In Illinois, about 5 years ago, things were so bad with DCFS, the court ordered them to sub cases out to Catholic Charities and other agencies to get families the appropriate care and support. Caseworkers were burnt out big time and not meeting family's needs. Definitely an improvement since they made this change. btw, never hesitate to ask for a supervisor at DCFS if you have a problem w/a worker. That's what they are there for and too many times they push off grandparents as being meddlesome rather than caring.

In Michigan they are the same way - I was subed out to a foster/adoption agency. I was confused in who I was suppose to advise on issues - I just started e-mailing everybody that I had there e-mail too. Still do that today. Just do not want to leave anybody out of the loop and give them a reason to remove GK's. Yeah - it can be very over whelming when you are about ready to go to court. And I love this group also - :)

Four years ago when I first rec'd temp guardianship, this group just was brand new and I was where you are, Liam. I was sooooo overwhelmed! I worked a 48 hour a week job, and at that time it was a new position. I had trouble getting off for all of the hearings, visitations (ex and I had to drive 1 1/2 hrs each way 3X per wk - thankfully, he did most of the driving), meetings with 3 different DHS care workers. My job was threatening to fire me because I had to take off so much time. Then I worried about how I'd support us w/out a job! What a mess it was! I was a wreck. I remember one day talking to my DHS worker trying to set up an interview that was mandatory - my day off was Monday and she didn't work Mon. She also only worked 8 - 4:30 Tues - Fri. Absolutely no other hours. I could not do it w/out getting fired, and I tried to explain this. She told me that if that's the position I was in then perhaps I wasn't the person to raise my gs, and that I'd just have to chose - my gs or my job. She had me so upset, so angry and so distraught! I actually reported that one to the district level. I felt that was totally out of line.

My point is that I remember it well, and it was pure he__. There is a point where it becomes more manageable, however, so hang in there and don't give up!

I'm glad you reported her, Granny. I think sometimes we forget that these government people work for us, not the other way around. :-)

Imso sorry u have to go thru that liam;

As we've said in SO many posts, the bios have NO clue. When my son and the mom lived with me and had few responsibilities, NO jobs, and did nothing but lay around on their rumps getting high all day, they couldn't even manage to keep up with the baby's vaccinations. When I got DCFS involved and had them removed from my home, the appointments and the phone calls and the paperwork and the visits all started coming one right after another. I had to take GS to a doctor immediately and get him caught up on his shots, which were a year behind. It's especially busy that first month and relatively busy for a good 6 months getting evaluations and taking them to every appointment mandated by the state. The first year I had my GS, I had very few visits in my home. Now I have a 3rd caseworker who not only wants to meet with the bio parents once a month, but wants to see ME & GS in my home once a month, too. Which is fine and should've been done all along. I have 2 binders full of paperwork from the agencies and doctors and therapists and my GS is HEALTHY! I can't imagine what it would be like if I were raising more than one or if any had special needs. Other than speech therapy, my GS is right on target. The bio parents had simple basics. They have no idea what I've been handling for the past year - working full-time and raising him as a single parent all the while addressing every single issue that comes about through the agency - court dates, visits which I supervise, doctor's appointments, evaluations, screenings, pictures, fingerprints, home inspections, daycare issues, illnesses, etc., etc. And I don't MIND doing any of them. The idea of THEM ever keeping up with it is what scares me.