Over the weekend I all the sudden realized that Lizzy's social worker lied under oath.
I stated to the judge that I had a few times been in the parenting time with both parents and explain what I saw between Lizzy and her legal dad. I did not say anything about whether the social worker was in there during those times or not.
The TRUTH of the matter is that on occasion, at least 3 times, when I would come to drop Lizzy off for her visit her social worker would ask if I was busy and then asked if I could watch the visit for her because she was in the middle of something. Sometimes I would be in there alone with Lizzy and which ever parent for maybe 5 minutes and up to I would say 20 or so minutes. Notice that I said ALONE.
Well, after I said that I had been in parenting time, BUT never said anything about the social worker, when it was her time to talk again about a totally separate subject she made it a point to say "I have always been in parenting time for the whole entire time." No one asked her this or even questioned why I was allowed in parenting time at all. She just brought it up and purposefully lied because, I assume, she didn't want to get in trouble for not being in there.
So, my question is this.
What would YOU do with this information???
10 comments:
I would send an email to her supervisor stating that this bothered you. I say email, because then it is DOCUMENTED. I would also possibly send a letter to the judge, but only if you want the case worker's credibility lessened. If you want it documented for later that she has already lied under oath once, then I would mention it. If you have a fairly good working relationship with her and you feel she is moving the case in the right direction, then I would leave it alone with the judge, but still mention it to the supervisor. Just my two cents :)
I would confront the caseworker first. Let her know how you're feeling about what happened.
That's some scary stuff....
Hoping it all resolves itself :/
I would Def. email her supervisor!!! You need to have it documented, on the chance that she does it again . Is This is the same worker that there have been issues with in the past?
Call AND write/email Lizzy's attorney and/or GAL. Going forward, keep careful track of when/how long this continues to happen, and provide a detailed account to Lizzy's attorney before the next hearing.
Bringing it up directly with the case worker or her supervisor will only hurt your relationship with them, it won't solve anything, and it gives them a chance to further cover it up. My experience is that the supervisor will back up the case worker. When/if you go back to court for a hearing with testimony again, you could bring it up with the case worker on the way into court, saying you will testify truthfully and you expect her to also.
Bottom line is that unless L's attorney is willing to make a big deal of it, not much will happen. He said/she said doesn't get far in the court room.
Not have foster experience I had an idea but after reading I agree with Diane. Let lizzy's laywer know and document everything!
I agree with Diane...let the lawyer make something of it. Call him/her, if possible! It's got to be a fine line with this one....looking out for Lizzy's best interests is crucial, but you don't want to become the bad guy with DSS either.
I agree with Diane also. This isn't a huge issue, isn't central to Lizzy's case, it could be seen as nit picking. Spend your brownie points on something that really matters in the case, otherwise they'll label you as a squeaky wheel.
None the less it does show the case worker's true colors and should be documented with someone.
I would have to respectfully disagree with several of these comments. If you tell Lizzy's attorney and he/she makes an issue of it, the caseworker is going to know where the information came from anyway and then it just looks like you were trying to be secretive. If you're going to report it, my feeling is that you may as well be direct and report it to her supervisor to begin with and let them know that you have a problem with the caseworker lying under oath. Lying under oath is CRIME. It most definitely IS a big deal. If she lies about this, who knows what she'll lie about in the future.
I've never been in your situation before, but I would vote for telling her supervisor. She isn't the greatest and this is one more strike against her.
I honestly would let it go. It is not your job to make her tell the truth. CW are held to a different standard than 'normal' people when it comes to court. Even if you told and the judge found out, it likely wouldn't have any effect.
Honestly, as much as it would bother me and drive me nuts, I would just let it go.
Retaliation could be huge.
Now, if it happens again, I would maybe say something to the CW directly, but I'd tread lightly.
It just stinks when stuff like that happens. I think a lot of CW's don't even realize they do it. They have a lot of cases on their mind. To keep dates, times, and events perfectly straight, not as easy to do.
Sorry you are going through this!
Post a Comment