New Dependency Petition

DCFS can remove your biological children and place them in a foster home pending the filing of a suspected child abuse petition. You are entitled to a court hearing within 72 hours. Needless to say, this can be the scariest time in a family’s history. Often times, the petition leads to months or years of court involvement and your children being away from your home under court orders. You need an experienced advocate to assist you in confronting DCFS right from the beginning. The attorneys at Riley Khorram have a combined 17 years of experience in the Juvenile Dependency Court system and can protect your family’s rights. We are available to represent your rights against DCFS during this difficult time.

Ongoing Dependency Case

Once a dependency case has been started it can last months or even years. However, it is still not too late to hire an attorney to assist you. A variety of factors can affect your existing reunification case, such as the Disposition Case Plan that the judge orders you to complete before reunifying with your children, which DCFS office your case is being serviced out of, the personality of the CSW/SCSW on your case, the personality of the County attorney on your case, etc. The various statutory hearings and progress reports can be a minefield of procedural confusion for you and your family. The attorneys at Riley Khorram have previously represented DCFS in these court cases and advised CSWs, SCSWs and ARAs in how to service these cases and make recommendations to the court. We are available to represent your rights in an ongoing DCFS case and reunifying you with your children.

Foster Parents Rights

As a foster parent, you have a wide array of statutory and regulatory rights that your social worker may not tell you about. For example, you are entitled to submit a JV-290 at EVERY dependency hearing, you are entitled to legal notice of nearly EVERY court hearing, you should apply for De Facto Parent Status at the very first opportunity, you should request to be designated as the Prospective Adoptive Parent as early as possible. Foster parents are often left in the shadows in the juvenile dependency process. At Riley Khorram we are available to assist you in asserting your rights with DCFS and in the courtroom to preserve your new family bonds.

Adoption Finalization

Adoption can be a joyous occasion for a family and a true time to celebrate. However, it can take years from the .26 hearing to adoption finalization. During that precarious time, your family could be in legal limbo, subject to the whims of the social worker or DCFS. In addition, the non-profit public agencies that DCFS refers your adoption to are extremely backlogged and can take years to process your petition. For a reasonable flat fee, the attorneys at Riley Khorram can process your adoption to finalization so your family has the quickest possible security and closure.

Adoption Home Study Denial

If DCFS denies your Adoption Homestudy, it is the equivalent of denying your adoption of a child. DCFS may or may not tell you of your right to a grievance hearing. The attorneys at Riley Khorram had formerly been the DCFS legal advisor on all grievance procedures including these denied homestudy grievance hearings. Allow us to assist you in overturning the homestudy denial and keeping your family’s adoption plans in place.

ASFA (Adoption and Safe Families Act) Home Assessment Denial

An ASFA denial is when your home does not meet the physical standards required under federal law. This impediment usually prevents you from caring for a relative or non-relative foster child. You are entitled to a grievance hearing before a State Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to address the alleged shortcomings. In addition, there are several “waivers” or “work-arounds” that DCFS can process to make your home compliant. Often times, DCFS chooses not to process waivers unless they are forced to by an ALJ or a Dependency court Judge. At Riley Khorram we are here to assist you in appealing the ASFA denial and forcing DCFS to assist you in meeting or waiving the federal standards.

Contested Adoption

A contested adoption can take years to resolve and finalize. It can also take a huge emotional and mental toll on your family and child. You should not navigate this legal and procedural maze alone. At Riley Khorram we are here to assist you in navigating the adoption process and overcoming all obstacles to get to finalization and completion of your family.