Informal case review becomes out right nitemare
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Reno, Nv
Posts: 873
Informal case review becomes out right nitemare
I was supposed to have a friendly informal case review meeting today. During most case review meetings they go over your goals, add goals, delete goals, mark off accomplished goals. Its CPS and their attorney and you and your attorney.
I went into this meeting today thinking I am finally got a date set for evaluation, I am clean and can pass their test. I have all the supports they required me to have. I thought they were going high five me say good job, and that was going to be the end of my day. I would leave the office whistling zippty doo dah and party like it was 1999.
Boy was I wrong, my attorney comes into the conference room and says I got a court filing today from the DA's office. I was " ok" I get these all the time I thought he was going to say it was procedural. He's like "on March 23rd of next month they want to change your case from reunification to Termination of Parental Right's" my jaw fell to the floor. Only question I could get out was "why"? "Insufficient progress!"
Ok a little back story, my lawyer and I were doing a lot of legal wrangling and managed to have me not test up until last week for the first time. And I found every excuse in the book to not go to formalized treatment ( AA doesn't count). In essence I was keeping myself out of any real treatment in the moment!
Remember they recommended Family Drug Court sometime back. I got that reversed and they agreed to outpatient. Well fast forward to today, and bam prosecutor immediately points out that I didn't want to be tested and haven't done anything but set an appointment they don't even know if I am going to show up for....... WEEEEEE they are petitioning to change the case status, that doesn't mean I will lose my daughter, but creates even more barriers to get her back if they get that change.
If they change the case status I lose housing as well. My lawyer got them to agree that as long as I was clean and attending outpatient, inpatient, sideways patient whatever......... they would withdrawal the petition.
I am not going to drink, this bothers me some. In the past I would of said they changed the rules of game in the middle, but I know what I was doing. FYI only because I was his client did my lawyer do what I asked him, he didn't particularly care for my plan. Wait, no he hated my plan!
Well its the bottom of the 6th inning and I have a bad count, but I know what I got to do. So much for celebrating today. Good news is I am surprisingly calm a little upset, but know what I have to do. So its not like this is a hopeless situation. I have no desire to drink, but this bums me out some...
Hope everyones day is better than mine, catch you all later! The way I feel right now >>>>>>>>
very unexpected day and outcome. I guess you gotta live life on lifes terms right?
I went into this meeting today thinking I am finally got a date set for evaluation, I am clean and can pass their test. I have all the supports they required me to have. I thought they were going high five me say good job, and that was going to be the end of my day. I would leave the office whistling zippty doo dah and party like it was 1999.
Boy was I wrong, my attorney comes into the conference room and says I got a court filing today from the DA's office. I was " ok" I get these all the time I thought he was going to say it was procedural. He's like "on March 23rd of next month they want to change your case from reunification to Termination of Parental Right's" my jaw fell to the floor. Only question I could get out was "why"? "Insufficient progress!"
Ok a little back story, my lawyer and I were doing a lot of legal wrangling and managed to have me not test up until last week for the first time. And I found every excuse in the book to not go to formalized treatment ( AA doesn't count). In essence I was keeping myself out of any real treatment in the moment!
Remember they recommended Family Drug Court sometime back. I got that reversed and they agreed to outpatient. Well fast forward to today, and bam prosecutor immediately points out that I didn't want to be tested and haven't done anything but set an appointment they don't even know if I am going to show up for....... WEEEEEE they are petitioning to change the case status, that doesn't mean I will lose my daughter, but creates even more barriers to get her back if they get that change.
If they change the case status I lose housing as well. My lawyer got them to agree that as long as I was clean and attending outpatient, inpatient, sideways patient whatever......... they would withdrawal the petition.
I am not going to drink, this bothers me some. In the past I would of said they changed the rules of game in the middle, but I know what I was doing. FYI only because I was his client did my lawyer do what I asked him, he didn't particularly care for my plan. Wait, no he hated my plan!
Well its the bottom of the 6th inning and I have a bad count, but I know what I got to do. So much for celebrating today. Good news is I am surprisingly calm a little upset, but know what I have to do. So its not like this is a hopeless situation. I have no desire to drink, but this bums me out some...
Hope everyones day is better than mine, catch you all later! The way I feel right now >>>>>>>>
very unexpected day and outcome. I guess you gotta live life on lifes terms right?
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NC
Posts: 1,737
Jeremy,
I am sorry that you had to deal with that - and your attitude in response to the change in approach by the prosecutor is fantastic. My wife works as a mental health professional in CPS and some of the situations that arise are absolutely horrendous: the kind of stuff that makes the front page & for which no human intervention can undo. The problem is that nobody can say with certainty which family will completely spiral out of control and which will heal. All they have to go by are the facts, and as you pointed out, you stiff armed them for awhile.
The CPS people are human, they lose sleep over termination of rights. They cry over dinner about child abuse cases to which they are assigned. They recognize what addiction, abuse, mental illness and other hurdles do to the lives of parents and children alike. Most caseworkers are in their mid twenties because the burnout rate for those positions is incredibly high: five years or less in many counties.
