Foster Care Placement Avoided: Two Children Remain with Their Mother

Victory Before the Children's Judge (Juge des enfants): A mother retains custody of her children despite a formal request for institutional foster care placement.

Recently, I represented a mother against the Child Welfare Agency (ASE - Aide Sociale à l'Enfance) which sought to place her two young children, aged 3 and 4, into foster care.

During the hearing before the Children's Judge, I demonstrated that institutional placement was excessive, unjustified, and that far more appropriate solutions existed. I pleaded for the children to remain in the care of their mother with the implementation of AEMO (Open-Environment Educational Assistance - Assistance Éducative en Milieu Ouvert), providing regular, reassuring professional monitoring for the court. Alternatively, I proposed provisional care by their maternal aunt, who was fully prepared to welcome her nephews.

The Children's Judge ultimately ruled in our favor: the children remained with their mother. A deeply emotional moment for the entire family.

This case demonstrates how essential it is to be effectively represented in these proceedings where family life can pivot in an instant. Every family deserves to be heard and supported with humanity and steadfast determination.