Case Planner from HELL

So I thought I had the worst case planner back when we had Baby O and W.  

Nope.

When we got Baby N, The Agency apparently had no case planners.  So they repurposed someone else in another role.  Ours was Case Planner J and her real job at The Agency was a parent advocate.  

This is clearly a necessary position.  Parents need someone to help them navigate foster care. It’s scary to have your kid put in foster care!  How could it not be?   

Plus, I saw myself as my student’s advocate too.  After all, I was stepping over the typical foster mother role.  I was teaching her how to parent, feeding her, buying her, the baby, and her 9-year-old sister clothing and food regularly.  I was letting her sleepover, come see the baby when she wanted, let her get tutored in my home.  I figured old Parent Advocate and I would be kindred souls.

On papas, we should have been.

Except this woman clearly did not like me.  

She treated me like I was the one who took the baby from mom/student and not CPS.  She told me that the baby being in care was ridiculous, that she could be sent home any day.  Um, no, not without the judge awarding it.

She argued with me about mom/student having access to the baby so she could breastfeed her.  Anyone who talks to me more than 30 seconds on the subject will know that I am a huge breastfeeding advocate.  Tiernen never even had a bottle!  I would support student/mom nursing 100%.

Except she wasn’t nursing. 

Case Planner insisted she was.  I said the baby LIVES here and mom bottle feeds her.  She is not breastfed.

She fought me when mom/student didn’t show up for Baby N’a doctor appointments.  I told Case Planner from Hell that not only did I give mom/student the baby’s appointments, 

I BOUGHT HER A DAILY PLANNER AND WE WROTE DOWN THE DATES TOGETHER!  

How was her no show my fault?

Demon Case Planner told me to give mom/student access and then yelled at me when I said that she came over during the day while Tiernen was watching the kids.

It was horrible.

In her mind, parents were always right and foster parents were wrong.  I tried to tell her that the ONLY reason that Darryl and I agreed and took this baby was because this was my student and I was trying to help her.  I already HAD a baby at home (Joshua) with the very real possibility that we would be getting his sister in May when she was born.  I was doing this kid a favor.  I was not the enemy.

But not in her eyes.

I hope she’s somewhere, advocating hard for some deserving parents.  I just hope I’m never on the opposite side