One reason I started this blog was to chronicle the journey of adoption with Daniel. I wanted to get it down in written form before I forgot. From 2007 until his adoption in 2010 there was so much that happened and for much of that time I was able to remember specific dates and court hearings but as time has gone on the memories have faded some. Well, I haven't been consistent in blogging, and when I have made entries it hasn't been in a linear fashion! oh well.
When people ask me about Daniel and I give the condensed version of our history, I talk about the final jury trial in August of 2009 that terminated parental rights. Sometimes I mention that there was a jury trial prior to that in October of 2008 but I rarely go into detail.
Daniel's parents worked a treatment plan from 2007-2008. To their credit they were pretty faithful--especially his mother--to complete the requirements of the treatment plan. By all appearances it looked like they would get Daniel back since they attended their classes and maintained housing and employment. However in May of 2008 both the State and Daniel's attorney filed to have his parents' rights terminated. The trial was based on "new evidence" of sorts, which was essentially new witnesses (doctors) who could testify regarding his original injuries.
Daniel's attorney had a fabulous reputation and had only lost one case. Everyone knew he was excellent and what he did. The evidence regarding Daniel's injuries was solid and expert witnesses would be testifying. It seemed like a solid case that would not be lost. The judge seemed to support the parents but since he was only presiding over the case it didn't seem like that would matter.
However at this time I was personally struggling with my feelings towards Daniel's parents. I did my best to be a good team player and I was cordial when we were together. The summer prior to the trial Daniel was continuing visitation with his parents and we were present for the visits, trying to facilitate a bridge between our family and Daniel's parents.
October 2008 brought the jury trial. The trial week started off well but midway through the week things seemed to shift. Neither my mom nor I were permitted into the court room in case we were to be called as witnesses. My mom got daily updates from the attorney, the CASA, and Daniel's case worker. As the week went on it was clear that they were feeling really uncertain about the outcome.
I don't remember now when the trial ended but I know that by Friday we were at home waiting for the phone call. We spent the entire day praying that God's will be done and feeling very edgy. Late that afternoon the phone finally rang and the caller ID showed that it was Daniel's attorney. My mom answered the phone and after saying hello her face changed and she said "they didn't? really? what does this mean?" I knew then that the jury had concluded that Daniel's parents should not have their rights terminated. What was unclear at this point was whether that meant Daniel would go right back to them or whether they would start a treatment plan again.
I spent the entire night crying. I went to a bonfire at some friends' house that night but cried while I was driving both ways and also cried at the bonfire. After months and months of stress and uncertainty I could not imagine starting the roller coaster ride again.
Perhaps it was God's will that Daniel go back to his parents. I couldn't argue with that. We had prayed and this was the answer. But there were still unanswered questions about the original injuries and visitation with parents had resulted in emotional disturbance, developmental regression, and inability to sleep. He had also been diagnosed with PTSD and it was like watching the slow destruction of a child. At this point his parents were trying to do what they were supposed to do but the fact was that the abuse happened and regardless of who did it, Daniel still associated them with the pain of his early months.
In November of 2008 we were involved at a staffing at DHS. Daniel's attorney was spent and he said that he was no longer going to try to terminate the parents' rights. He felt that now it was best to just work for reunification and that maybe he had been wrong. Another court hearing was schedule for December and at this point DHS pulled in their attorney--a fiesty little woman. The December court hearing was attended by the county director and the DHS attorney, in addition to the parents, the caseworker, the attorneys, us, and CASA. I thought I was going to faint during the hearing because the judge stated that he was moving aggressively towards reunification and his goal was to have Daniel back with his parents within 3 months. He wanted the case finished and said that yes it would be hard on Daniel but he would just learn to deal with it. He wanted Daniel to be put in daycare so that his parents could visit him daily (thankfully Daniel's attorney fought that and won) and he ordered twice/weekly supervised parent visits.
The DHS attorney and county director came out strong and said that they absolutely did not want Daniel placed back in an unsafe situation. The county director said that over the Christmas holiday our family was not to try to facilitate a visit because of safety issues. They let the judge know that they were heavily monitoring this case and would not budge on Daniel's safety. They were working to make a stringent treatment plan that would attempt to address lingering concerns even though the judge was ready to start knocking things off the treatment plan.
And so began the next uncertain 3 months. We had no idea what to expect before the next hearing scheduled for January 2009. But the one thing I did know was that God had some work that He needed to do in my heart. I'll talk about that next time because I really feel that it was the biggest thing He still needed to teach me!
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