Parenting a child in the best of circumstances can be a challenge. Foster children face difficult situations in their personal lives. A foster parent provides stability, care, and nurturance when a foster child needs it most. But the transition to foster care can be a difficult one for children. A foster parent steps in and provides care with only a vague hope of enjoying the usual long-term rewards a parent usually enjoys. A Tahlequah, Oklahoma foster parents attorney is well-versed in the difficulties that foster children face.
How An Attorney Can Help
A foster parents attorney works with foster parents all the time and knows that foster parents often face difficult tasks with limited resources and support. It takes a lot for a child to be removed from the home and placed in foster care. A child’s emotional life is complex and foster children often carry the weight of a complex family background.
DHS (Department of Human Services) workers see these children infrequently. Foster parents often run into conflicts when DHS child protective services workers fail to recognize what is really needed and how foster care providers take care of the children in their care.
When conflicts occur, it is vital that Oklahoma foster parents know their rights and can turn to an experienced Tahlequah attorney for help in protecting those rights.
Oklahoma Foster Parents Rights
While DHS’ goal is to stabilize the lives of foster children and to see that they are well cared for, DHS must balance that goal against the rights of foster parents who implement that goal. Oklahoma law enumerates 24 specific rights to which Oklahoma foster parents are entitled.
They include a right to respect, a right to necessary information, and a right to prior notice when the DHS plans to terminate a foster placement. Foster parents also have the right to be notified of review and permanency meetings regarding the child and may participate in decision-making regarding the child. That means the foster parents may communicate with the child’s therapists, teachers, and doctors.
Foster parents also have the right to be informed of court and agency decisions regarding the child. They have the right to object to changes in a foster child’s placement. This includes the right to request a hearing about changes, especially in child placement.
DHS workers with their large caseload, may forget or be too busy to keep an open line of communication with foster parents. Problems can ensue. This is often when a Tahlequah, Oklahoma foster parents attorney steps in.
Legal Help For Foster Parents
Foster parents must protect and nurture all of the foster children in their care. When there are allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the foster parent or on the part of other foster children in the foster parent’s care, a family attorney can step in.
Sometimes, a foster parent is not given the tools they need to adequately do their job. Other times, foster parents are ignored in issues regarding permanency or other placement regarding the child.
The buffer an attorney brings can help sort out issues that bureaucratic procedures cannot. Your attorney can sometimes resolve conflicts with DHS foster care agencies without resorting to legal maneuvers.
When a hearing is needed, a foster parents attorney can handle that, so you know you are doing the best job possible for all concerned.
Low-cost Initial Consultation: Tahlequah Foster Parents Attorney
For a low-cost consultation with a Tahlequah attorney, call Wirth Law Office – Tahlequah at 918-458-2677 or toll free at 1-888-447-7262.
Or, if you prefer e-mail, you may enter a legal question in the form at the top right of this page and we’ll contact you by e-mail as soon as possible.
