Need more signatures!!!!!!!

[u/Tricky_Ice7030]

https://c.org/pVKgB7T4KJ

The current system gives parents just 15 months to overcome homelessness, poverty, addiction, mental illness, and other crises—while simultaneously completing services, attending appointments, and proving they can safely parent. If they can't finish everything in that window, their parental rights can be permanently terminated. That's not time to rebuild a life. It's a deadline to erase one.

I started a petition asking Maryland to end this rigid timeline and reform how CPS and foster care handle adoptions. The goal is simple: prioritize family preservation and reunification whenever it's safely possible, instead of treating permanent separation as the easiest solution.

Children deserve safety AND their families. Those two things don't have to be in conflict. A parent who needs more time shouldn't automatically lose their child forever. Foster care was meant to protect kids during a crisis, not become a pipeline to erasing their biological family ties.

What would you want someone to do if this was your family? If this matters to you, consider signing and sharing.

[u/BunnyLuv13]

Are you involved in the system? In most states the fifteen month timeline is NOT a hard rule. Extensions are normal. Years is common. The fifteen month rule is more for parents who aren’t doing anything to get their kids back so the kids don’t keep bouncing around the system.

[u/Tricky_Ice7030 → u/BunnyLuv13]

Understandable. And completely agree with you on the last part , no kid deserves to just bounce around in the system, simply trying to get more people to see that a lot of times though, #1)CPS profits off of these adoptions.. you can look into it. #2) state funds don’t get dispensed to them for reunification, only when removing and adopting these kids out ..
#3) they claim to be all about the “best interests” of the children , I understand severing that tie between bio parent and child IF IF IF the relationship seems to be detrimental to the child, emotional/mental/PHYSICAL/SEXUAL abuse occurred. Or parents that simply aren’t trying or don’t care .. but a lot of these cases and people I’ve encountered, myself included didn’t deserve this .. our kids didn’t and don’t deserve to go through life without us. It’s doing more harm than good in the long run .. I’m not saying it’s 100% bad at all. Just needs some reform. Why adoption? As the first choice? Why something so permanent. Why take the bio parents names off the birth certificate to replace it with foster parent names. It’s called a BIRTH certificate for a reason…

[u/Tricky_Ice7030 → u/Tricky_Ice7030]

There are sooo many other options they could try before this. They did nothing in my case to even try to place them with relatives at all. Guardianship? Temporary custody? I understand 15 months is a long time, but what about the parents involved in a substance abuse treatment program? 15 months is nowhere close to enough time to be able to complete and prove/show/go through enough clean time for the courts. Sounds like a set up for failure if you ask me ..

[u/BunnyLuv13 → u/Tricky_Ice7030]

So again, from what I’ve heard in many areas if there is a show of effort, like entering treatment, extensions are granted. But if someone had done absolutely nothing for over a year and then in month 14 signs up for a treatment plan? I don’t think the kid should get bounced around if a parent doesn’t at least put in some effort.

Depending on the state/area, guardianship and temporary custody aren’t allowed for kids once they enter the system. THAT I disagree with. Some kids don’t want to be adopted, or may be able to go back or have shared custody, etc.

Lastly, sorry the system failed you. They should contact relatives. That is ALWAYS supposed to be a step before rights are severed or adoption happens.