So according to the transcripts Louie's mum was an addict and gave Louie up as an infant and they had nothing on record for any other family... So the reason Louie has spent this much time in the foster system is because Louie's father hasn't surrendered his rights to Louie.
How come suddenly the DCFS were willing to start adoption proceedings with Dawson? If Louie had been eligible for adoption he would have been adopted as an infant!
Because Matt meddled and pulled some strings.
Maybe the father just found out about it but it does seem a bit strange.
No he didn't, Casey only pulled strings to get Scabby that interview so they could speed up the fostering process...Dawsey only knew about the option of adoption just recently.
shareUnless his father never had rights to him? Not exactly sure how it works but maybe his mother never put his father's name down on the birth certificate, or put another mans name.
But yeah, he would've been adopted out a long time ago as more people want to adopt babies.
I think the Dad thing is a common problem for these infants... just because a mother gives up her rights it doesn't mean the father has.
shareI don't have those answers, but I feel sorry for the poor kid. I don't think I've seen him smile once. In every shot of him with Gabby, Matt, anyone, whether they are holding him, talking with him, helping him, feeding him, he just looks sad.
shareAccording to a friend of mine who works for children's services...the option of adoption is usually only offered when a child has been under the care of a foster family for a certain period of time. Since unlike adoption, foster care is only temporary so that gives child welfare workers some time to properly assess and evaluate potential foster parents and assess their suitability to care for a foster child. If a foster parent is deemed suitable enough and have been giving adequate care to a foster child and if a close connection has been established between a foster parent and a foster child, THEN the foster parent can be given the option of permanently adopting that child if they want to. But usually adoption is not the first option given to potential foster parents...because welfare workers firstly need time to properly assess the foster parents and their abilities to take care of a child.
Adopting a child is very different to fostering a child...a foster parent has very little rights to the child and only provides temporary care to the child, and children's services can take foster children away from their foster homes whenever they need to and place them into different foster homes. But with adoption, the children are placed in permanent care of adoptive parents and those adoptive parents would have significantly increased rights to these children, they would have the same rights to these children as they would with their own biological children...and children's services would have significantly decreased rights and access to the child once that child is officially adopted.
Which is why it's so important for child welfare workers to firstly assess these potential foster or adoptive parents and their parenting abilities to make sure that these potential parents are suitable and qualified as permanent parents. Sometimes foster children do get permanently adopted eventually by their foster parents further down the road...
But that's when the child is eligible for adoption in the first place. Louie dad never surrendered parental rights.
share