~Where's the "Services"?~

You know- Those SERVICES to help prevent the kids from being kidnapped to begin with, or enable Reunification- The Reasonable Efforts- what they claim to the "judge" that they did and "YOU FAILED", even though you DID take every goofy class, jumped through every hoop, and did every single thing the Case Worker dreamed up for you like a College Freshman during "hazing week". 

The trick is, you gotta ask for the services

CPS tells the court they have made every reasonable effort to provide services to reunite the child/children with the parent. 

The parent says "yeah right- what have they done- nothing". 

The trick is, you gotta ask for the service, it doesn't matter what it is. They are not going to tell you they have resources.  You have to ask them for it.

If they say they can't let the child come home unless you have a job and a home, tell them "I need help with services to get a job and services to get a place to stay". They have contacts with the employment office, they may get you a job at McDonalds but it's a job, They can get emergency housing through HUD.  You may have to live in a low income apartment, but you have your own place. 

Every thing they say you need to do or have to get your child/children back, ask them to help you with that service.

If they deny it, use it in court that you asked and they wouldn't help. 

And the most important thing! DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!  Every phone call, every visit, every letter, EVERYTHING!

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Reasonable Efforts- Basically you are assigning the responsibility for YOUR SUCCESS to CPS. Since they are required BY LAW to SAY they "exhausted all Reasonable Efforts", this is the way to MAKE THEM DO IT.   

Their merely "saying so" doesn't make it so, and they shouldn't be getting away with it.

We know there's around $700 a month (or LOTS more) Federal Funding to put your kids in Foster Care or Adoption Assistance, and since REASONABLE EFFORTS to PREVENT THAT is what they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to do, then by gawd they can cough up the bucks to help you SUCCEED at what they are requiring YOU to do.

Otherwise, it could appear that they are deliberately setting you up to FAIL by not timely providing you with SERVICES. They wouldn't be doing such a thing, would they?

So whatever the CPS worker dreams up, if it's going to cost money (especially if you have NO money), then it's THEIR JOB to come up with a way to get the SERVICES to enable you to SUCCEED.  

Since they so often "require" more bedrooms in your home (like you OWN a home), if you were "rolling in dough", obviously you would already have added more bedrooms, and you wouldn't be in their talons to begin with.  If they are going to REQUIRE you to do something about it, obviously YOU NEED HELP to SUCCEED, and since they have inserted themselves in your lives, they have assumed RESPONSIBILITY to HELP YOU SUCCEED in fixing it.

If they are belly-aching about your "empty pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator", unless you are blowing your income on booze, drugs, cigarettes, or gambling- obviously if you had MONEY- your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator would NOT be "empty" and you wouldn't be in their talons.  If their "object" is to demand that you have lots of groceries, they need to help you SUCCEED in having lots of groceries.

Every single "hoop" they dream up that is going to require resources you DO NOT HAVE, then by gawd, they can supply those resources to help you SUCCEED.  Otherwise, they aren't being "helpful" at all, are they?

Every goofy "class" they demand you take that COSTS MONEY, obviously if you had MONEY you probably wouldn't be in their talons to begin with.  So you ask THEM for help to pay for the classes THEY REQUIRE for YOUR SUCCESS.

If they schedule classes that happen at the SAME TIME, or one on the west side of town and one that starts immediately on the east side of town, and it's a half-hour commute, obviously you are going to be LATE.  Instead of them getting a sadistic secret laugh out of it, HOLD THEM RESPONSIBLE for the scheduling SNAFU (Situation Normal, All Fouled Up) so you can SUCCEED at completing those classes.

Lately, it seems like the classes they are requiring you to attend are so loaded that your turn to attend might be scheduled a half year from now.  

And in some places, these classes DON'T EXIST.

They think they are unaccountable little gods, and that just isn't so.  Make them ACCOUNTABLE for your SUCCESS.  The law says so.  Of course they are really unused to having to actually DO ANYTHING but dream up stuff and scribble evil fairy tales with their poison pens, so it may take some "bitch slapping" to get them moving.

"Your Honor, Ms. Beuldyke REQUIRED that I do item1, item2, item3, which I asked her for HELP to accomplish her requirements.  She has REFUSED to help me accomplish these items, which she has REQUIRED me to do in order to avoid my children being removed and being placed in state custody.  I have accomplished every task she has required that are in my capability to do, but I CANNOT accomplish these other tasks without help.  She has REFUSED to perform her duties.  The Reasonable Efforts requirement is not being met, or even the pretense of it."

Note: In some states, the "Reasonable Efforts" is a  CHECKMARKED BOX on a pre-printed FORM submitted to a judge so they can KIDNAP the kids, and to the Feds to COLLECT THE MONEY.   Rather non-specific about WHAT (or anything) they did to help PREVENT the need for the kids' removal.  Like as if it doesn't much matter. There's no accountability in a checkmarked box, is there? We call it FRAUD.

Word Clouds about service-