Half way through

I am now half way through midterms, with two more on Thursday. For the first one on Multicultural society, I have to write about 2 or 3 essay topics. The problem so far is that the teacher thinks the class will have a lot to write about each topic. But we know we wont. We discussed it last Thursday when she didn't show up to class because she was "sick." She just did not want to keep putting up with the train wreck, who could blame her, but she could have told us the truth. We discussed how long each one of thought of how long our answers would be to some of the questions. Most of us are aiming for 1 to 2 paragraphs. We will see what happens.

I did not do so well on my adolescent midterm, but I still have an A in the class. My JS midterm on Monday was pretty easy. There was only one question I wasn't sure on because I forgot which hearing it was that a judge sustains a petition, which is during the jurisdictional hearing. One of the sort answer questions was about mandated reporters, which are people who work in any setting with children, who have to report any suspected signs of child abuse.

Some court information to know:
When a child has been removed from the home, the social worker has 48 hours to gather evidence and file a petition, or else the child will be placed back in the home. After the petition, there is 24 hours before a detention hearing is conducted. The judge will look at evidence to know if the child should be detained in court custody or if the child can go back home. 15-30 days after the detention hearing, there is a jurisdictional hearing where the judge will hear all the evidence and if it is convincing will sustain the petition. The parents now have to prove to the court that they are fit parents and have some time to go to classes or rehab to become better parents. If a child is under 3 years, the parents only have six months to prove they are better parents. This is so that an infant/toddler will still have time to bond with his/her parents. If a minor is older than three years the parents will have a 6 month review after the jurisdictional hearing, and a 12 month review. If they have been improving but are not completely ready in the courts eyes to be parents, they can have another 6 months to improve. If the parents at the 6 or 12 month review have not improved, their parental rights can be terminated and their child can be put into a foster/adoption house. During the 6-18 months the parents have visitation rights with their child. If the parent improves, which is the hope from everyone, the child will be released back into their care and will hopefully be checked up on by social workers in 6 months.

If the parents rights have been terminated, there is up to 120 days before the court meets up to decide on permanent placement for the child. The child will be placed in a permanent household where the child will be able to grow and thrive, and learn about the everyday things they will need to know to function as an adult when they turn 18, like applying for a job, getting a bank account, writing checks, etc.

Well thats it for now on court cases and on how my midterms have been going. Hope to post again tomorrow.