If you have been incarcerated and the Social Services Agency has taken custody of your children, you must know that the juvenile court cannot deny reunification services with your children simply because you were incarcerated in a penal institution. Instead, the court must set up a three-step reunification scheme that provides social services and visitation rights to incarcerated parents. If after 12 months of services, the court finds that no evidence suggests that the children will be returned to their parents’ care before the 18-month deadline, it will set a permanency hearing for the purpose of finding a suitable permanent home for your children.

Thus, you must act promptly by letting the court know that you will be getting out of jail, and that you are willing and ready to take physical custody of your children. However, people who are released from jail are facing many challenges and find it increasingly difficult to show that they are making progress in their reunification services within the time frame set by the court. To warrant extension of the time a child must wait for stability and permanency beyond 6-month or 12-month court dates, there must exist more than just mere hope that additional services will facilitate reunification. For that to happen, you will need to show that your children could be returned to your care if the court grants additional 6 months of services.

It is essential to contact an experienced dependency law attorney who can provide clarity and quality representation in your family law matter. Wallin & Klarich offers an AV rated representation to parents in both dependency and delinquency matters. Call today at 888-749-7428 to speak to one of our thoughtful and experienced West Covina family law attorneys at Wallin & Klarich. You can also visit us at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.