A TANF check and child support

[angierae]

My coworker and her husband adopted two children... And now they are getting divorced. Giving up your child for adoption in no way guarantees your child won't be raised by a single mother...

 

[Gracie09]

Not necessarily.

If the NCP has a criminal background, the state can pursue unilateral termination of that parent's rights without a pending adoption. An acquaintance of mine (not in GA) is going through this procedure right now, in conjunction with a child whose mother is already incarcerated, and father enters and exits jail like a revolving door. The father's parental rights were terminated by a judge pursuant to state action while the child was under foster care. The foster parents are now pursuing adoption.

Another thing to consider is that, while I am *not* asserting this is the case in the OP's situation, if the state believes the CP is maliciously excluding the NCP from the child, hence not pursuing child support et al, the state may exercise discretion to have an attorney ad litem appointed to represent the child's interests. Child support is for the benefit of the child, not the CP.

I'm a foster parent hoping to adopt our current foster daughter. In most cases a foster worker will recognize after a few months that the parent will not meet their case plan goals. In that case the plan will change to concurrent - meaning reunification or adoption is the goal. They will usually ask the foster parent if they wish to adopt (we were asked six months ago) if yes or maybe the child will stay in that home and when appropriate termination proceeding will begin. If not the child will transition to a pre adoptive home as a legal risk placement and when appropriate termination will begin. It is usually only an older child or severely disabled child that will have parental rights terminated without an adoption plan in place. So while yes rights may be terminated prior to an adoption, in foster care there is almost always a plan in place about what comes next. For us days maybe weeks after termination of rights we will officially be changed from foster to adoptive parents with all rights and responsibilities.

 

[danceintherain]

Not necessarily.

If the NCP has a criminal background, the state can pursue unilateral termination of that parent's rights without a pending adoption. An acquaintance of mine (not in GA) is going through this procedure right now, in conjunction with a child whose mother is already incarcerated, and father enters and exits jail like a revolving door. The father's parental rights were terminated by a judge pursuant to state action while the child was under foster care. The foster parents are now pursuing adoption.

Another thing to consider is that, while I am *not* asserting this is the case in the OP's situation, if the state believes the CP is maliciously excluding the NCP from the child, hence not pursuing child support et al, the state may exercise discretion to have an attorney ad litem appointed to represent the child's interests. Child support is for the benefit of the child, not the CP.

Do you know if this is the case only when both parents are incapable of caring for their child, or if it's possible when it's just one parent? I'm more curious than anything else.

To the OP, I feel for your niece, but no matter how awful a parent is, it is still their responsibility to support the child before the state steps in. It's definitely frustrating in some cases, but that's how it goes.

I have a friend who had a baby at 18 and after years of struggling with her baby daddy (he actually worked under a false social security number for years in order to keep from having to pay child support) he committed a felony (stabbed a cab driver while under the influence) and will now be in prison until her son is 18. Last she told me, I think he owed her somewhere around $12,000 in back-child support.
There's no denying that sometimes these people are worth cutting out of our lives, but life goes on.

She worked really hard for the past few years, and finally got her bachelors degree in December. She also got married to a really great guy last summer, and is now pregnant with her second kid.

 

[Colleen27]

Not necessarily.

If the NCP has a criminal background, the state can pursue unilateral termination of that parent's rights without a pending adoption. An acquaintance of mine (not in GA) is going through this procedure right now, in conjunction with a child whose mother is already incarcerated, and father enters and exits jail like a revolving door. The father's parental rights were terminated by a judge pursuant to state action while the child was under foster care. The foster parents are now pursuing adoption.

It generally isn't that easy when the child isn't in the system, though. We've tried and failed on several occasions to have my ex's parental rights terminated so that DH can adopt him legally (since DH is the father who has been raising him since he was 14mo old). My ex has a criminal record a mile long that includes child abuse (not towards DS) and domestic violence (again, not involving DS) as well as chronic drug issues, and still we can't seem to find a judge willing to terminate his rights. If a child is in foster care, they want to move the process along so that the child can move into an adoptive home (and off the state's dime) but in cases where the child is in the care of one parent it is much more difficult to terminate the other's rights.