Jeremy, I don't know your situation but I would be willing to bet that if you prove to them that you are doing what you intend to, they will back off. Nobody wants to break your family apart, and your demonstrable progress is the fastest way to stop all of the negative outcomes you listed above. Ultimately, you must do this for yourself, but this is one of those wreckage of the past things they talk about in AA. Easy does it and trust the process. You can do this.
I am sorry that you had to deal with that - and your attitude in response to the change in approach by the prosecutor is fantastic. My wife works as a mental health professional in CPS and some of the situations that arise are absolutely horrendous: the kind of stuff that makes the front page & for which no human intervention can undo. The problem is that nobody can say with certainty which family will completely spiral out of control and which will heal. All they have to go by are the facts, and as you pointed out, you stiff armed them for awhile.
The CPS people are human, they lose sleep over termination of rights. They cry over dinner about child abuse cases to which they are assigned. They recognize what addiction, abuse, mental illness and other hurdles do to the lives of parents and children alike. Most caseworkers are in their mid twenties because the burnout rate for those positions is incredibly high: five years or less in many counties.
Jeremy, I don't know your situation but I would be willing to bet that if you prove to them that you are doing what you intend to, they will back off. Nobody wants to break your family apart, and your demonstrable progress is the fastest way to stop all of the negative outcomes you listed above. Ultimately, you must do this for yourself, but this is one of those wreckage of the past things they talk about in AA. Easy does it and trust the process. You can do this.
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 6,224
Originally Posted by Thatdeliveryguy 
my lawyer and I were doing a lot of legal wrangling and managed to have me not test up until last week for the first time. And I found every excuse in the book to not go to formalized treatment ( AA doesn't count). In essence I was keeping myself out of any real treatment in the moment!
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: PA
Posts: 12,000
Originally Posted by Eddiebuckle
Jeremy,
I am sorry that you had to deal with that - and your attitude in response to the change in approach by the prosecutor is fantastic. My wife works as a mental health professional in CPS and some of the situations that arise are absolutely horrendous: the kind of stuff that makes the front page & for which no human intervention can undo. The problem is that nobody can say with certainty which family will completely spiral out of control and which will heal. All they have to go by are the facts, and as you pointed out, you stiff armed them for awhile.
The CPS people are human, they lose sleep over termination of rights. They cry over dinner about child abuse cases to which they are assigned. They recognize what addiction, abuse, mental illness and other hurdles do to the lives of parents and children alike. Most caseworkers are in their mid twenties because the burnout rate for those positions is incredibly high: five years or less in many counties.
Jeremy, I don't know your situation but I would be willing to bet that if you prove to them that you are doing what you intend to, they will back off. Nobody wants to break your family apart, and your demonstrable progress is the fastest way to stop all of the negative outcomes you listed above. Ultimately, you must do this for yourself, but this is one of those wreckage of the past things they talk about in AA. Easy does it and trust the process. You can do this.
I am sorry that you had to deal with that - and your attitude in response to the change in approach by the prosecutor is fantastic. My wife works as a mental health professional in CPS and some of the situations that arise are absolutely horrendous: the kind of stuff that makes the front page & for which no human intervention can undo. The problem is that nobody can say with certainty which family will completely spiral out of control and which will heal. All they have to go by are the facts, and as you pointed out, you stiff armed them for awhile.
The CPS people are human, they lose sleep over termination of rights. They cry over dinner about child abuse cases to which they are assigned. They recognize what addiction, abuse, mental illness and other hurdles do to the lives of parents and children alike. Most caseworkers are in their mid twenties because the burnout rate for those positions is incredibly high: five years or less in many counties.
Jeremy, I don't know your situation but I would be willing to bet that if you prove to them that you are doing what you intend to, they will back off. Nobody wants to break your family apart, and your demonstrable progress is the fastest way to stop all of the negative outcomes you listed above. Ultimately, you must do this for yourself, but this is one of those wreckage of the past things they talk about in AA. Easy does it and trust the process. You can do this.
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Washington, MO
Posts: 2,306
Jeremy, you've done it your way and I applaud that. The state must go by stats and too-close-for-comfort-monitoring. Play their game. You can now. It is sooo nice to hear from you. Onward with care my brother.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Reno, Nv
Posts: 873
Thank you all, my plan is simple stick to my case plan, stop fighting what I can't change and do what I can. And under no circumstances will I drink period. Actually the more though I put into this, nothing actually changed yesterday, other than the circumstance by which they are mandating sobriety, and I was on my way to staying sober anyways.
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: PA
Posts: 12,000
Originally Posted by Thatdeliveryguy
Thank you all, my plan is simple stick to my case plan, stop fighting what I can't change and do what I can. And under no circumstances will I drink period. Actually the more though I put into this, nothing actually changed yesterday, other than the circumstance by which they are mandating sobriety, and I was on my way to staying sober anyways.
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