Getting Andrew back

When the parents got out of jail, they had to completely start over. They had lost not only their children but their jobs, their home, and many of their belongings. The police had not returned some of them, even though none were used as evidence. They had to redo their parenting classes, and the father also had to take anger management classes and 52 parole classes. Their reunification date, originally in late January of 2011, kept getting pushed further and further away. 

After the father got a job, they started meeting Andrew at Burger King. In the spring of 2011, they got a nice social worker who gave them gas cards that helped with transportation. Eventually, they were allowed to apply to the foster parents to take him on outings by themselves. They took him for his first haircut.

In April, they held a party for Andrew two days after his second birthday. It was at a local park, with a social worker off to the side. It was a very nice day. They had two hours. Many friends and family attended. Andrew enjoyed playing with the other children. Most were older than him, so while they played with one pinata, he got his own. 

In October, 2011, their new son was born. Like his sister, he was a month premature, weighed 4 lb 9 oz., and had underdeveloped lungs. When he came home, he had to wear an oxygen monitor. It was very sensitive, and would go off quite a lot. 

After the new baby's birth, the parents moved in with us. Andrew was able to come to our house a few times a week for three hours. He loved to play with trains. He got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with us, and helped hand out Christmas presents. His grandmother got him his own train set. 

Andrew came home in March of 2012, at almost three years old. He had been in foster care for about 20 months. In February, his parents had moved into a nice house with a big yard. He had a little car that he liked to ride around in it. 

CPS case workers sometimes came to check on things. He was so traumatized by his time in foster care that whenever he saw a case worker, he would get upset and plead not to be taken away. His parents still had to go to court once in a while. Their last visit was in September.