Has anyone tried to fight the system ??? - Adoption.com Forums

I don't see anything about preference to foster parents after a year for GA. There are 4 states that do that. This page might be helpful:

Placement of Children With Relatives

If the state has no established policy, then in general, it always goes:

Bio Parent --> Relatives/Kin --> Fictive Kin (which can be far reaching in its definition) --> Foster Parents --> Non Foster Parent Adoptive Placement (stranger)

Some states have something called De Facto Status in which you could, after some period of time, usually a year, file for consideration as well.

I'd have to say that based on my experiences, fighting relatives is not usually going to win it for you. You will likely get blacklisted from the agency as well.

There was a case here in OH a few years back, you could google it, Nic Andrews was the boy, in which he had been with foster parents for over 2 years, his entire life, I am not sure if TPR had occurred or not, but two very old and distant (in proximity) relatives came forward. Unbeknownst to the FPs, the boy had several siblings placed in another home. The relatives came forward for them (a 65 year old uncle and 80+ great grandmother I believe), they lived in another state, but OH was agreeing to pay them foster care payment for the siblings. They found out about baby Nic and wanted him too.

The FPs fought it, and they did end up winning. The details have all been hushed. So, I am not sure if the relatives ended up coming to an agreement and backing out, or if the judge vetoed it all. And I am quite certain they are done with the agency.

I think the policy of RU really needs to change. It should only apply for the first 6 months of placement for children under 6. After that time, the bond/attachment to the foster parent can be so great, especially the itty bitties, that breaking it can be devastating, especially when it is to go to a complete stranger who just so happens to be kin. The intent of the language in the ASFA is to prevent what happened a lot in the 70s, kids would be permanently or even long-term temporarily removed and close relatives, grandparents, would not be notified, so the kids would sit in foster care for a long time when they could have been with a relative. Or, the bio parent would not want kids with a certain relative, even if they were appropriate, so the agencies couldn't place. Now the laws require the agencies to seek out relatives. That is all good and fine BEFORE they children are removed or in the immediate time period after removal. But, after a long time, I just don't see the true benefit. Better would be to encourage more open adoptions between the foster parents and BIO FAMILY, not just the bio parents. Had I gotten to adopt my girls, I totally would have kept their relationship with their bio family, the appropriate ones at least.

Source: http://forums.adoption.com/foster-parent-support/406954-has-anyone-tried-fight-system.html

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