Changes must be made in the Dysfunctional Social Services Child Welfare System. We as Grandparents who are supposed to be first and foremost in Kinship Care in regard to parental abuse and neglect, and the rules are not being followed. Only 1/4 of children in Foster care are in Relative placement. Grandparents with little or no Visitation Rights, are ignored by the Courts, after spending thousands of dollars trying to seek visitation. Grandparents have NO RIGHTS! If we are denied Kinship Placement or Visitation, we are told it is in the best interests of the children. In most of our cases, our grandchildren either want to live with us, or want regular visitation. No one will listen to us, and usually placate us with the excuse that they are acting in the best interest of the child. These decision makers do not even know these children, and we find it very hard to understand how they can \"know best\" when we have spent their entire lives with them. They call us \"meddlers.\" How can we not \"meddle\" when our grandchildren are in the hands of people who don\'t know them and most could care less. We do everything the State\'s require of us for Kinship care, and still no placement with us. The Government pays this system for every Foster Care placement and adoption. How many more deaths of children in Foster Care will it take How many more suicides due to depression of the older children will it take How much more mental and emotional abuse in Foster Care will it take to get the changes made to keep these children safe, loved, nurtured, and the ability to grow up feelin cared for. We need our legislators to look into what is really happening to these children who have no voice as to where they want to be, or the fears they have if they do speak up. Many teens and even younger children are placed on Psycotropic drugs due to their depression at how they are living and why they can\'t be with grandparents or loving caring relatives. The States must be stopped in their inaccurate and ludicrous decisions made for our grandchildren without considering our input. Parental reunification is preferential as it should be. But if a parent has nothing to hide, grandparents that know the child must be placed on the \"Support Teams\" even if the parent does not want them to be. An Abusive or neglectful parent should not be able to say a child cannot be placed with a grandparent. We want our Right to be caretakers and active in our grandchildren\'s lives. It is heartbreaking to hear the horror stories about what is happening to our grandchildren, when they could be safe,secure, loved, and wanted by we THE GRANDPARENTS!

Sponsor