CASA will not represent us because for several reasons. The county where the case is heard does not participate in CASA. When they show up it always goes bad. Also, because it is volunteer based they don’t want to obligate someone to driving 7 hours for a hearing that may or may not happen as is often the case in that county. We met the head of TX CASA on Amtrak in Denver. He actually approached us because of our ethnic differences and asked if we’d adopted. He heard our story and was appalled. He asked us what county the case was being heard in and when we told him he said “it’ll never happen there, you’re gringo.”

Had he been the only person to say that it might have surprised us, but we’ve been hearing it from caseworkers in our area for three years. The white population in this area is a significant minority and apparently there is still some resentment in the border towns that it is even represented as well as it is.

Even when we started looking for an attorney we talked to a dozen different ones before we found one that would even take our money. She has done some good, gotten us legal custody, pursued mama to relinquish to US as opposed to solely the department. However, even she is not informed of hearings in the case nor does she receive paperwork, she has a local to that county paralegal that she “we” pay to stop by and collect documents in the case on a weekly basis.

The CPS governing board told us they “didn’t get involved at the county level” huh? I thought that was your purpose, to make sure the counties are following the law.

So we don’t really know what is going to be the straw that breaks the back eventually. Right now they are holding up our homestudy because our background check does not comply with rules that the state of Texas has ruled to be unlawful. They have until February 18 to complete it, we’ll see if they do. Then they say the rest of the process will proceed quickly. hahahahaha I don’t buy it. They say if the homestudy worker gets the homestudy to them before the 15th of February the kids can be moved to adoptive placement at the end of February and then it would be a matter of waiting for a court date. However, we are doubting that will happen until at least the end of March or the end of April. And another stupid thing, they only transfer kids from foster – adopt the last week of the month because the state stops paying foster money when they are moved, and they do not receive adoption money until the 1st day of the month following placement. Considering they put hundreds of kids into adoptive placement each year, it is a significant hit to them financially if they do it any other time on a grand scale.

oh, yes, i’m so there. my RADling is probably a genius. IQ right off the chart. but i get, “is that a window?”. or “what comes after 5?” in the middle of 10 jumping jacks cause she’s suddenly forgot how to count. yeah, right.

So I sleep on the couch too some nights.