Here we go all over again.
I've had this guardian ad litem case that I've done pro bono for over two years. The sisters that I am the GAL for are now 15 and 16 (almost 17). So many things have happened in this case that I can't really write coherently about it.
Older Sister
- My original kid. I was appointed as her guardian because her mom had physically abused her.
- Sexually active, suicidal at points, depressed.
- Really good intentions, but could never follow through.
- Got kicked out of mom's house, then grandma's house, then the first group home I got her in, and the second.
- Had a little scare where we all thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't.
- Had a little incident where she stole another girl's ATM card and emptied her account.
- Got her into a fantastic private school ($17K per year) at the cost of the government.
- Got her into a great group home and into therapy, both of which really helped her.
- Managed to reunite her with her mother successfully.
Younger Sister
- They like to keep kids of the same family with the same GAL, so when she entered the system, she became mine.
- Removed from her home because of abuse and neglect charges against her mother, who had a habit of checking her out of the hospital against medical advice.
- Case was complicated by her attacking a subway rider for no apparent reason.
- Hates Chinese people, which she defines as all Asians, which made things a wee bit difficult.
- Dealt with her parallel juvenile and neglect cases.
- She was locked up in a juvenile detention facility for a while. Then I got her into a residential facility for a year, where she improved so much, it seemed like she was a different kid entirely.
- Got her into the same fancy schmancy school.
- Reunited her with her mother successfully.
- But then she got pregnant. And then her mother forced her to have an abortion. All without telling me. Not that I could do anything really I guess. But still.
- We were able to get past that and restabilize the home.
So everything was fine and peachy. We were all set to close the case this month. Then what do I find out?
The older sister is 6 months pregnant. She had hidden her pregnancy extremely well. So now abortion is definitely not on the table. Taxing for a family led by a single mother of 5 children (by 4 different fathers), one of whom is an infant. This sends the family into a tizzy, especially the younger sister, who starts acting out. Why can her sister have a baby and not her, right? Anyway. Younger Sister assaults her teachers at school and now has 2 assault charges against her. She had to be physically restrained. After unsuccessful intervention efforts, the school decided to kick her out, leaving the only option a residential facility as before. This didn't sit well with her, and she ran away from home. She is still missing.
Greeeeeeat. What the heck am I supposed to tell the judge at the hearing? Dammit.
Older Sister
- My original kid. I was appointed as her guardian because her mom had physically abused her.
- Sexually active, suicidal at points, depressed.
- Really good intentions, but could never follow through.
- Got kicked out of mom's house, then grandma's house, then the first group home I got her in, and the second.
- Had a little scare where we all thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't.
- Had a little incident where she stole another girl's ATM card and emptied her account.
- Got her into a fantastic private school ($17K per year) at the cost of the government.
- Got her into a great group home and into therapy, both of which really helped her.
- Managed to reunite her with her mother successfully.
Younger Sister
- They like to keep kids of the same family with the same GAL, so when she entered the system, she became mine.
- Removed from her home because of abuse and neglect charges against her mother, who had a habit of checking her out of the hospital against medical advice.
- Case was complicated by her attacking a subway rider for no apparent reason.
- Hates Chinese people, which she defines as all Asians, which made things a wee bit difficult.
- Dealt with her parallel juvenile and neglect cases.
- She was locked up in a juvenile detention facility for a while. Then I got her into a residential facility for a year, where she improved so much, it seemed like she was a different kid entirely.
- Got her into the same fancy schmancy school.
- Reunited her with her mother successfully.
- But then she got pregnant. And then her mother forced her to have an abortion. All without telling me. Not that I could do anything really I guess. But still.
- We were able to get past that and restabilize the home.
So everything was fine and peachy. We were all set to close the case this month. Then what do I find out?
The older sister is 6 months pregnant. She had hidden her pregnancy extremely well. So now abortion is definitely not on the table. Taxing for a family led by a single mother of 5 children (by 4 different fathers), one of whom is an infant. This sends the family into a tizzy, especially the younger sister, who starts acting out. Why can her sister have a baby and not her, right? Anyway. Younger Sister assaults her teachers at school and now has 2 assault charges against her. She had to be physically restrained. After unsuccessful intervention efforts, the school decided to kick her out, leaving the only option a residential facility as before. This didn't sit well with her, and she ran away from home. She is still missing.
Greeeeeeat. What the heck am I supposed to tell the judge at the hearing? Dammit.