The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the rights of Native Americans in a case decided last week.  The trial court in Johnson County, Kansas terminated the rights of indigenous parents in a Child in Need of Care (CINC) case.  The parents and their child had Native American heritage.

The Kansas Supreme Court overturned the termination.  The Johnson County court failed to apply the extra requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).  The social worker did not meet the requirements for an expert in cases involving Native Americans.

This case demonstrates the importance of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act in cases involving children with Native American heritage.

Last Friday I rescued a child from foster care.  The child left the state with his grandparents.

The child’s mother was drunk when she tried to pick him up from his daycare.  The daycare refused to let her leave with her child.  Instead, they called the police.  The police arrested the mother and put the child into police protective custody.

Fortunately, I already had met the grandparents when they were visiting from their home on the West Coast.  As soon as we learned the child was lost to foster care, we started working furiously on a voluntary guardianship.  We had to act fast, before the state sought temporary custody.

I have to credit the prosecutor and the SRS social worker for working openly with me and trusting this family.  They agreed to release the child if I could obtain guardianship orders in less than a day.  I faced a stressful, rushed day, trying to obtain signatures from the mother in Kansas City, the grandmother on the West Coast and the grandfather on a business trip in Chicago.  I found a judge on Friday afternoon to sign temporary orders, and then delivered the orders to the prosecutor and the SRS all before 5 pm.

With a lot of hard work and cooperation from all participants, the plan worked.  By Friday evening, the grandfather picked up the child from foster care.  By Saturday morning, he left with his grandchild to return home.

The child was spared months in foster care.  He can live with his grandparents instead.  His mother now has the opportunity to work on her own rehabilitation while knowing that her child is safe and well cared for.   The state saved scarce resources to use for other children who really need foster care.  Everyone wins.

Last year I posted a poem from a foster child.  I have been worried about her for months.  She ran away in July.  She used to call me while she was on the run.  This time she didn’t…

…until Thursday night.  I was driving with my family to a Kansas University women’s volleyball game.  She called me out of the blue.  I was thrilled to hear that she was still alive!

Yesterday I visited her for several hours in a Mental Health facility.  She was detoxing from multiple drugs– both street drugs and abusive amounts of prescription drugs.  She said that she had not slept in a week.  I believe her, because she kept dozing off for a few seconds at a time while we met.

She said that she doesn’t want to stay in the “system” anymore.  She has been a foster child nearly her entire life.  I told her that she can’t live on the streets anymore.  She is a cute, young girl.  There are people who want to make lots of money using her.  I told her to avoid them, and to stay with people who consider her priceless instead.

I will work in the coming weeks to get her transferred to a place that is safe and appropriate for her.  She enjoys the outdoors; so, I might advocate for her to be placed in a wilderness rehabilitation program.  I’ll let you know on this blog what we find for her.

She would appreciate your comments in her support.  Any encouragement you give her could help to keep her alive.  If you post your comment to this blog, I’ll make sure she sees it.  Thank you!