people need to talk to children. there is abstinence. if you re going to have sex, there s condoms and birth control. let s try to be as responsible as we can. anything? i think kymyada in her youth is a very selfish person. i think we re seeing that and hearing that today. what i haven t heard is i miss my baby, i want to go home. i think kymyada is going to keep doing what she wants to do. i think she s too young to understand what s in her best interest and the court needs to step in to assist her. kymyada says she wants to go home. she says she ll do better. i agree we have all heard that. before. i want the court to consider the available options the court has given the fact we re dealing with two children, not just one. it seems unlikely that kymyada s side of the story has convinced the judge to drop the charge.
during her absence from home, kymyada s mother and stepfather reached a new decision regarding her placement. and requested a second detention hearing. so kymyada finds herself back in juvenile court. mother and kymyada have met and talked, and mother believes now that it s in kymyada s and her best interest to have kymyada released back into mother s custody today. miss foster? a couple weeks back you indicated you felt you really couldn t commit to taking kymyada home with you. tell us what s happened since then. during that short time i have made phone calls, done some research, finagled and moved around schedules so there could be someone in the home, because i felt it was the best interest of kymyada along with the family and her daughter for her to be more at home. why did you do all those things and make all those changes? because i love my daughter. have you met with kymyada or talked with her since she s been away? yes, i have. tell me about that. yada unde
was 14 years old. so i have been making progress. okay. judge, that s all i have. kymyada, where had you been with the baby all night? over at my cousin s house. we spent the night over there because it was late. is that a habit of yours to take this baby and drop it off different places? no, that is not a habit. no. huh-uh. and how old s your boyfriend? he s 18. is he in school? no, ma am. are you seeing a pattern here? you re not detecting a pattern of doing things in your life that isn t in your best interest? but i can t look at what he s doing. i got to do for me. yeah, we going together but people going to do what they want to do. i have no further questions, judge. kymyada, you may have a seat back there. next witness. judge, i m going to call kim foster to the stand, please. ms. foster, so the court can get
she didn t call, she didn t check in. she didn t do anything. so the same pattern with me she did with the godmother. and i knew then that they were she neglected to say drinking, partying, smoking, having a good time. now i need to step in. i have to do something to keep her safe along with keeping the baby safe. so i put in a missing persons report. i want it to stop. i want her to go to school so when she gets out into society she won t be another statistic, she won t have a child who i have to take care of, because i want her to raise her own daughter. miss foster, would you be willing to take your daughter home if the court provides a supervision? i don t believe it would be successful. kymyada, first of all, you talked about that you were disrespectful and you cussed your mother out. you said, everybody does it. i got news for you, sweetie.
i do love my baby. yes, i know i was wrong. i would love to go home and start over again. because i know i can succeed. that s all i just wanted to add. i just want kymyada to understand my concern is always for the baby. she s a helpless individual. if you re acting out of her concern, first and foremost, that s the only thing i want to see happen. so if even my comments make you do that, then i ve accomplished what i want. mr. ruck, anything else? judge, i think kymyada has done what we hope happens when somebody is not released home to their parents. and that s that they think not just about what they did, but what the people in this courtroom told her. the structure is in place at home. kymyada is ready to take responsibility for herself and her child. and the court should reconsider at this point releasing her to her mother today. i think for her and for a lot of kids her age it s growing pains. we have to figure out how to help her get through that.