Like all things in life, good and bad, your CPS case and investigation will eventually end. If you are beginning the process, it may not seem like it, but, indeed, CPS will not be a part of your life for an indefinite period. If your child was removed from your care, a legal case was begun, and now a judge has issued a ruling on the subject. Whether the judge has allowed your child to return home to you and your family- or if your parental rights were terminated- you have to move forward one way or another.
Today's blog post from the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, will detail how you can best use the experiences you have had to build a bridge between the CPS investigation and the remainder of your life. A lot of how you deal with the investigation's aftermath will be based on the ultimate determination in your case. We will start by talking about dealing with life post-CPS when your child will not be returning home to live with you.
When your child is not able to return to your home
No matter the circumstances of your case or why it happened, losing custody of your child is the most challenging thing a parent can go through that does not involve death. It could be that you agreed to terminate custody of your child because you agreed with CPS that you could not provide the sort of home life required of a parent. On the other hand, you may have hired an attorney and fought tooth and nail to have your child returned to your home. Not only were you unsuccessful, but your legal right to make decisions for your child and provide for her was also lost. This is the worst-case scenario as far as CPS cases are concerned.
The fact that you are going through a lot physically and emotionally due to losing custody of your child will take time for you to rebound from. There is no failsafe plan to rebound from this loss, nor is there a timeline that can tell you how long it will take you. The only thing you know is that your child is not coming home and that you need to figure out how to live your life moving forward with this new reality.
This new reality requires that you look it square in the eye and not push any feelings away or onto the backburner of your mind. I have worked with parents; it is a wound that will not heal quickly in most situations. Give yourself the time and permission needed to heal yourself and come away from the process a complete person. It may seem improbable to be better off after your parental rights are terminated. On some levels, that is true, but on others, you can improve yourself even if it is just as a single person and not a parent to that child any longer.
Find support and work with them through the loss.
If you have family, friends, a church, or another group of people that can act as a refuge and support for you, then I would advise you to lean on these folks as much as you can. Your feelings that you have let down your child, your family, and yourself may be hard to bring up to other people but do not let pride come between you and recovery from this ordeal. Do not seek comfort in drugs, alcohol, or other unhealthy and unproductive outlets.
That warning I just gave: not seeking refuge in unhealthy outlets- may seem complicated to live by, and I would agree with you. It is easy to slip into unhealthy practices or pick back up unhealthy habits that you attempted to give up during the CPS case. For these reasons, you should seek people who will reinforce healthy and productive outlets for your pain, frustration, and sadness.
Counseling is an effective use of your time if you can afford to obtain this sort of care and available in your area. Online counseling sessions have become quite popular and are likely more budget-friendly for those without health insurance or the means to pay outright for therapy sessions. Do not assume that this step is beyond what you are capable of. Take the lessons you learned during the CPS case- that you are responsible for yourself- and take the initiative to look into whatever options are available.
Finally, remember that you need to place yourself at the forefront of your life at this moment. Yes, you may have already been doing that to your detriment previously. This may be the main reason you've lost your parental rights to your child. But now, the difference is that you can place yourself at the forefront of your life in a positive manner. Get yourself better and seek out those who can help you. Do not be ashamed to focus on yourself at this stage. You are not being selfish. You are being reasonable and taking caution to protect your psyche.
What are the chances that your child could ever be returned to your home?
In brief- not significant. Once your child is removed from your home and your parental rights terminated, this is a giant red flag to your ever being in a position to have your child reintegrated into your home. However, there are some options for you to consider during this time.
For one, it is possible to appeal the court's decision to terminate your parental rights. Your attorney can speak to you more about this after the case with CPS has ended. However, be aware that you have a limited amount of time after a decision has been made to appeal the decision. You and your attorney need to consider what your chances of success are, what avenues you have to appeal or file a motion for a new trial successfully, and what your ability is to afford to do so.
CPS will have your child adopted after being removed from your home. It is possible that you can show CPS that you have improved your life and your home to the point where you are once again a suitable place for a child to live. If you can do so, it is not out of the realm of possibilities that you could be reunited with your child. This is extremely unlikely, however.
Finally, many children will seek out their birth parents even after being adopted. These are the sort of stories that you may be familiar with from television and movies. Do not give up hope that you will ever be able to spend time with your child again. The circumstances may not be the same, but there is always an opportunity to re-establish contact with your child.
What can you do if your child is returned to your home moving forward?
Tomorrow's blog post will center around the other side of the coin in a concluded CPS case. Your child has been returned to your home, and how you are left to pick up the pieces of your former life. Putting your life back together is a tremendous responsibility that you and your child have to work together on. We will talk more about doing so in tomorrow's blog post.
Questions about parental rights, CPS cases, and anything in between? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC
To learn more about your parental rights and how they can be compromised in a CPS case, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. We offer free of charge consultations with one of our licensed family law attorneys six days per week. Our objective in these consultations is to listen to your questions and educate you on the subject matter relevant to your situation.
Ebook
![Adobe Stock 62844981[2]](/images/AdobeStock_62844981[2].jpeg)
If you want to know more about what you can do, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: "16 Steps to Help You Plan & Prepare for Your Texas Divorce"
![Divorce Wasting Assets[4]](/images/Divorce-wasting-assets[4].jpeg)
If you want to know more about how to prepare, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: "13 Dirty Tricks to Watch Out For in Your Texas Divorce, and How to Counter Them" Today!"
Other Articles you may be interested in:
- Handling a Child Protective Services case while addicted to drugs or alcohol
- If domestic violence occurs in your home, can your children be removed by Child Protective Services?
- Child Protective Services cases from the perspective of a teen parent
- Miscellaneous pieces of advice regarding your Child Protective Services investigation
- What to Do When CPS Asks for a Drug Test in Texas
- CPS and how The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, can help
- Child Custody Basics in Texas
- Texas Child Visitation Modification
- 10 Quick Tips About Parental Visitation
- Texas Parental Visitation – Texas Standard Possession Orders in Harris and Montgomery County, Texas – Part 1
- Supervised Visitation in a Texas Divorce: Can it happen to me?
- Texas Parental Relocation
- Geographic Restrictions in Child Visitation Orders in Texas
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas CPS Defense Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding CPS, it's essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX CPS defense Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
Our CPS defense lawyers in Houston, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles CPS defense cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.
