When a child is taken into the custody of social services due to allegations of abuse, neglect or dependence, there must be a hearing within 10 business days to allow for a response from the parents or persons from whom custody was removed. At that hearing in this case a continuance was granted due to WM not having proper legal representation, so Mondays hearing is essentially the first hearing. The judge did order that home studies for possible family or friend placement in lieu of foster care begin.
Now, both parents are required by law to attend. This may be in person or if approved br the Judge electronically. They are not required to have legal representation but it is highly recommended. This hearing will in essence review the reason custody was sought by CPS/DSS/DCFS and determine if that removal was justified. Obviously we have a deceased child and a parent who has admitted to law enforcement that he is the direct cause of her death and that he proceeded to dispose of the body in an attempt to conceal the circumstances of the death. That alone is more than ample to justify the removal in the eyes of they. Second, does the possibility of the child being as continued risk if custody is returned? Unless the autopsy report makes a miraculous appearance showing some bizarre natural cause of death.(as bizarre as it sounds is possible) the fact that actual cause of death is unknown should be sufficient to show risk.
If as someone said Sini is living with her parents that would not work in her favor for getting the child placed with the grandparents. CPS/DSS/DCFS is notorious for dragging their feet completing familial home studies especially in sitiations where there are still so many unknowns. The court would normally be tolerant of them reporting that the studies are in progress this early in the proceedings. The parents having high paid attorneys does help in that these attorneys are usually more prepared and more insistent than the court appointed regulars who have dealt with so many families and excuses they tend to just go through the motions.
That at all being said unless a bombshell autopsy appearance occurs the odds are custody will remain with the department until such time that the cause of death is determined at least. Even though Sini is well within her legal rights not to cooperate with law enforcement is will still put her in an unfavorable light with CPS/DSS/DCFS and it is unlikely they will recommend unsupervised visits at this time. If the attorneys have worked diligently behind the lines there may be a move to a familial or friend placement but it would surprise me at this hearing unless a home study was just so outstanding it was impossible to delay.
WM is just window dressing at this time. If he is brought to court and his attorney can not get LE to alllow a change of clothing and removal of handcuffs during the hearing the visual impact is devastating. (I know it was in my case when my daughters bio was brought into court in her orange jumpsuit and cuffs). Those optics drive home the serious nature of this case and the risk to the child. The fact that Sini did not participate in searches or make public appeals will have no effect as both the court and CPS/DSS/DCFS understand that LE do not want parents participating in searches and possibly contaminating crime scenes and some people no matter how desperately the want to simply cannot speak publicly or to news cameras. She did have an attorney who spoke on her behalf and that shows effort.
IMHO - custody will remain with the department
She will remain in the current foster placement unless there are she is having issues adjusting at the current foster placement or there was a home study that was too good to ignore.
Sini will continue to have supervised visitation
Wesley will put his new bracelets back on and quietly go back to his new accommodations at the jail.
If placement remains at the current foster home the judge will order the department to step up home study efforts
A new hearing date will be set in 30 days.
Again based on my decades of experience with foster/adoptive care and as a Guardian ad Litem(CASA) volunteer this is my opinion without having access to the CPS/DSS/DCFS reports.
Great info. I also think it will depend on how cooperative Sini is being with CPS. As in, is she answering their questions, meeting with the worker, has she set up trauma counselling for the loss of Sherin, is she in contact regularly and asking about her daughter, was it important for her to be the one to tell her daughter about Sherin's death, has she been wanting this child to meet with a therapist to be sure she is coping well and so on. Basically, if she is doing everything they ask and is eagerly showing that she is demanding the best for her daughter, I think that could be a big help.
I also wonder what CPS care is like in this specific location. Has this child been in the same home since she was removed? If not how many times has she been moved? How many other children are also in the home? Does she have her culture around her? Has she had to stop school or switch schools? How many times? Many homes are "emergency" homes and within a week or two they HOPE to have the child in a more permanent/long term foster home if one opens. So if she has bounced around a couple of times already that could also play a role.
I think one thing people need to remember is there are plenty of serious criminals who do NOT lose their children at all, and there are others who don't break any laws and lose them because of small complaints adding up. Many times, in my experience, parents who show positive signs for healthy change and an eagerness to cooperate with CPS, regardless of the past, are given their children back, and remain closely monitored.
Even if Sini gets her daughter back it will by no means be a case-closed.
Finally, I am sure CPS will be using information that has not yet been released. They may have sealed records of the preliminary autopsy report that are good enough for use in this setting at this time, but not good enough for public release. Copies of her statements given to LE about Sherin's disappearance and death. The state of the home and such during initial searches and then the search warrants, would also have been photographed, and could come into play as well. If the home was neat and tidy with proper safety equipment, plenty of good food, toys and things that a child should have to thrive, that could help to speed up some of the process as they sort of have a "before and after" about the type of home Sini and WM had. The reports for Sherin given to the adoption agency will also likely be good evidence for getting the other child back and of course the adoption home studies and psych reports and everything that goes into the process will likely also be helpful for Sini. Much of the home study type of work has been done because of Sherin's adoption and the type of reporting that was required this past year. So, CPS may try and drag their feet, but Sini's lawyers may be quick to say "look we have all of that information right here. It's as current as this past year" and a judge may look fondly at that.
I know this stuff often takes a lot of time, but I do feel like some of the circumstances that required this girl to be removed, are also the exact reasons why she should be brought home. She has lost her entire world, from school to church and her usual friends, to her parents, home, bed, own possessions, and of course the death of her sister. She SHOULD be around people she is familiar with so that she can grieve Sherin, grieve the loss of her dad, and grieve anything else she will have lost because of all of this.
ALL JMO