Work Related Vent-I need hugs because i have a headache from this!

As many of you know, I am an attorney who represents children-abused, neglected, and the bad kids-delinquents, etc.

My vent relates to my assistant bureau chief who basically chose to not tell me something incredibly CRUCIAL which made me look like a huge azz today.

I have children who are placed in the system as juvenile delinquents (herein known as JDs)-the system in NY is called OCFS (Office of Children and Family Services). I am very good friends with the liason in my courthouse (which helped quite a bit), as well as many of the social workers I deal with at our facilities. One of the rules our administrative judge (who I get along famously with and who I adore) has is all visits off facility grounds must be petitioned for in front of him. He has a tendency to not grant visits if he is angry with a situation relating to the facility and EVERYONE knows this. My assistant bureau chief practiced in front of him for 16 years so she knew darn well.

Basically, something happened involving a few children (two at one of these facilities who were supposed to be brought upstate for bringing in drugs to the facility and almost dying) and one was another situation with a program called Juvenile Drug Court who was left sitting at home due to an oversight. My judge does not like when he does not have control, rightfully so, and requested that the two boys be sent upstate (he can't do anything once they are placed there because it is all internal) and nothing was done. More importantly, he was angry about Juvenile Drug Court for not handling both situations, so he told my assistant bureau chief that he was furious and will no longer allow kids in placement to be in drug court.

The crucial bit-I was never told this, and filed almost 20 petitions to get these boys home for the holidays. None of these boys were involved and they are doing so great and turning their lives around-one is being scouted by colleges for football! Had I known this Monday, I could have taken steps to rectify the situation and I would have waited until Monday to file these petitions when things cooled. Since I didn't, many boys were denied visits!

I am so angry right now-not because of the work, but because I feel guilty because had I known, I could have tried to do something to make the judge understand the situation and gotten these boys home for Christmas. Now I have to sit each boy down and find a way to tell them that they are not going to go home for X-mas. I know there will be tears and I hate breaking their hearts because so many deserve to go home!

Thanks for reading this terribly long post. I feel a bit better venting to my lovely TTC'ers!

Re: Work Related Vent-I need hugs because i have a headache from this!

that is absolutely ridiculous - I'm sorry that happened to you

Re: Work Related Vent-I need hugs because i have a headache from this!

Posted by lolipep


that is absolutely ridiculous - I'm sorry that happened to you

Re: Work Related Vent-I need hugs because i have a headache from this!

Posted by MrsMichStein1118

Posted by lolipep


that is absolutely ridiculous - I'm sorry that happened to you

Thanks Lori-so I am not wrong for being so mad?

Re: Work Related Vent-I need hugs because i have a headache from this!

Posted by lolipep

Posted by MrsMichStein1118

Posted by lolipep


that is absolutely ridiculous - I'm sorry that happened to you

Thanks Lori-so I am not wrong for being so mad?

not at all you were handling it--you should have been told regardless
people just don't think sometimes