I got as close to the right category as I could, but none REALLY seemed to apply so forgive me if it's misplaced.
A little background .... My husband and I are fostering (not through the state) the 16 year old daughter of our former neighbor. We have a 15 and 8 year old of our own. Her father passed away 14 years ago. The mother has not worked since.... ever? They rented the property next to us for 6 years and I know she has never held a job in that time). When her daughter turned 16, she lost her widows benefits and things went from bad to worse, financially. She was evicted, has no steady place to stay, no job or job skills, and it's one FUBAR situation. Also many (undiagnosed, im sure) mental health issues. Hence, her signing guardianship to us for an undefined length of time. In the short amount of time she has been with us, she has made leaps and bounds in her confidence, school work, diet, etc. We are not receiving ANY compensation (not the childs social security payments, food stamps, nothing- the mother receives all of these things).
My question is this.... Does the child have any right to REFUSE to live with her mother (should the mother request her back), given she has a steady, stable and safe home to live in?
A little background .... My husband and I are fostering (not through the state) the 16 year old daughter of our former neighbor. We have a 15 and 8 year old of our own. Her father passed away 14 years ago. The mother has not worked since.... ever? They rented the property next to us for 6 years and I know she has never held a job in that time). When her daughter turned 16, she lost her widows benefits and things went from bad to worse, financially. She was evicted, has no steady place to stay, no job or job skills, and it's one FUBAR situation. Also many (undiagnosed, im sure) mental health issues. Hence, her signing guardianship to us for an undefined length of time. In the short amount of time she has been with us, she has made leaps and bounds in her confidence, school work, diet, etc. We are not receiving ANY compensation (not the childs social security payments, food stamps, nothing- the mother receives all of these things).
My question is this.... Does the child have any right to REFUSE to live with her mother (should the mother request her back), given she has a steady, stable and safe home to live in?