What to Do When Child Protection Services Knocks On Your Door

Its a knock that the vast majority of parents never expect to get. Suddenly, you are being told by strangers that you or another family member are being investigated for potential neglect and/or abuse of your child or children. Expect to feel a range of emotions. You may feel shocked and bewildered: Who made the allegation? Where is it coming from? What are the specifics of the allegation? When was this claim made? What are my rights do I have to allow these caseworkers into my home immediately? Do I have the right (or need) to consult an attorney? You may feel angry: What gives anyone the right to question how I am raising my children? If you know that the allegations are unfounded and potentially from someone who is just trying to make trouble, youll likely feel anger that the agency is taking anything seriously from whoever made the allegation. You may also feel angry that someone, rather than directly approaching you with any concerns that they had, went behind your back and got the government involved. You may also feel frightened: What if I think Ive been a good parent, but under the microscope of this agency, what if they think there is a problem? Am I going to lose my children? Will I go to jail? If your employment involves children, you may also fear loss of employment and/or your career. Step One Your first step should be to put a lid on all your emotions. Not that all those questions arent good questions but you should address each question individually and at the appropriate point in the investigation. Dealing with any government agency often requires careful, logical thought and a significant amount of patience. If they are literally at your front door, ask first to see their Identification. Give yourself another moment to wrap your brain around their presence and if you must, keep them there at the door for that moment while you organize your thoughts. Step Two Now, you will need to decide if you are going to be letting the caseworker(s) in based on their identification. Unless the caseworker has a court warrant granting them access to your home, or unless the caseworker believes a child is in imminent and immediate danger (such as hearing the child screaming for their life in the background with something like Please, Mom/Dad, Stop it, stop hurting me, in most states you have the right to initially deny entry to the caseworker in which case, they will likely return, quite a bit aggravated, with a warrant. You can choose to let the caseworker in without the warrant; and if you are quite sure that there is nothing improper going on at your home, this may be the best course of action. By immediately letting

the caseworker in, you are demonstrating that you believe you have nothing to hide and that the call is based on a misunderstanding or inaccurate report. What might constitute a such a report: Here is an example: A case (long closed) where a teen initiated a call to the CPS agency on the parents, citing that the parents were not providing appropriate educational opportunities. The agency came out and investigated. Their investigation found that the teen wanted to drop out of school and go to a modeling school either in New York City or Los Angeles and the parents had refused, as the teen was only 14, the parents had no family in either city for the child to stay with, and they also did not have the thousands of dollars that a private modeling school would cost nor the wherewithal to rent an apartment for the teen to live out-of-state from the family. The investigation into educational neglect was closed as unfounded. However, if you think there could be anything at all that would give the caseworker reason to be concerned, youll need to decide how to handle whatever it is. It could be as simple as someone alleging that your home is not sanitary enough for children and if your child just happened to make a mess or had just gotten sick a moment earlier, you could politely tell the caseworker to wait just a moment, one of your children was sick and youll be right back to the door to let them in, you just want to finish cleaning up from your child being sick. If you say you are going to return and let them in a moment, make sure you do. It could be more complex: if you were having a bottle of wine sitting on the dinner table and if the allegation is that you neglect your children because you are a minimally-functioning alcoholic, the caseworker walking in to see an open bottle of wine at the dinner table is likely to be a red flag. If the agency sees any red flags, you may risk having your children removed even that day from your care. If you do a quick soul-search and realize you should and could do being better for your children, you might want to just own up to it without making the agency go through the formalities of getting a court order. Step Three This is where you need to understand and address the allegations that have brought CYS to your door. It will be helpful for you to have a notebook to record everything that is discussed in your case. Keep a record of what is stated for each interaction between your family and CPS. Allegations can come from many sources. It could be as simple as your child having a bruise from a fall they took, with a mandated reporter (such as a teacher or health-care practitioner) reporting the bruise to the agency. Or maybe a school teacher reported your child as having an unkempt appearance because you sent the child to school with somewhat dirty clothing for a few days because the old clothes washing machine broke and the new one is scheduled for delivery. It could be more complex, such as a concerned family member who doesnt want to get As a note, CPS agencies usually do not divulge the source of the allegation. You can ask politely, but youll probably be told that they cant tell you who due to confidentiality rules. Dont press the issue. Who filed the report only becomes important if the same individual repeatedly is filing unfounded

