[mwillems81]

I have three children one was placed in a guardianship and the other two I relinquished my rights to. I pretty mush was coerced into doing so by cps... I was emotionally beat down by them and given so much stress in getting them back.. they kept saying that I wasn't making the changes that needed to made.. I was manipulating the system. I was blamed for every little thing from my daughters failure to thrive to her developmental disability, my son who is a guardian ship is pretty much the same thing I was drugged through the mud until I finally gave up... its now four years later and I find out that my son is autistic, aspergers to be exact.. I think my daughter may have had the same thing.
Now I was not a perfect parent I did use drugs and I am not saying that I didn't do anything wrong, but I feel as though the system failed my kids by being so bias against me and not willing to see the under lying cause of my children's issues... long story short I want my kids back I have changed my life complety have been clean for 5 years ever since my kids were taken... I have had pych evals stating that I am a good parent... is there a way to get my rights reinstated? Or is this a lost cause... I try and push it out of my mind but it always comes back.. should I pursue this? There is a lot more to this but this is just the short version.

[Synnen]

If you relinquished your rights willingly (they were not TAKEN from a court, but you signed them away), and it has been FOUR YEARS--you're fighting a lost cause.

The only way to usually turn over voluntary relinquishment is to PROVE that you were coerced. Can you do that?

What you are proposing is going up against CPS, against ripping your children from the homes they have known for the past 4 years, uprooting them--can you really say that is in the best interest of your children? If you can, great! But truly think about that, before you start ANYTHING.

Any chance you would have at succeeding would involve a REALLY good lawyer, a LOT of money, and pretty much every waking moment of your life. And that's if you HAVE proof that you were coerced.

If you don't have proof that you were coerced--you've got a better chance of winning the lottery.

[momtogirls]

Same thing happen to me almost, I had 2 daughter's taken from me in 2007 and my 3rd daughter taken from me a month later at the hospital then in 2008 DCFS took my 4th daughter from the hospital when she was born, I right now won custody back of my 4th daughter, but DCFS remains gaudianship of her. My 3rd daughter was terminated and they allowed her foster mother to adopt her, her foster mom brought in her own lawyer in the middle of my case to fight to keep her from me. My 2 oldest daughter's were returned to me but soon taken back since they all said I had lacked parenting skills and are now being adopted to my mother their grandma. I remain with my youngest daughter, and the states attorney and DCFS are hot for her they want her out of my care as well but cannot do so unless they can prove I am not meeting her needs.
Now I had a physcologiacal eval done which said I had borderline personality disorder with paranoia features and my therapist now (court/DCFS ordered therapy) says I have clinical depression as well and dependency issues since I remarried. I am now ordered to have phyciatric eval done this August 2010. DCFS has done nothing but destroy my life and my children's lives and continue to do so.

I do know one thing the courts will never believe anything the parents have to say, my lawyer tried in court to tell the judge that I lacked understanding of the case and tried to get the TPR thrown out due to not understanding, and even tried to prove that there was unsufficiant evidence on DCFS's part but the judge wouldn't hear him and ruled against him.

You are alone in your case, it's you (the parent) against the caseworker, states attorney, casa, the judge, all of them peopl your word against thiers and its always their word that is right and your wrong. Even the court appointed attorney's work for them, who pays them?

[GV70]

. My 3rd daughter was terminated

:confused::eek::eek:

[seekingserenity]

There are new state laws (in 9 states so far) that allow parental rights to be reinstated in certain cases. The fact sheet with information on each state law is found here http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=21770. If no such law exists in your state petition your local state lawmakers to pass one. These laws make sense for families where children have *not* been adopted and are designed to address the issue of legal orphans where the parent has rehabilitated after termination has occurred.

If your children are already adopted and thriving in their new homes then do what you can to maintain appropriate contact without disrupting their placement: ask the DCFS or equivalent agency for updates like report cards and pictures; cooperate peacefully with those who have opened their home to your child; maintain your current name, address, and phone number with the terminating agency so that your child can find you when they are 18 and able to do so on their own. You will always love and be a parent to your child. No law alone can sever that bond. There is a lot to grieve for when a family is separated from each other and your feelings and desires are valid concerns. It is difficult to accept such loss and it is natural to mourn.

There are actionable circumstances in some termination cases. I am unfamiliar with case law and unaware of your specific state. There is concern with existing federal guidelines (the Adoption and Safe Families Act http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/asfapl105-89summary.htm) that children achieve permanency quickly. Reunification is sometimes more time consuming than the guidelines allow. And that is tragic for some families, while it is seen as being in the best interest of the child. The best advice I can give is to live a full life and be the kind of person that your children will want to know. Make every reasonable effort to be a positive and meaningful figure in your child's life despite the legal situation. Eventually, the details of your relationship will be between you and your children.

[Synnen]

Considering that this thread is over a year old, the odds of reinstatement happening at this point are almost nil.

Please watch dates when responding.