Post by litigator on Mar 18, 2007 4:46:39 GMT -5
What to look for and Determine.
Understand the case against you. Understand your deficiencies. Determine if there are battles that you will not be able to win and
narrow your focus. Should you challenge finding? Is the case really only about access at this stage? Determine what the special needs of the child are to determine what services you will need to propose for the child in their Plan of Care.
Determine weaknesses in the basis for the apprehension.
See if the Society worker has left out relevant facts in their
affidavit which could create a different way of looking at the case,
if included. Have they only told 75% ofthe story.
Determine what efforts the Society has made to first provide services for the family and if they have given adequate time for these services to work.See if any strengths of yours have been acknowledged and if so, are they included in the Society's worker's affidavit.
Determine ifthe Society has adequately explored alternatives to
apprehension (i.e. family plan).
See what steps the Society has taken to check the reliability of their information.
Examine the file history (if one exists) to see if you have been able to make positive use of services in the past. See if that is acknowledged in the Society's material. See if you can take steps to plug back in those services.
Examine the file history to determine if you have been able to
parent effectively in the past. Determine what factors might have
caused this to change (i.e. drugs, abusive spouse) and see if you
can start to take steps to recreate the positive parenting
environment.
If the Society previously was involved and terminated their
involvement there will likely be a lot of positive statements about you in the records to justify the termination. (i.e. when Judy is not with her abusive spouse, she can be an excellent parent). This information can be filed on any temporary motion and you will want to note who the worker was in the event of a trial.
Read closely any Access Observation notes. They are often written by workers or volunteers not closely connected to the litigation. They are more likely to be positive.
Many of the foster home organizations keep records which can be helpful. They sometimes comment on positive reactions by the child to visits which contradict the Society's material.
o See if the Society has reevaluated it's case as more information has become available to them.
Make a checklist of any positive statements about you for future use. These records can sometimes be used to contradict Psychological assessment findings. For example test results might characterize your client as being mistrustful and unlikely to be able to accept services; but empirical evidence in the disclosure can be used to contradict these findings.
Determine if the primary worker ever says anything positive
about you. See if other workers are more positive. This is
especially important if there has been a change in workers.
Examine if the tenor of a worker's notes change after it has been established that the matter will be litigated, or if the Society has amended their application to seek Crown Wardship. Some workers tend to focus more on advocating and supporting their position as opposed to balancing their reporting once they know there is serious litigation. Determine if the facts in the disclosure mesh with the risk
assessment. Determine if the risk assessor has properly considered factors which can reduce the risk.
Understand the case against you. Understand your deficiencies. Determine if there are battles that you will not be able to win and
narrow your focus. Should you challenge finding? Is the case really only about access at this stage? Determine what the special needs of the child are to determine what services you will need to propose for the child in their Plan of Care.
Determine weaknesses in the basis for the apprehension.
See if the Society worker has left out relevant facts in their
affidavit which could create a different way of looking at the case,
if included. Have they only told 75% ofthe story.
Determine what efforts the Society has made to first provide services for the family and if they have given adequate time for these services to work.See if any strengths of yours have been acknowledged and if so, are they included in the Society's worker's affidavit.
Determine ifthe Society has adequately explored alternatives to
apprehension (i.e. family plan).
See what steps the Society has taken to check the reliability of their information.
Examine the file history (if one exists) to see if you have been able to make positive use of services in the past. See if that is acknowledged in the Society's material. See if you can take steps to plug back in those services.
Examine the file history to determine if you have been able to
parent effectively in the past. Determine what factors might have
caused this to change (i.e. drugs, abusive spouse) and see if you
can start to take steps to recreate the positive parenting
environment.
If the Society previously was involved and terminated their
involvement there will likely be a lot of positive statements about you in the records to justify the termination. (i.e. when Judy is not with her abusive spouse, she can be an excellent parent). This information can be filed on any temporary motion and you will want to note who the worker was in the event of a trial.
Read closely any Access Observation notes. They are often written by workers or volunteers not closely connected to the litigation. They are more likely to be positive.
Many of the foster home organizations keep records which can be helpful. They sometimes comment on positive reactions by the child to visits which contradict the Society's material.
o See if the Society has reevaluated it's case as more information has become available to them.
Make a checklist of any positive statements about you for future use. These records can sometimes be used to contradict Psychological assessment findings. For example test results might characterize your client as being mistrustful and unlikely to be able to accept services; but empirical evidence in the disclosure can be used to contradict these findings.
Determine if the primary worker ever says anything positive
about you. See if other workers are more positive. This is
especially important if there has been a change in workers.
Examine if the tenor of a worker's notes change after it has been established that the matter will be litigated, or if the Society has amended their application to seek Crown Wardship. Some workers tend to focus more on advocating and supporting their position as opposed to balancing their reporting once they know there is serious litigation. Determine if the facts in the disclosure mesh with the risk
assessment. Determine if the risk assessor has properly considered factors which can reduce the risk.