So the girls got to speak to their mother and I got a feel for what "developmentally disabled" meant for this case. She came across like a 6yo. I started to wonder how she managed to keep custody of her kids for so long, but apparently both sets of grandparents have been helping.

They also got to speak to the grandmother here--and I use the word "speak" loosely because the grandmother is WORLDS less functional in English than I thought and the girls don't speak a word of Spanish. It's really concerning that they want to put the girls there when Amanda has such a significant speech and language delay.

Aaaaand, in updating the caseworker on Amanda's IEP meeting, it is discovered that the caseworker doesn't know that Amanda has a psychiatric diagnosis. :O I scan the evaluation and e-mail it to her along with a copy of Amanda's IEP from the last school--which notes that her primary language is Spanish. :O again. Ugh...

So I told Lena about what was going on. She actually took it well. I think she really "gets" that there's not a good answer here. She doesn't appear panicked or anxious--but now I'm getting that way. Now I'm really concerned about them leaving to live with their grandmother (gm) here. I keep wondering what this will do to Amanda's communication skills long-term. I keep thinking that if the gm can only take 2, take the boys: the youngest is under 3yo and the longer he's in care, the more likely he is to see his foster mom as his MOM. Wouldn't that be a bigger problem? The mom is staying at the grandmother's house during the day--so whichever kids go there will see their mother a LOT.

I don't know. And the caseworker hasn't said anything yet. I know that they know where the girls are going for respite care--which is two weeks from today. But they're not telling me. When I got calls for vacation/respite care, I got them a day or two before the kids were due to arrive even though they knew about the need long ahead of time. But if the girls are going to stay with their grandmother, they MUST know THAT. We'll be returning on Thursday and the girls have visitation that day. We told the caseworker they can come home after visitation and we'll be here. But there's a court date the day before that could determine that they're leaving. How nauseating.

Meanwhile, the girls got to speak to their brother tonight. He's 9, but man does he sound like a YOUNG 9. When the 2yo got on the phone, Lena had tears falling down her face. I felt so bad for her.

I don't even care what happens anymore. I just want to know so we can adjust and move forward.