I moved to Washington from California in Sept. 2011. It was a sudden move and I left my Son in his Father's care temporarily until I found a job and got settled into my own place. I expected this to only take 2 months or so but it ended up taking me over 6 months to find a job. In the mean time, my 11 year old Son began acting out to the point where my ex husband felt he couldn't control him so he signed over parental rights and my Son is now in a Foster home (re-unification) program. I have had a job for 5 months now and moved into a nice home and I want my Son to come home but apparently there is nothing I can do until the "Hearing" in Oct 2012! Why can't I just go to California and pick up my Son and bring him home where he belongs? Please help... I don't understand our CRAZY SYSTEM!

Were you aware the father was putting him in the system?

The system is not crazy. All they know is that left your son and his father gave up on him. So no you can't go get him. You prepare for the hearing to show the system that you can care for him.

Were you aware the father was putting him in the system?

The system is not crazy. All they know is that left your son and his father gave up on him. So no you can't go get him. You prepare for the hearing to show the system that you can care for him.

NO! I absolutely did not know he was putting him in the system. I am totally able and want more than anything to bring my Son home. I never ever saw anything like this happening while he was in his fathers care! I just want him home and yes, I will prepare for this hearing and express how badly I want to care for him.Thank u

If you still had legal custody at the time, then it was illegal for your ex husband to put him into foster care without your authorization. I know how you feel, the system is messed up. It is too late now. I agree with ScottGem. You might also want to contact a lawyer or someone who knows the law really well. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will gain custody of your son.

That's another issue... I was assigned a juvenille attorney whom I have been calling and leaving messages for over 3 weeks now and I have not received one call back from him.This is so stressful and frustrating but I will do whatever it takes to bring my son home.thank you for your advice.

If you still had legal custody at the time, then it was illegal for your ex husband to put him into foster care without your authorization. I know how you feel, the system is messed up. It is too late now. I agree with ScottGem. You might also want to contact a lawyer or someone who knows the law really well. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will gain custody of your son.

Can you cite the law on that? Since the child was living with the father, it would seem he had the right. I doubt if one could win an argument that his actions were illegal.

NO!! I absolutely did not know he was putting him in the system. I am totally able and want more than anything to bring my Son home. I never ever saw anything like this happening while he was in his fathers care! I just want him home and yes, I will prepare for this hearing and express how badly I want to care for him.Thank u

Who assigned the attorney? I would get my own. You need to know what proof you need to assemble for the hearing. You need to know what the court will want to see and what they will look at. You don't want to bombard them with extraneous stuff.

Good luck and keep us posted.