbel wrote:
Quote: “In Indiana, 33 percent of children adopted in 2007 were adopted by their foster parents. Another 12 percent were adopted by relatives.” ( http://www.nacac.org/policy/statefact… )

“Adoption In Indiana · Paperwork and fee requirements” (Attorney’s site):
http://www.dphilpotlaw.com/html/adopt…

Indiana State Page about AdoptionI:
icpc.aphsa.org/Home/doc/State-Pages/Indiana.doc (Download of a Word file)

General hints about adoption by relatives:
http://relative.adoption.com/
Forum:
http://www.adopting.org/forums/forumd…

Zirbel wrote:
*
Indiana State Page about Adoption:
http://icpc.aphsa.org/Home/doc/State-… (Download of a Word file)

Thanks for the links, I am going to look through them right now.

My husband feels I should be telling my friend to put herself and her own son first and let the state take these boys. That my friend needs to get herself emotionally healthy and stable before doing anything else. I think that is what would be best for my friend, but is that what is best for these boys? Should they get sent to live with strangers or their father who does no better then the mother in caring for them. ANd from what I understand the grandparents on the father side are not stepping up either.

Or are they better with my friend who may be on the brink of an emotional break down but loves them and will do her best to care for them?

I am feeling for her and wish I had the answers but I do not.

I wish I had an update for this post before I close it, but as of right now, I have not heard back from my friend since I made this post. She had told me she would be getting a new phone and would call me when she did. She has yet to call.

And believe it or not, she does not use the computer. I do not think she even has a email.

When I hear from her, I will let all of you know what is going on with her and the kids.