Foster Care Review Board #3 for Little Guy

Today, we had the Foster Care Review Board (FCRB) for Little Guy. I have to say, it was the quickest one I've ever attended.

• It started on time! 
• It only lasted about 5 minutes. 
• I was the only one in attendance (like last time). 

The FCRB reviews foster care cases and makes recommendations to the court. Since Little Guy has been in care for so long, this is his third FCRB. They happen every six months the child is in care. The CPS Case Manager, the birth parents, and the placement parents (foster parents) are all invited to attend and provide a "report". 

• As a foster parent, I give a report on how my foster child is doing, medical updates, etc. 
• CPS provides a report on how the case plan is going. 
• Birth parents provide a report on how they're doing to meet the case plan. 
• If foster children are old enough, they can also participate and provide a report. Little Guy isn't old enough to attend, obviously :) 

Today, I was the ONLY one to attend the FCRB. No Case Manager. No birth parents. Just me. Which is why it was so short. 

For FCRB #2, I was also the only one that attended and the Case Manager submitted a report later (that was added to the records). 

I usually love attending the FCRB meetings because you normally learn a lot about the case. But when I'm the only one attending -- I learned absolutely nothing. I didn't even get to hear the FCRB's recommendations because they wanted to wait to see if the Case Manager provided a report late. 

Some believe that the FCRB's recommendations do not have a huge impact on the judge's decisions. Some say they do. If the system worked appropriately with the "checks and balances" -- the FCRB's recommendations would have some weight on the case. 

Oh joy. Guess I'll find out when I receive the report in the mail. Since the trial is next week, maybe I'll receive it before the trial day.