|
|
Part 3
House keeping first. I am Chinese, raised and educated in China, so speak, read and write Chinese. I have to admit I have not written anything in Chinese for 25+ year, so choose to use the most efficient, perhaps not the most effective, language, during my 15 minute coffee breaks to write to the forum. Please feel free to translate or re-write my posts, to expand the access to everyone. I am planning to write something in Chinese during the Christmas holiday.
I know not everyone will benefit from the details, but I will continue to deliver the promise I made.
Let's continue.
Immediate after the investigation, the CAS worker has to make the decision whether to remove your child. 2 things you can do:
1. While the worker is assessing you, you can assess her psychology as well. On one hand, the worst nightmare is child death or re-injury after she leaves your home. On the other, removal of your child means lots of work (see below) and exposing her investigation to senior staff and external people like the judge and the parents' lawyer. This is quite a catch 22. To help your case, you have to help the worker to improve her confidence in you that you can provide a safe environment for your child. For example, if the accusation is your child does not have lunch, show the worker the food you have in your house. If the accusation is gambling, please remove the mahjong from your living room.
2. Find an alternate caregiver like grandparents, uncle and aunt or even a friend, since CAS must entertain the request for lesser intrusive course of action. That helps to avoid court action.
Step 4: the 5 Day Rule
After CAS removes your child, the worker must bring a protection application to the child welfare court within 5 days. You will be served with all court documents including the Statement of Agreed Fact and court plan of care.
Find a lawyer right away. Lawyers are like doctors. There are family doctors and specialst physicians. Find a child welfare lawyer, not the one who did your house deed.
Keep looking for a relative to care for the child, so that CAS can drop the court case within 5 days.
Study the court doc, particularly the plan of care, which will suggest what you will have to do before the child will return to you. Get help from a social worker right away who will look for the services and guide you through the process.
Most likely, your CFSA hearing will be adjourned. Don't get upset. You can fight the court case, which is not a very smart move. CAS worker will have all kind of evidence against you. They write case notes after all contacts with everyone, so they have a wealth of information to support their case.
In my career, I have handled hundreds of court cases and lost only 2, because of failure to prove an alternate caregiver ability to protect. It is not easy to fight a CFSA court case.
Try to avoid a finding. A finding the child is in need of protection is very similar to the concept of a criminal conviction. Before a finding, CAS will have to prove risk. After a finding, CAS will have to prove best interest. Continuity is in the child's best interest. So, if a child has stayed in a foster home with 2 years, it is in his best interest to continue to stay there. It is very similar to a custody battle. If you decide to walk away from the child and come back 2 years later for the custody, the judge will grant it to whomever the child has been living with for the past 2 years. Try not to drag the case on. Once the foster parent becomes a legal party, she will have the same legal rights to ask for the child's legal custody.
Step 5: 30 Day Requirements
A lot will happen by 30 days: risk assessment to predict the future risk if child returns, plan of care for your child and plan of service. You will be invited to these meetings, which can be very intimidating. You will see 3 workers (family sevice, children's service and resource). Family service is to support you to complete the plan for you to change and to assess your progress. This worker is responsible for your court case and ultimately for the decision whether to return your child. Children's service is to help your child for a good care in the foster home and to check and balance the family service worker, not to do something to jeopardize your child's safety. The resource worker helps the foster parents. There are supervisors and even the director involved in these meetings. I am not kidding. Such a team may have over 100 years of child welfare experience, together with over 100 years of education. It is not easy to beat them, even with a lawyer.
The plan of care, court plan of care and plan of service will specify what you will have to do. This is the key part. If you hit your child, they will ask you to do child management, anger management and/or family counseling. If you do drugs, they will ask you for drug treatment and counseling. If you have a mental condition, then a psychiatric and/or psycholgical assessment, treatment and counseling.
I repeat this step is critical. You do what they tell you and show them evidence of your progress; your child will return to you. If you fight the court case to trial, it takes a few months to a few years.
Remember I said the rule is to help the worker to improve her confidence in your ability. If you don't show them the evidence you have changed, how can they trust you will protect your child?
Step 6: Family Service
Now, CAS has an investigation, a pile of evidence against you, a court case and a plan of care. They are prepared, and your case will go to Family Service. In my post about budget, a family worker can spend 5.5 hours on you, which includes driving, visit, meeting with you, court hearing and all paperworker. She will see you like once a month, so the progress will become slower, even if you call your worker everyday. Do whatever you have to according to the plans.
You will be given visit. Remember the 5.5 hours, so you won't get too many visits. They will supervise, then semi-supervise and finally un-supervise your access. You are almost there for reunion when they allow unsupervised visits.
An important advice is you can find your relatives or friends to become authorized access supervisors so that you can see your child more often, even 8 hours everyday. There will be conditions attached; please don't breach them, no matter how hard it is to say good bye to your child.
Step 7: Crown Wardship
Crown Wardship means your custody on your child will be permanently removed from you, after 24 months of care for those over 6 and 12 months under 6. This is a critical step. Though possible for family reunion, the barrier is too high. This is something you definitely want to avoid.
After Crown Wardship, CAS will find an adoptive parent to care for your child for good, if your child is younger and adoptable. Currently, you will not have the right to see your child again. In the new law, you will have.
Others: Complaint
If you believe you have been treated unfairly, you can file a complaint.
1. No complaint will be handled if the concern is before any court, so you can use the complaint system because CAS asks for a court order to care for your child.
2. You must file a complaint in writing. Within 7 days, they must notify you in writing. Within 14 days thereafter, they form the Internal Complaint Panel consisting of one external member, one senior manager and one others. You will have say 15 minutes to present your complaint and CAS also has 15 minutes to defend themselves. After the meeting, the Panel must notify you the outcome within 14 days. Their decisions are binding on CAS staff.
3. If you are not satisfied with the Panel, you can go to the Child and Family Service Review Board, a tribunal very similar to a court system.
Check and balance is a critical feature in a democratic society. CAS in Canada is subject to all kinds of checks and balance, including the complaint system, the ministry, child's advocacy office, child's lawyer office and others.
A few words about Community Capacity Development:
A few months ago, I read it in a Chinese newspaper about the conflict between organizations with management staff from Mainland China and those from Hong Kong. To me, I can't see the difference between the 2 groups: Chinese is Chinese. The issue seemed to be funding. Does anyone know CAS has funding for community capacity development, under Child Welfare Transformation. I am talking about million dollars, not a few hundreds or thousands. CAS forms partnership with community organizations to serve our clients, and we fund them for the service. The current focus is physical abuse and violence against women. This is an option our Chinese community should consider. Of course, it does not mean you submit a proposal and become rich. Competition is there.
Time to go. Please don't abuse your child. These posts are to help you to minimize misunderstanding and miscommunication with CAS. If you hit, you will be in trouble, no matter how skilful or knowledgeable you are. A crisis is an opportunity for us to learn new methods to care for our children.
Bye for good, I wish, but for the time being, bye for now. |
|
楼主: Widowed Mom
狗仔卡
发表于 2006-11-20 10:52:44
显身卡
