Second National Parents’ Attorneys Conference
Working with Vulnerable Populations
Sarah Katz
Supervising Attorney, Family Advocacy Unit
Community Legal Services, Inc.
Jey Rajaraman
Supervising Attorney, Family Representation Project
Legal Services of New Jersey
July 13-14, 2011
Washington, DC
I. Lucy
You represent Lucy as a parent in her dependency case. She is 32 years old and has 2 children, both of whom have been removed from her care because of allegations that her drug use was interfering with her ability to care for her children. She has a long history of heroin addiction and is currently in Intensive Outpatient treatment and has been compliant for the past 3 months. She does not receive any psychiatric treatment but was diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder 7 years ago. The case is moving toward reunification. Lucy consistently visits her children but often gets into arguments with the foster care worker during visits. She calls you after every visit to complain about things like the worker’s attitude, what the children were wearing, how the children’s hair was done, and how unfair it is that her children were put in placement.
She has repeatedly called you for the past few days and you agreed to meet with her in-person before the permanency hearing. When you get to the courthouse, Lucy is already in the waiting area and arguing loudly with the foster care worker. From what you gather, the foster care worker wants to change the day of the visits with Lucy’s children from Tuesday to Thursday. Lucy is screaming that she is not in agreement with this because she does her shopping on Thursdays. You intervene and ask to speak with Lucy privately.
Questions:
· How would you handle this conversation with Lucy?
o Are there things you could have done before the hearing?
o How will you defuse the situation?
o What, if anything, will you say to the foster care worker or other parties?
· What special considerations are there when communicating with a client who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and/or mental illness?
· What special efforts do you make or strategies do you use when advocating for a client who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and/or mental illness?
II. Isabel
Isabel is the young mother of three children, ages 5, 6, and 9. She divorced their father, Michael, after the family ran into financial problems and Michael took to heavy drinking as an emotional solution. The children remained with Michael under the divorce settlement agreement since Isabel was unemployed, and for a time Isabel visited them regularly on the weekends. Six months later, Isabel became involved in a violent altercation with a neighbor and was charged with aggravated assault. Due to her primary reliance on welfare as a source of income, Isabel was unable to post bail and remains incarcerated until trial. She expects to plead guilty in the hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, but knows that her prior criminal history will weigh against her.
One day, you receive a call from Isabel, who sounds frantic over the phone. The local child welfare agency has just informed her that her children are currently in foster care because Michael had been substantiated for abuse or neglect. A day ago, the child welfare social worker entered the family residence and noted that Michael was inebriated at 10am, that there was no food in the kitchen, and that the children had unusual bruises on their arms. The social worker interviewed the eldest child who said that Michael hit them with a belt when he was angry. The agency immediately removed the children and placed them with a non-relative foster parent.
From what you can gather through the conversation, Isabel wants to be a dedicated parent to her children and strongly opposes the idea of her children being raised by a stranger. Although she is horrified that Michael might have beaten the children in her absence, she has no family or friends that would be a possible alternative placement for the children while the child welfare case is ongoing. Her major concern is that because she is likely to remain incarcerated for a year, the family court judge will terminate her parental rights and keep her away from her children. She starts to cry on the phone, saying, “I want to get out, I want to see my babies. I won’t do anything wrong ever again, please don’t let them take them away from me.”
Questions:
· What should your primary short-term focus be in dealing with this client?
· What should your primary long-term focus be in dealing with this client?
· What are some special considerations to keep in mind when advocating for an incarcerated parent?
· How should you communicate with your client, and how often?
· How can you cooperate with the child welfare agency to ensure that your client’s need for services is being met?
III. Janaya
You have been appointed to represent Janaya in a dependency case regarding her daughter Maya who is 6 months old. Janaya is 16 years old and has been in foster care most of her life – she was reunified twice with her mother but each time the reunification failed because her mother relapsed to using drugs. Janaya has been in 13 different placements during her time in foster care and is very bitter and angry with the system. Her CYS worker has been threatening to take Maya since she was born due to Janaya’s “non-compliance” with the rules of placement, namely coming home after curfew and spending nights away from the foster home. CYS got an order of protective custody to remove Maya after a recent incident where Janaya spent the night away from the foster home. In speaking with the assigned CYS worker, you learn that when CYS came to get Maya, Janaya cursed out the CYS worker and threatened to hurt her so police assistance was required to remove Maya. As a result of this, Janaya’s foster mother asked that Janaya be immediately removed from her home as well.
You call Janaya at her new foster home and she answers most of your questions with one or two word answers. She doesn’t seem to want to talk to you. You ask why she stayed away from the foster home and she says that she was on the bus coming back that evening and called her foster mom to say she was running late – her foster mom said “don’t bother coming back” and hung up. So Janaya stayed with a friend and returned to the foster home in the morning. By then the foster mom had reported her AWOL to CYS. Janaya says that she had permission from the foster mom to go out that evening. You ask Janaya what she wants to have happen at the upcoming hearing and she says “I want my baby, what do you think I want?!” and hangs up.
Questions:
· What special considerations are there when communicating with clients who are minor parents?
· How might this conversation have gone better?
· What special efforts do you make or strategies do you use when advocating for a minor parent?
IV. Sora
Sora recently gave birth to an infant daughter named Lise. Sora and her husband Simon are undocumented immigrants from Asia. They have lived in the United States for ten years, and have found employment suitable enough to afford a small suburban house. Two months ago, they were arrested and detained by ICE officials under the premise that their original entry into the United States was invalid. The child welfare agency removed Lise from the home while the parents were detained in an immigration facility, and temporarily placed her in a foster home. The foster parent is enamored with baby Lise, and has already told the child welfare social worker that she wishes to adopt. There is no other allegation of abuse or neglect besides the detainment.
On the phone, Simon discusses his situation with you in a halting, nervous voice. “We came to America because it was easier to make a living here…we’ve done no wrong. We’re not criminals, we don’t hurt Lise. She’s just a baby. How could they do this? I thought they were supposed to keep families together.” The immigration proceedings will likely be protracted, as their immigration lawyer believes that the parents qualify for a waiver of deportation on the basis of hardship to the infant daughter. If necessary, they plan to appeal the Immigration Judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals and to the federal court. When you ask Simon whether there are relatives who would be willing to take care of Lise in the meantime, he answers cautiously, “We do have a brother-in-law who lives in the state. He’s not documented either, though. I want Lise to stay with family. I can give you his name if you can promise me that he won’t get into trouble like us.”
Questions:
· What should you tell your client?
· Is it possible to place Lise with the undocumented relative? What should you inform your client about regarding procedures for relative placement?
· What manageable goals can you achieve for your clients in detainment?
· Does the child welfare agency have to provide services to detained parents?
· How should you communicate with the clients’ immigration lawyer?
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