If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you during your first hearing, which will be the detention hearing.
In order to have your child placed with a relative, that relative must pass a background check and must have a place for the child to sleep. CPS will walk through the relative’s home in order to ensure the home’s safety. Do not worry if your relative is financially unable to care for your child. In this event, your relatives would receive a monthly stipend to help care for your child. [1] X Research source
If you disagree with the social worker’s decisions regarding visitation, you have the right to appeal their decision to a court. [3] X Research source
On day one, your child will be removed from your care and the social worker assigned to your case will have 48 hours to gather facts and prepare a petition for a juvenile court. On day two, you will be notified about the date and time of your first hearing, which is called a detention hearing. On day three, the social worker will file their petition, which explains to the court why your child has been removed from your custody. On day four (or within 72 hours of your child being removed), your detention hearing will take place in order to determine where your child will stay. You will be assigned an attorney at this hearing if you have not already hired one. [4] X Research source
In addition, be prepared to discuss why it would be safe for your child to return home. For example, if your child was taken from you due to neglect, be prepared to show the social worker that you have a plan in place to never neglect your child again.
If all safety concerns can be adequately addressed, your child may be returned to you. However, if not all concerns can be alleviated, your child will remain in out-of-home care and a court hearing will be scheduled. [5] X Research source
If you do not attend, the court will move forward without you and you will be sent a letter notifying you of the next hearing. [6] X Research source
If the judge agrees with the petition, the court will schedule a dispositional hearing, which may take place at the same time as the jurisdictional hearing or at a different time. If the judge agrees with you and finds the petition to be untruthful, the case may be dismissed and your child will be returned to you. [7] X Research source
As a part of the court’s order, you will take part in creating and following a “case plan. " A case plan outlines the services you will need to take part in, the steps you will need to follow, and timelines that will be required to be followed in order to have your child returned to you. [8] X Research source
For example, if your child was taken from your custody due to unsafe living conditions, bring a new lease that shows you have moved in to a more suitable home. If your child was taken from you because you were abusing drugs, bring recent statements from rehabilitation centers stating that you are working to fix your problem.
When you attend these reviews, be prepared to answer questions about your case plan and your ability to follow it. If it would help, see if you can bring in people to corroborate and back up your claims. Consider keeping a checklist of tasks you have completed and how those tasks relate to the requirements in you case plan. See if you can check off all requirements before your first review hearing. If you can do so, your chances of regaining custody of your child will increase greatly.
For example, if your child was taken out of your custody due to alcohol or drug abuse, the court may ask you (or require you) to take part in rehabilitation sessions. If this is the case, do what they say and get better. Your child will only be returned to you when the court is confident in your ability to parent.
A community response. When the emergency response social worker find the report to be unfounded or inconclusive, the report will be closed. However, the social worker may contact you to discuss the report and may refer you to community-based organizations that may be able to help you stay out of trouble in the future. A differential response. If the social worker assigned to your report finds it to be credible but finds no immediate threat to the health or safety of your child, the report will be closed but the social worker will contact you about the report. The social worker will likely require you to contact and meet with certain organizations in order to ensure the health and safety of your child. A traditional CPS response. If the social worker finds an immediate threat to the health and safety of your child, a welfare case will be opened and you will be notified. [13] X Research source
First, if the social worker finds high-risk factors (for example, evidence of abuse or neglect) but also finds that any safety threats have been reduced, your child will be allowed to stay with you. However, you and the social worker will have to create a “safety plan,” which is a number of things you will need to do in order to keep your child with you. Second, the social worker can get the juvenile court system involved. If this happens, the court will be involved in your activities until you can resolve the issues that led to this response. Third, if the social worker finds immediate safety concerns, they can remove your child from your custody and place them in a safe environment. [14] X Research source
In the home of another parent; In the home of a relative; or In foster care. [16] X Research source
