texts

I forgot to tell you that when I picked up Keante on Friday, it looked like Christy had a big red mark on the left side of her face. Remind me to tell you in the morning.

Also tell Deborah you can confirm Christy lives with James Smith through police reports and court records. She had her car broken into at that address in October. He used that address in a court filing in July to have that tenant evicted, and in a police report for a car accident.

Things to ask Deborah:

• If she was told about the permanancy staffing and if she’ll be taking part.
• If she’s heard back from the lawyer about the police reports.
• What we can ask for to ensure Cayden’s safety and that his needs are met.

Also mention how Christy has gotten less diligent lately. She used to be on time, now sh’es late for video chats and she rescheduled one last week but never called back. Also she’s stopped giving you money or diapers.

During the meeting ask about making a plan that fits Cayden’s needs, making sure he has access to medical care and learning support. He needed and got help to meet those developmental milestones. He had physical therapy just to help him roll over and sit up. He had to be encouraged to use both his legs equally. You had to use some sign language and speech therapy techniques to get him to start talking. Skills that other children pick up naturally have to be broken down and practiced with him. If he’s not going to fall behind he needs support with a personalized plan for his learning delays. That should be in place because gaps in his development could put him at a permanent disadvantage.

For example he needs help with things like sorting and following instructions. Christy needs to be able to recognize what he should be able to do, needs to recognize when things are not normal, be able to get him support to be up to speed.

Also stress during the meeting that there shouldn’t be any gaps in his medical care or learning progress. He needs a pediatrician and a neurologistalready set up. He needs learning intervention support ready to transition to.

Start out by finding out if the home study is in and any safety issues are resolved before he goes anywhere. They should specifically have someone from the department observe and verify that any firearms are locked away from Cayden or any other children. Older children visit, accidents with them or their friends should be prevented.

The case plan should include that Christy follows through on getting Cayden the help that he needs, and that Christy follows through no getting professional support for herself. Christy talks about support but it needs to be professional support. Bring up that she mentioned earlier in the year that she was going to be going to a rehabilitation support group and you want that to continue, and for DCF to follow up that she has been attending and continues to make progress with that.

Mention to Deborah again that apart from your conerns about this potentially dangerous situation with the man she’s living with, you’re worried because Christy doesn’t seem to have the ability to manage Cayden’s medical or developmental needs on her own. A lot of it is just being able that he needs help with something and coordinating care. She can follow instructions but not generate plans.

Also that thing when she told Cayden not to cry when she left was weird, he’s never batted an eye when she left, it makes you wonder why she thought it would be an issue, if maybe she got separated from him during visitation and he got upset to be without anyone he recognized.

Maybe mention that you went into the store and left him in the car with your grandson, this is something you’ve done before, but Cayden was really upset about you leaving which is not like him at all. how you had to stick to him like glue for hours afterwards.

Save this for the staffing, and only if they insist on transitioning, that any transition should be smooth. He should have a change to become familiar with new surroundings to minimize any trauma.

Also mention to Deborah that they brought up in court dismissing the case, but that DCF needs to maintain engagement if only so Christy and Cayden have access to services they might need. Deborah assured you that they would be involved for months. This situation with he reports shows why that needs to happen. Christy really isn’t ready to be unsupervised.