Jessica has told us that she wants to be a massage therapist or a marine biologist when she grows up. It appeared that she had changed her mind about the massage therapist thing though. Yesterday, as we were going to Girl Scouts, after having picked her up from school, she said that she no longer wanted to be a massage therapist.

She still wanted to do massage, just not the therapy. Since, as she put it, "who wants to have to listen to other people's problems?"

I held it together, as I usually do, and said back to Jessica, "yeah, but without the therapy part, you won't... more

In my last post about reporting abuse, I mentioned some reasons why CPS may remove children from their homes. But, before a child (or children) can be removed, there must be evidence that conditions exist in the home that threatens the life, safety or health of the child.

CPS will investigate all the reports, but first they must decide which ones are the most important. These are the cases where the children are in imminent danger, or where they suspect that the children are in danger. A CPS worker (usually and investigator) will investigate the reported abuse and that will result in either a substantiated or unsubstantiated case.

In substantiated cases, a service plan is... more

I've been reading Orphans of the Living by Jennifer Toth, and it is very upsetting, but realistic when it comes to what actually happens to kids in care. The system is overwhelmed, caseworkers and counselors are given way too many cases to even come close to handling, and the kids suffer for it.

As I was reading the book, I remembered an amazing organization that was formed just to help abused children, and they have some awesome programs. The organization is Childhelp USA, and for those of you not familiar with them, check... more

In my last post, I talked about the legal process as it pertains to dependency. Since nobody has emailed me for a copy of the dependency process chart, I will proceed with the text version.

The first step that was outlined was the report CPS gets of child abuse/neglect. What is the definition of child abuse and neglect? What would qualify as abuse and neglect? And who is required to report it? All good questions. Keep reading, and we'll answer these questions.

Child abuse and neglect is... more

Earlier, I had introduced you to permanency planning, in regards to how a plan is developed for what is in the "best interest" of the child. Since each state may have a different procedure for how they do it, I will talk about how we do it here in AZ.

The Arizona dependency process is as follows:

CPS receives report The child is removed (or services are provided in-home) Dependency petition is filed (within 72 hours if there is a removal)... more

Since it is so late in the day, and I don't want to get into anything too heavy, I am going to share this poem with all of you. This was written by Kelinda, a 12 year-old girl who was placed in foster care at age 6. According to her GAL, Kelinda is goal-oriented and convinced that she will one day go to college. I'm sure she will.

I AM

I am not black or white. I am swirls of green, blue, purple, orange and colors no one knows.

I am not rich with money, cars or jewelry. I am rich with love, hope and faith.

I am not American.... more

I just got the okay to share this info with you from The Connection, the publication of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association. And since last month was black history month, I want to tell you about a wonderful author, Dorothy E. Roberts.

Dorothy Roberts is a professor of law and research fellow at Northwestern University. She has written several books, one of which is "Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare,"... more

There is lots of talk around the CPS scene and in the courts about "permanency" and "consistency" in regards to the children that are in foster care. We talk about "the child's best interests", who knows best, about being able to help them. But when it comes right down to it, the judges have the final say, based on what information is provided to them.

If the child is lucky, they have someone that advocates for them in court, such as a GAL or CASA, or maybe even the foster parent. Regardless of who it is, that child needs to be heard, and an appropriate plan needs to be established... more

Previously I talked about the case plan. One of the first goals of the case plan is reunification, as CPS is mandated to try first to maintain the family unit. But what if there was never any "unification" in the first place?

Say a child has parents that were never married and don't currently live together, and she was removed from the father's home. She never lived with her mom for more than three months in her entire life. She is thirteen.

She is now put into foster care because her father is on drugs and his home is not a suitable placement for her. Her mother doesn't... more

Recently, our small town passed a law to restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine, a main component of Methamphetamine. There was a state law in place, but the local mayor decided that that wasn't enough, and a more restrictive local law was passed. A few other local communities followed suit, and passed similar laws.

This week in the local paper, there was a story on a statewide meth conference that acknowledged Cottonwood and 30 other communities in Arizona for their stand against the meth epedemic.

There is also an editorial... more