... by which she meant that she would stay as far away from it as possible?

These people should have never fostered this little girl if they wanted the end result to be adoption. And they shouldn’t be allowed to foster again. This is not how you handle it, at all. I’ve never personally fostered, but I have friends and family who do. They are appalled at how these people have acted.

Ding ding motherfucking ding. This girl could have had a safe, happy, short experience in the foster system and be that much further toward feeling secure with her relatives if they hadn’t fought her reunification every step of the way. Part of being a parent - foster or otherwise - is putting your kids’ needs ahead…

Exactly my thoughts. If they truly cared for her welfare they would have put on a brave face and smiled and told her that she’s going to live in a super cool place with fun people and that they will try to visit her as often as possible. Instead they chose to completely traumatize her with a media circus and…

My thoughts, being a foster parent (albeit, not in California): The foster parents here are terrible. The native thing is really irrelevant here. Foster parents know that, though it can be shitty, child services is required to consider relatives before unrelated foster families. Apparently, these people were told…

Yeah, it sounds like her father never wanted to give her up- the foster parents just clamped down from Day One. So unfair to the little girl.

The Indian Country article seems to have the most info here with actual time frames—but basically, the foster parents have been fighting reunification from the moment that the father attempted to assert his custody rights. That, plus legal time equals years.

The Pages’ lawyer, who represented “Baby Veronica’s” birth mother, said she will file an appeal with the California Supreme Court and take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Or maybe it was cruel of the foster parents to keep her for all these years fighting a custody battle they could never win because under the law they have never had any legal leg to stand on.

It really sucks that the custody exchange was such a circus, and Lexi was exposed to the foster family crying and screaming, and random strangers showing up needlessly to add to the din. A 6-year-old can’t possibly process all that in a healthy way — it must have seemed intensely frightening and confusing. I’m…

I am angry at the foster family for contributing to the spectacle of this case. They wanted to adopt her but that was not an option. They knew that. And all foster parents are repeatedly told that they should be prepared for it to be a temporary (even four year) placement.

With every foster case, there is always a preference for placing a child with blood relatives. They may have used an unusual law to make it happen, but this is consistent with the foster program overall.

I feel for the little girl, pulled apart in all this mess.

Rly tho I’m onto you Mitchy

I second your assessment.

Does anyone else think that nun actually looks like Mitch McConnell in disguise?

I can’t even handle the nerve of their “Help a Sister Out” signs. Like, at worst, this has absolutely no effect on you, but will fuck over tons of other women. Fuck right off, ladies.

I love that, for these people, filling out a two page form is an "undue burden" but 48 hour waiting periods and making women drive 400 miles to the nearest Women's Health clinic isn't.

One point of correction: apparently Hillary has been asked to do interviews this morning and has declined. Which seems appropriate, as she is deferring to the actual President to react before she starts running her mouth. Kasich and Cruz both put out written statements, which is also more appropriate than going on…

I approve of all of this, but especially the last part.