Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

Re: Teenage mother

For one, under Ohio law before an agency can place a child in foster care, there has to be a hearing in juvenile court at which the mother (you in the case of your daughter) has a right to be. Now, your mother or father may have signed some document called "agreement for care," or something like it placing you in foster care. That is a voluntary agreement allowing the social worker to place the child for a short period of time without going to court. You may also have been pressured to sign something like that for your child. But you can revoke it and then if the social worker still wanted to keep the child in foster care, away from you, he or she would have to go to court and make a case that the child would be in danger if returned to you (the fact that you are a minor and in foster care may be a factor here, but you are still the mother and have rights to your child).

The situation with a mother in foster care as well as the infant does make the situation more complicated. My guess here is that the agency that took custody of you and your child probably didn't have a place where they could put both of you together. But I don't know the court would be sympathetic to that argument if you requested that your child be placed with you, assuming you are able to care for the child.

If a GAL, or Guardian Ad Litem, has been appointed for you, I would call that person about your problem. That person is supposed make recommendations to the Court about what is best for you. You are also entitled to a lawyer to represent you (even if the GAL is a lawyer, the county you are in must still appoint a separate lawyer at NO CHARGE, to tell the court what you want) if this case is in court.

If you have any further questions about how this works, you may contact me at [email protected].