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Janet's Children: Staying on Track

Janet says she blames no one for her current situation, but during the times the county removed her children she was angry. She says then, she felt the county forced her to choose between her children and the men in her life.

"How could I choose what was really right when I didn't know how to choose? My mom chose my dad over me after my dad sexually abused me. I got sent away so it makes sense to me now why I chose my man over my kids. That's what I was shown was the thing to do."

Janet faces severe challenges: she must fight her addictions to drugs and abusive men; she can live in a shelter for another year but will eventually have to find affordable housing on a welfare budget; and she must think about whether to confront her parents with the family history of incest, all in hopes of raising two small children -- alone.

But Janet is optimistic. In the next year, she wants to move past her high school degree with additional education that she hopes will help her find work with disabled children. She says she's compassionate and loves kids. she says above all, she has a new perspective.

"I'm not stuck with the old tapes going. There are times when the little man says you don't deserve it or I can hear my mom saying I told you so; you'll never amount to anything but I'm at a point now that most of the time I can push that stuff away. And if I can't talk about it. I know that I can get through whatever's put in front of me and that God only gives me what I can handle."

At the Hennepin County juvenile courthouse, parents, lawyers and others wait for their moment in court. Inside, Judge John Stanoch approves of Janet's progress in her treatment and in following the courts orders. However, he decides her children will remain in foster care until she returns to court in three months for another progress report.

At the same time, the court sets in motion plans to terminate her parental rights. It's a warning to Janet: if she fails to follow any part of the court's plan, there will be no delay severing all contact between her and the last two children of the seven she has borne.


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