Foster Care Review Board

Today was Foster Care Review Board for Evie.  I'm not sure if all states have this, but in the words of the chairman, "We are not part of DSS; we are not anti-DSS.  We are here as a checks and balances system for DSS to make sure that everything is being looked at."  From my understanding they make recommendations and then present them to the court (Judicial Review for Evie and J is next month).  Evie's mom did not show up; OFM (Other Foster Mom) said that mom's lawyer told her not to go; the board did not look at that fact highly. 

I can't go into a lot of details, but here is what I can say.  There was A LOT of information revealed that I had never heard before.  About mom's past.  About the living situation when the kids were removed from the home.  About a second psychological evaluation that was done after mom's lawyer requested it due to questions about the first psychologist's credentials; an evaluation that was done after mom had read the report from the first psychologist - a report that raised A LOT of significant concerns about mom's ability to parent.  Of course the second evaluation did not have much in terms of recommendations or concerns, because mom then knew what was going to be asked and how she should answer the questions. 

The only thing left officially for mom to complete on the treatment plan is to find a safe place to live.  But the board felt like there should be a lot of other things on there.  And ultimately the board's recommendation was for termination of parental rights.  Which kind of blew me away, because at the beginning of the case, I expected Evie to be here a month or two at most (and even recently, I still felt confident she would go back with mom eventually).  But after all the new things I learned today, it didn't surprise me.  (Edited to add: This recommendation is just that - a recommendation - and the Foster Care Review Board has no power to actually terminate those rights.  And I'm not sure how much weight that recommendation holds to a judge who DOES actually have the power to proceed with terminating rights; or even what the process is for the Board presenting their recommendation to the court.)

They also put me on the spot and asked me if rights were terminated, if I would adopt Evie.  My honest answer is, "I really don't think so", but I wasn't sure what to say, so I was vague and ended up saying, "I would consider it."  I just pray those kids get some permanency soon.