" So lets see if I have this straight. 9 kids were "abandoned" by a parent who was admittedly over whelmed and probably not the best choice to raise them, and 7 placed with a loving and familiar relative who is willing to keep them long term. The relative probably can get by with the social security from their deceased mother and maybe kids connection but she has no beds for them and lives in a small house. So rather then help with the beds or a small remodel, or a deposit and some rent the state wants to pull them back out of the relative placement and put them back in foster care where the state will have to pay the foster parents and the case managers, lawyers, and the court system to manage them. Not to mention it’s probably not possible for them to remain together so there is the expense of paying some company to haul them around and supervise the visits. They would almost certainly have to pay day care for several of them as most foster parents have to work outside the home, and then if the father is allowed to visit they would have to pay to transport the children to that visit and pay someone to supervise them. Oh and if its not bad enough to have one parent die and another abandon you then you get placed in and pulled out of a familiar home in less then a year, there would be probably be therapy involved and some added expenses when later on when these kids follow the statistics and become involved with drugs, alcohol and crime when they are older. Wow when all this is laid out I can certainly see the sound thinking behind the decision. "

" The state dept of health and human services DOES want the kids to stay with the family member and they were willing to help make the situation work. The judge decided it was not a good situation when HHS went with the family to court to give the relative official responsibility. The HHS has been appealing the judge's decision so the kids can stay wih the family. "

" excuse...maybe i was not clear...I'm not doubting someone wants them there but someone doesn't and what the heck....let them stay "

" isn't it great that we have such superhuman, all knowing experts for judges. Without their supreme knowledge where would the rest of us be?
Another case for Obama and his rhetoric of change, Lets change a few judges! "

" Why is there so much of this drop them off nope changed my mind now give them back or I don't want them so here and give them to my aunt? If you're going to take the drastic measure of abandoning (yes that is my word for it) your child at the hospital you should immediately lose all input into what happens from there. The only thing worse than being a teen and being dropped off by your parent would be then having to go back and live with that parent again a week or so later - how is that kid not supposed to be messed up? "

" What makes you think the Aunt would not get paid by the state? "

" Wow, we are foster parents and Dee said it correctly. If this Aunt can take care of these children, help her to take them in to stay as a family. Yes all the lawyers, driver, caseworkers cost too much and here we could get her assistance for more room and whatever and let them be a family. We are foster parents and so many times they work to get the kids back home when it is NOT good for the kids and here it is good and the judge does not see it. I do not understand this......that is why there are few foster parents...it is hard to keep up with all the red tape. "

" Yes, the father as many say abandoned them, in my eyes he did what he felt was in the best interest of the kids. We do not know if he tried to get assistance and that assistance was turned down. I am not saying what he did was right, but we do not know the circumstances. The courts believe that they know what is in the best interest of the children, but they don't. They spend 30 minutes in court talking about what occurred. I can bet that the judge not one time talked to the children and ask them what they want. These children should have a say in what happens from this point. If you are going to take them away for family and place them in foster care where they will not be together and pay the foster parents to take care of them, then why not give that money to the family to help buy the items needed to keep the children in one place and together and mostly with family. "

" The aunt probably would get some compensation but NOTHING close to what the foster parents would get and that sum is paltry. Depending on her own situation she may get Kids Connection for medical or food stamps. The aunt would probably be the payee for the social security benefits of the deceased mother. However the aunt and most blood relatives of children in these positions do not receive much outside help. Several of the children "abandoned" under this law have been so because their middle class or working class parent or guardian did not pass the means test to be able to get help for their child and private insurance often will not allow for the level of intervention needed. In other words they made to much money for public assistance and not enough to pay for the care their child needs. The other option is that the state takes and keeps the social security these children are due and mets out some small portion of it to the family. This only adds another layer of cost the state incurs as they have to pay someone to administer that fund. This "problem" of parents abandoning their children is only a symptom of a bigger problem. We all want to assume the worst but really think about how over whelmed a person would have to be to even give consideration to this option. People who are “bad parents” or who don’t want their children usually lose them or give them away at a much younger age then what we are seeing here. Instead of hammering on each other about who is right and who is wrong let’s try to fix the problem rather then trying to cram the symptoms back under the rug. "