9 Year Old Begs to go Home

[jjenny]

"Under Tennessee law, his parental rights were automatically terminated because state law does not allow anyone incarcerated for more than 10 years to have rights to a child under the age of 8."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/us/tennessee-adoption-battle/

 

[jjenny]

"However, her birth father later cut a deal using information he had about a homicide. His sentence was reduced to just 7½ years, allowing John McCaul to assert his parental rights and fight to reverse the adoption."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/us/tennessee-adoption-battle/

 

[TripleA]

It's not about being poor and un-educated. It's about a convicted felon who couldn't take care of his child because he was in prison. [/url]

In many cases it is about being poor and uneducated. Poor and uneducated can lead to being poorly represented in a court of law. Poor and uneducated can mean not knowing your legal rights. Poor and uneducated can lead to discrimination by courts and DCS. Poor and uneducated can mean generational ignorance on parenting, personal hygiene and health. Poor and uneducated often leads to generational criminal activity. Poor and uneducated can leave a person vulnerable to those with the means and know-how to navigate the legal system.

I am not saying at all that that I think that this baby girl should have been ripped from one home and thrown into another; but just because this other family looks better in person and on paper does not mean that this child is better off without her biological family. It is important to know who you are and where you come from. Biological connections are important. Being a criminal does not make you love your children less - sometimes it is all that you know.

 

[Elley Mae]

The child's court-appointed guardian, Hilary Duke, said Sonya is doing well. Duke blamed foster parents David and Kimberly Hodgin for blocking the state's earlier attempts to place Sonya with relatives.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140516/NEWS/140518837

Duke also claimed the Hodgins have endangered Sonya by making the custody case public. And she said that even if Sonya were to come back to Tennessee, she would not be placed back in the Hodgins' home.

"That would be detrimental," Duke said.

 

[Elley Mae]

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services soon took custody of Sonya. She was placed in the Hodgin home the same month that McCaul was taken into federal custody, where he served seven-and-a-half years for unlawful transport of firearms.

The court dispute dragged on. After McCaul was released from prison, the Hodgins and McCaul agreed to slowly reintroduce him into Sonya's life with the assistance of a counselor. But after several months, that process broke down, and in January, McCaul filed a motion to return custody to him. A Dickson County Juvenile Court judge ruled in McCaul's favor and Sonya was transferred to McCaul, whom she had not seen since she was an infant, that same day.

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/art...er-family-wants-girl-back-from-biological-dad

 

[MyBelle]

Snipped and Bolded by me

Sounds like she was thriving where she was....
What a sad case; it always seems like the children suffer the most in these custody battles -- more than any of the adults involved, since a child still has maturing to do and doesn't have the objectivity that an adult has.

I was adopted as a baby after my biological parent(s) abandoned me ; my adoptive parents ARE my parents --- there is no one else I would consider "mom and dad". It would have crushed me to be taken from them at 9 years of age !

There are always two sides to every story, but in Sonya's case , she appeared to be happy. She wouldn't have asked her adoptive parents to come and get her if she had been unhappy with the Hodgin's.
:moo:

There is no doubt in my mind that placing children in the middle of custody battles does harm them emotionally. But this isn't a custody battle. This case was triggered by a babysitter who kidnapped the child and made false allegations against the father in order to keep the baby. Using the same false pretense, the foster parents tried to have his parental rights terminated and failed to persuade a judge the father had abandoned the child.

They are now waging public attacks on the father and his family's character. Why? All it will accomplish long-term is to hurt the child emotionally because it is her biological family they are attacking and she's been living with them for months. They don't seem to care she'll see all of this on the Internet as will her school mates. I think one of the reasons she does not want to return to the care of the foster parents is because now she realizes her father never abandoned her. It was a lie.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

The child's court-appointed guardian, Hilary Duke, said Sonya is doing well. Duke blamed foster parents David and Kimberly Hodgin for blocking the state's earlier attempts to place Sonya with relatives.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140516/NEWS/140518837

Duke also claimed the Hodgins have endangered Sonya by making the custody case public. And she said that even if Sonya were to come back to Tennessee, she would not be placed back in the Hodgins' home.

"That would be detrimental," Duke said.

Their actions demonstrate they don't care about the best interest of the child but they sure love the cameras.

JMO

Sonya's case, he said, illustrates the importance of ensuring that the court process includes biological parents, whether they're in prison or not. And he stressed the need to achieve permanency as quickly as possible.

Sonya's experience, Klein said, has been traumatic all around. He said the public fight over this adds to her trauma and puts her in the awful position of having to choose families when she has no choice.

What she needs, he said, is counseling and stability.

“It's not about giving things and providing things that make children successful,” he said. “It's predictability.”

http://m.omaha.com/article/20140316/NEWS/140318867&template=mobileart

 

[jjenny]

But of course DCF likes for people to keep quiet on what DCF is doing to them. What else is new?
Bio dad hired the babysitter to watch the child. Then he allowed this babysitter to take the child to another state. Child was taken to another state with bio dad's PERMISSION. Who allows a babysitter to take a young child to another state?
Bio dad has a long criminal history. In the past, him being responsible for a child had not stopped him from committing a crime for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison (that he later got reduced to 7.5 years).
Can he actually keep out of trouble?
As for predictability, is this a joke? Adoptive parents raise the child for years. She hasn't seen bio dad in years. Bio dad is released from prison and court allows him to get the child. What kind of predictability is that?

 

[MyBelle]

But of course DCF likes for people to keep quiet on what DCF is doing to them. What else is new?
Bio dad hired the babysitter to watch the child. Then he allowed this babysitter to take the child to another state. Child was taken to another state with bio dad's PERMISSION. Who allows a babysitter to take a young child to another state?
Bio dad has a long criminal history. In the past, him being responsible for a child had not stopped him from committing a crime for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison (that he later got reduced to 7.5 years).
Can he actually keep out of trouble?
As for predictability, is this a joke? Adoptive parents raise the child for years. She hasn't seen bio dad in years. Bio dad is released from prison and court allows him to get the child. What kind of predictability is that?

