So What Happens if You are Investigated Under CPS...

When you aren't in the foster world, you really are ignorant to the "process" of what happens when a child is taken in CPS custody.  I know I was.  And I had the "luxury" of going through all those many hours of fostering class.

Even as a "mandated reporter" (which I am as a teacher), I didn't even know what happens in the world of Child Protective Services.  

First of all, just because a parent is under CPS investigation does NOT mean the child is automatically taken away (hello, lawsuits).  Anyone can make a report.  Sometimes these reports are made maliciously.  

For example, a friend of mine's bitter ex-husband decided she was "on drugs" because we went to Happy Hour one day with coworkers when her kids were visiting with him.  He called CPS, and within 24 hours, she had to pee in a cup (she actually sent me the picture of the pee in the cup... she was mortified!)  The pee collecting/testing staff there, used to less-than-stellar people, I'm sure, got all pissy (pun intended) with her because she got there minutes before they closed.  She explained that AS A TEACHER, she had to work that day.  When she handed over her urine, the staff member said to her in an oh-so condescending tone,

"And what are we going to find in here?"

She, being a BIOLOGY TEACHER, snapped back with,

"Chloride, sodium, potassium, creatinine, but mostly urea and water"  (Note:  all found in EVERYONE'S URINE)

Of course they found no drugs.  I'm just illustrating that not all people who are investigated did anything wrong.


So, when a person is "under investigation," the first thing that happens is the CPS worker checks the kid out.  Any bruises?  Broken bones? You get it.  They interview the child as well as family members and other kids in the family if there are any.   This is done by CPS caseworkers (not to be confused with case PLANNERS which is what all foster kids are assigned by their various agencies).

Caseworkers go on a fact-finding mission and decide whether there was indeed abuse or neglect.  More importantly, their job is to connect the parents with services to help them and their kids, such as SNAP if there was food insecurity or housing resources if that was an issue.

They are supposed to do this within 30 days.  

If at the conclusion of their investigation, the caseworker determines that the child is not safe and needs to be protected, then the child is removed from his/her parents.

Before we label them the Big Bad Wolves, know that they do their best to keep the child in contact with his/her family.  The family is asked to list three adults who can provide care and support the kiddo while the parents are working on getting the services they need. If three adults cannot be found by the family OR if the three adults are UNWILLING OR UNABLE to care for the child, then that's when foster care kicks in.

When CPS removes a kid, by law, they are required to have a court hearing within two weeks (it is usually much sooner, in my experience, but I also live in a smallish city of 65K people.)  

The kiddo gets an attorney (attorney or guardian at litem:  "for the lawsuit" for those of you who need to brush up on their Latin... I googled it...) whose job it is to have the child's best interest at hand.  Parents can either hire an attorney or, more often than not, get one appointed by the court.  If the parents aren't married, they usually get their own.  

At this time, the judge determines whether CPS taking the kid was justified.  If it was, the kid stays in foster care or kinship care.  If it wasn't, the child is sent home with his/her parents.  

If the kid is sent home at this time, obviously I am never involved.  Remember my first placement call?  I never saw that little boy because the judge returned him to his parents.  

If the kid is put in foster care, then court becomes a regular thing.  For Bram, we were at the court every four weeks for a status hearing on how Erin was doing.  With Baby O and W, I only had one, but they were only with me nine weeks. For Joshua, we had them every six weeks additionally, and now only every few months.  I guess it varies.

Again, before we demonize these judges, the plan is always to send the kid home with mom and/or dad.  The only reason it doesn't happen is if they aren't following through with the classes and services.  In Erin's case (Bram's mom), she got her shit together fairly quickly!  This is not always the case...

Five to six months after a child is in foster care, there is the big mamba jamba of hearings:  the permanency hearing.    CPS has their own lawyer who presents in the progress of the parents. It is then decided whether the parents are stable enough to have their kid back (like in Bram's case), whether the kid goes to a family member (like in Baby O and W's case), or whether the child stays in CPS custody for the next five or six months until the next permanency hearing. 

If a child is in foster care for 15 out of 22 months (and it doesn't have to be consecutive months), then CPS and the agency in question can ask for TPR, or termination of parental rights.  This was what they were going for when I had that one court date for Baby O and W and their brother.  Before TPR happened though, mom gave up custody to grandma.  This is called surrendering.  

Surrendering of parental rights is when the parent agrees voluntarily to give up these rights without TPR.  



The more you know...