reports as a form of harassment against you and after several such reports, the agency will take note of that. There are numerous sites out on the web with horror stories of CPS agencies trying to steal children, with allegations that children are sold or that workers get bounties for removing children. The agency is not out to steal children. That said, do parents lose children through CPS intervention? Without a doubt, that happens. But it is not something that happens easily nor lightly; the primary mandate of virtually every CPS agency in the United States is to seek to keep or return children to their natural parent as long as the parent appears to provide a safe and stable home environment. Your job is to work with the agency to address any concerns, whether real or perceived, so that the agency feels that your children are safe. So step three is understanding the allegations that are being made. Step Four Step four is to work on a plan to address the allegations. In the case of a claim of unkempt appearance due to dirty clothing, it might be as simple as getting the new washer delivered, or finding a public laundry facility. In which case, the case will be likely be filed as unfounded and closed out after a period of time (typically a year), assuming no other allegations are brought forward. However, your case might be very complex. If the caseworker fears for the safety and well-being of your child, they can literally remove the child from you that very same day under what is often referred to as a safety plan. They will likely ask you if there is a family member residing at a different address that can take the child while they conduct their investigation. Alternatively, if the caseworker suspects that only one parent is a risk to the child, they may ask if that parent can live elsewhere during the investigation period. Sometimes it isnt even the parent; it can be another child (typically an older child, such as a teen or even young adult child) living in the house. For example, imagine this scenario: the family consists of two parents and three children, with the oldest being 19 and the youngest being 10. Now, lets say that the 19-year-old has issues with gateway drugs such as marijuana and that the youngest child snooped in their elder siblings room, found the marijuana and tried smoking it just before class at school and got noticed or caught. That could easily prompt the school to contact CPS, and the result might be that the parents are given the option of having any under-age children removed or evicting their 19-year-old child who had brought the illegal drugs into the house in the first place. Other allegations, such as being unable to support your family, mental health issues, drug/alcohol issues, are more complex and typically require both an immediate and long-term strategy to address. Work closely with your caseworker to understand exactly what they need from you. If the concern is that you have drug/alcohol issues, expect to be randomly drug-tested. Often, drug and/or alcohol use is tied with mental health issues, in which case you may hear the term dual-diagnosis. If these are issues for you or another parent in the household, expect for the agency to recommend that the

affected individual(s) seek psychotherapy. It might seem like an intrusion, but this is actually a good thing in the long-term for you and your family. If the ability for the family to survive financially is an issue, then work on addressing that as well. Are there benefits that you or your family should qualify for, but havent bothered applying? Go apply. Same with child support if someone owes you back child support, be sure to get the ball rolling on that too. If you have a number of issues, you may have to prioritize which you work on first. If you are struggling with drugs, alcohol and mental issues, chances are that strengthening your job-enabling skills is not your top priority. Instead, your focus should be on accessing the services that will help you regain functionality without depending on drugs and/or alcohol. That could be an inpatient program, intense outpatient, or at least weekly therapy in conjunction with attending a support group whatever your caseworker recommends will be effective. However, while you are addressing such issues, you can begin to develop a long-term strategy. Lets say you are going to need a month of inpatient therapy, followed by 3 months of intensive out-patient therapy. While you are working through your therapy, you should begin to explore what your work capacity is likely to be, as well as your interests. It is generally in your best interest to cooperate as fully as possible with your caseworker. However, you should also consider retaining an attorney (if you can afford one); if you cant afford one, ask your caseworker to connect you with the local Legal Aid Society or a similar organization. They can advise you along the way on the process and what to expect. Step Five If you have been cooperating and making good progress to any requirements that CPS has placed, be sure to document your progress. Dont rely only on your caseworkers notes, as they often may have 15 to 30 other cases they are tracking. You need to become your own best advocate. Also document anything that impedes your progress. For example, if you are required to be in therapy three days a week, but court is schedule on a therapy day, you need to document if you requested an alternative court date, who denied it, and then document that you missed that particular therapy day due to court requirements so that the missed therapy day is not considered noncompliance. If you are separated from your child or children, be sure to make every visit that is offered to you. Ask to send cards and small gifts either directly to where your child is living, or via the caseworker if the childs whereabouts are not disclosed to you. Sometimes your child (and whoever they are living with) will ask for some of the childs belongings, such as clothes, favorite toys or books, etc. While you might want to hold onto those items to help you feel closer to your child, remember that the focus is on what your child needs. Keep a list of any items you send, but if your child is asking for items, send them. Otherwise, you risk having a caseworker note that you are unable to place your childs needs above your own.

If your child is in kinship care (residing elsewhere with a family member), try to work with the family member in a respectful manner. For example, if the agency says you are not to be where your child is unless an agency worker is present, dont ask the person caring for your child to break the rules and bring the child to you for a visit. It doesnt matter if you think that the agency wont catch this surreptitious visit; the person who is caring for your child needs to follow the rules. At best, you might see your child for an extra hour or two; at worst, if the agency finds out, the child might be uprooted and sent to live with complete strangers. While you certainly want to remain connected with your child, if CPS has removed the child from your care, it is a clear signal that the agency has great concern for the safety of your child - and that the expectation is that you will put your focus on resolving those concerns. If you overly focus on what your child is doing from moment to moment, rather than focusing on what you need to change the situation, you will run the risk of losing your child forever. Step Five In essence, when CPS knocks on your door, it comes down to this: Cooperate with your caseworker(s). Document interactions what is said, what is required. Focus on meeting the requirements. Make substantial, demonstrable progress on meeting the requirements. Document your progress. And cooperate, cooperate, cooperate.