Pretty predictable that a court will recognize parental rights. Especially so in this case. Also pretty predictable that if you fail to cooperate with any state agency whether it be as an inmate or foster parent, there will be a consequence for your failure to cooperate.

I got the distinct impression from the news articles that DCF does not want to have anything else to do with the former foster parents in any way. That's their problem.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

Pretty predictable that a court will recognize parental rights. Especially so in this case. Also pretty predictable that if you fail to cooperate with any state agency whether it be as an inmate or foster parent, there will be a consequence for your failure to cooperate.

I got the distinct impression from the news articles that DCF does not want to have anything else to do with the former foster parents in any way. That's their problem.

JMO

And if bio dad didn't actually reform, it will be DCF problem. Because now everybody knows what they did.

 

[MyBelle]

And if bio dad didn't actually reform, it will be DCF problem. Because now everybody knows what they did.

if he screws up and goes back to jail, DCS will still look for a member of the family to provide temporary guardianship of his children. It won't be the former foster parents in Tennessee.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

if he screws up and goes back to jail, DCS will still look for a member of the family to provide temporary guardianship of his children. It won't be the former foster parents in Tennessee.

JMO

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside about wonderful future awaiting this child. Child had a stable home with two parents. What is she going to have now? Is the father going to be able to stay out of trouble? Are any of his relatives qualified to take care of a child, if he can't stay out of trouble (and judging by his past history I have a lot of doubt about his ability to stay out of trouble)? Does DCF even care about any of it?

 

[MyBelle]

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside about wonderful future awaiting this child. Child had a stable home with two parents. What is she going to have now? Is the father going to be able to stay out of trouble? Are any of his relatives qualified to take care of a child, if he can't stay out of trouble (and judging by his past history I have a lot of doubt about his ability to stay out of trouble)? Does DCF even care about any of it?

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree as to whether she was being raised in a stable home. I think people who lie to the court in an attempt to take a child from a biological parent--or even worse, lies to the child that she's been abandoned-- is not capable of providing a stable home.

Apparently, the child wants to stay right where she is and that's all DCF cares about.

JMO

 

[Curiosum]

So, parents who have prison records do not have parental rights? Complete strangers should be able to strip children from their families and lives forever because the parents have engaged in previous crimes?

The Court, the GAL, and child protective services are all in violation of the law because they feel the best interest of the child in this case is best served by her biological father?

I'm not following this line of reasoning at all and thankfully, the courts do not, either.

JMO

I think there is a difference between saying that parents who have prison records should lose their parental rights and acknowledging that parents who commit violent felonies may not be in a position to parent safely and that in some of these cases the best interest of the child may be served by a different environment even if the trade off is less (or perhaps even no) contact time with their biological parent(s).

I don't know any of the involved parties, I'm not clear on what actual parental interference the Hodgins may have truly committed, how rehabilitated Mr. McCaul may be at this point, and how SM is truly fairing in her current situation so I guess I don't have more than a guess about what SM's best interests are. I would hope that the judge involved did take a close and careful look at all of this without political concerns and was able to rule based on what was truly in SM's best interest.

 

[jjenny]

If you hoped judge considered child's best interests, you would be wrong. Judge never had a hearing on child's best interest.

"I think the law requires that they have a 'best interest' hearing, and it did not happen," said Tuke. "It is bizarre…Tennessee law is very very clear that the best interest of the child are always considered…I think that is the principal glaring error last time when they transferred custody to the biological father."

http://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ng-friday-dickson-family-court-erred/9116573/

 

[MyBelle]

I think there is a difference between saying that parents who have prison records should lose their parental rights and acknowledging that parents who commit violent felonies may not be in a position to parent safely and that in some of these cases the best interest of the child may be served by a different environment even if the trade off is less (or perhaps even no) contact time with their biological parent(s).

I don't know any of the involved parties, I'm not clear on what actual parental interference the Hodgins may have truly committed, how rehabilitated Mr. McCaul may be at this point, and how SM is truly fairing in her current situation so I guess I don't have more than a guess about what SM's best interests are. I would hope that the judge involved did take a close and careful look at all of this without political concerns and was able to rule based on what was truly in SM's best interest.

BBM. The way the foster parents have dragged this out for years has not been in the best interest of the child. Neither the state nor the Judge nor her family want her in foster care. Most importantly, she doesn't want to be in foster care. It's finally over.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

BBM. The way the foster parents have dragged this out for years has not been in the best interest of the child. Neither the state nor the Judge nor her family want her in foster care. Most importantly, she doesn't want to be in foster care. It's finally over.

JMO

They were adoptive parents. They adopted the child.
Court overturned the adoption because father had his sentenced reduced from 15 to 7. 5 years.
As for being over, it is far from over.

 

[MyBelle]

They were adoptive parents. They adopted the child.
Court overturned the adoption because father had his sentenced reduced from 15 to 7. 5 years.
As for being over, it is far from over.

The court overturned the adoption. They are now former foster parents. The child doesn't want to return to them. Can't say that I blame her.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

The court overturned the adoption. They are now former foster parents. The child doesn't want to return to them. Can't say that I blame her.

JMO

I heard very different on the taped phone call about what this child wants.

 

[MyBelle]

I heard very different on the taped phone call about what this child wants.

Maybe so. The taped phone call was many months ago. I think she changed her mind after learning her father never abandoned her. I can't begin to imagine how emotionally traumatizing it has been for her.

JMO