Originally published by 1p21.admin.
Caring for the health and safety of Texas children is the responsibility that the
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is charged with upholding. The populations that the agency serves are
among the least represented and most at need in our State. When a report
comes in to their investigators that a parent is neglecting or abusing
their child, it is the job of the DFPS employee to fully investigate the
situation and to make recommendations as to how (if at all) the State
is to proceed in order to maintain the safety and well being of the child.
Restrictions on
visitation, possession and
access are often times court ordered in regard to the parent who has abused or
neglected a child. If the actions of a parent are so egregious that a
“second chance” is deemed to be not appropriate, the Department
is even able to petition a court to terminate the parental rights of a
mother or father. If this type of situation has piqued your interest then
you will want to follow the remainder of this blog post closely.
An example from my experiences as a family law attorney
I was recently involved in a case that saw a mother be ordered to extremely
limited possession of her daughter after it was determined that her mental
health was not well. One day per month was all that this woman was awarded
by a judge due to her perceived inability to make consistently good decisions
for the well being of her child and herself.
The Department of Family and Protective Services had to intervene into
the family’s life due to reports of the mother not taking medication
that was necessary for her to be mentally stable. The result of her failure
to take the medicine was that she would often times lash out in anger
at her child and would at the very least not have the energy or desire
to feed, bathe or generally care for her daughter. An investigator for
the Department actually had to physically remove the child from her mother’s
care due to the drug use and mental health struggles of the mother. If
suicidal thoughts and multiple trips to inpatient facilities and hospitals
are not enough of a sign to you that this outcome is a possibility then
hopefully the remainder of this anecdote will be.
No family member of the removed child was able to provide the sort of care
that the Department deemed sufficient to place the child into their care
for an extended period of time. Foster care was the next avenue that the
Department went down and eventually the child was placed with her father
and he was able to provide sufficient care for the child.
As time elapsed and the mother was able to improve her mental health and
take positive steps towards rehabilitating herself, the Department sought
to create a permanent set of orders for the child’s parents to operate
from. Despite the best efforts of the mother the judge in her case ordered
only once a month visitation for the child and mother until one year had
elapsed. At that time, the parent would be able to gain standard possession
of the child.
What is in the best interest of the child?
Any
family law court in our State must make decisions regarding a child based on what
the judge believes to be in that child’s best interests. This is
an especially important consideration to make when factoring into consideration
that the mental health of one the child’s parents is in question. A
standard possession order is assumed to be in the best interests of a child. This is due to the
fact that our state has at the core of its public policy that both parents
of a child should play continuous and ongoing roles in rearing that child.
A court will consider evidence that can counter this assumption, however.
Certainly the individual needs of the child as well as their age will
be factored in to any decision arrived at by a judge. On top of that,
circumstances surrounding either parent will also be looked into before
any order is rendered as to possession of the child moving forward.
Taking the circumstances of the child into consideration when deviating
from a standard possession order
In the case that we’ve been discussing in this blog post, the court
reasoned that because the mother was having difficulty with allowing the
child to leave her possession and enter the possession of her ex spouse,
that a “stair step” method towards standard possession would
be in the child’s best interest. Stair stepping refers to the gradual
build up of possession that a parent is able to take advantage of with
a child. At first the possession may be fairly limited, but eventually
the expectation is that the parent is able to build themselves up more
time through following court orders and remaining mentally stable.
Since the court laid out these orders for the mother, I can report that
she has been following the guidelines set forth by the court and is doing
everything she can to strengthen her mental health. A family law case
is extremely difficult even for the most mentally strong among us. If
you have a mental handicap or suffer from mental health issues you should
know that you are not alone and that your rights as a parent are just
as valid and important as any other Texas parent.
Questions about child custody and mental health issues? Contact the Law
Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any additional questions about areas such as mental health,
child custody or possession then please contact the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan today. One of our licensed family law attorneys will be happy to
meet with you to discuss your situation and answer any questions that you may have.
A consultation is free of charge and are available six days per week.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
from Texas Bar Today http://ift.tt/2DfQ2DL
via Abogado Aly Website
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