anyone ever deal with Child protective services?

[ironfist]

talk me down from the ledge please.

They were called in based on some flippant remark my 7-year old made and now I'm terrified. I've done some searching online and there's nothing but horror stories. Kids being snatched up in the middle of the night based on nothing. I don't know if only the crazy stuff gets posted and most of these things are just closed without incident. We finally got an attorney, but I just hope it's not too late. I'm freaking out

[nullnor]

i had a chins put on me when i was 16 and got committed to DSS for a year 30 years ago. kind of the opposite. got sent to la bunch of shelters, drug rehabs and mental hospitals... which was the thing to do in the 80's.

i would just be totally cooperative with them and explain the situation and you'll be ok. i wouldn't even be trying to find out who called or get too defensive. i would just try to be understanding that there are people out there that overreact and just focus on what they want you to do. don't start out standoffish and stuff. this sort of thing happens all the time. someone see's a kid and thinks they're too young to be home alone or to be walking their dog down the street. even more so nowadays the way everyone is helicopter parenting.

your kid is the most important thing, so even if you want to yell at the social worker you can't. kind of like when i would get upset at the vets taking care of my cat. as much as i wanted to curse them out i couldn't.

[senorsheep]

I work for the Colorado Department of Human Services, so I know a little.

A court order is required for CPS to take your child from your home without your consent. A verbal comment is not going to trigger immediate removal without some investigation.

Can you afford an attorney? If so, consult an attorney.

If you want to try to resolve it without an attorney, Google "tips for dealing with child protective services." There's a lot of solid advice - legal and otherwise - for working through the process. Obviously, skip the click bait sites, and read the legit legal sites.

Understand that CPS is operating off whatever limited information they have from the referral. They're looking into it because the law requires them to, not necessarily because they really think there's something there. Try not to be overly defensive when dealing with them. However, if at any point you feel uncomfortable with the way they're proceeding, politely decline to continue and get an attorney immediately.

Good luck!

[ironfist]

I work for the Colorado Department of Human Services, so I know a little.

A court order is required for CPS to take your child from your home without your consent. A verbal comment is not going to trigger immediate removal without some investigation.

Can you afford an attorney? If so, consult an attorney.

If you want to try to resolve it without an attorney, Google "tips for dealing with child protective services." There's a lot of solid advice - legal and otherwise - for working through the process. Obviously, skip the click bait sites, and read the legit legal sites.

Understand that CPS is operating off whatever limited information they have from the referral. They're looking into it because the law requires them to, not necessarily because they really think there's something there. Try not to be overly defensive when dealing with them. However, if at any point you feel uncomfortable with the way they're proceeding, politely decline to continue and get an attorney immediately.

Good luck!

Thanks (and thanks Nullnor) for the response. We've been polite and cooperative with them. I think I've kind of done the equivalent of seaching my symptoms on WebMD and finding out I have cancer from a sniffly nose. We have talked to an attorney friend who was kind of stressign that we shouldnt' have talked to them at all so we got all nervous. That and the fact that my daughter and wife have a tendency to say things without thinking ahead. I want to believe that they are going to look out for what's best for the kids, but after reading all that stuff on the net, well...

[Gregg]

Scary stuff. I hope it all works out for you and yours.

[Hornsby]

I've been through this a long while ago, but I can't stress enough that you need to get an attorney. The system is not on your side initially, but it eventually comes around. Their focus is rightly on the children, but once they get to know the family, their goal is to teach, and reunite.

Remember that they don't want your children, nor do they want to pay a fortune to foster parents. The goal is to get your family back together, better than it was before.