Discovering that your grandchild is caught up in a Child Protective Services (CPS) case can be incredibly distressing for Texas grandparents. If you’re unfamiliar with CPS procedures or have never dealt with such situations before, you may have many concerns and questions. If the agency is not forthcoming with information about your grandchild’s case and your child isn’t involving you or permitting you to help, you might feel helpless. So, what steps can you take to safeguard your grandchild? Here’s how to get your grandchildren out of foster care and protect their well-being.
If authorities remove your grandchild from their home due to abuse, neglect, or the parents’ inability to provide adequate care. This is a nightmare situation for any family to go through. Having worked with grandparents who have seen their families deal with this type of stress can be a helpless feeling. The reason is that grandparents do not always have the easiest time intervening in family law cases in general or CPS cases in particular. With that said, while Child Protective Services works to find suitable living arrangements for your grandchildren, you can potentially play a significant role in your grandchild’s life.
Grandparent Placement: Navigating CPS Challenges
Child Protective Services will attempt to place your grandchildren with family members. They will look for persons who can pass a background check, be available for the children, have a level of comfort and stability in relation to the children, and participate in any reunification efforts with the parents. Frequently grandparents are the most suitable relative in this regard for placement purposes. However, I’ve also seen Child Protective Services seemingly overlook well-situated grandparents for reasons that are not always clear to me. With that said, you as a grandparent need to be aware of potential obstacles in your path between you and caring for your grandchildren during this difficult time.
The best advice that I can provide you with is to seek counsel from an experienced family law attorney if you find yourself in a position where your grandchildren face removal from their home due to an ongoing Child Protective Services case. An attorney can be your best resource for showing you how to present yourself as a suitable caregiver, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, depending on your child’s situation and your wishes. An attorney can guide you through the process, help you remain accountable with Child Protective Services, and assist you in presenting yourself in the best possible light.
What does a Child Protective Services case look like in Texas?
I want to give you an overview of Child Protective Services and the cases it may initiate concerning your grandchildren. Child Protective Services aims to protect children at risk of abuse or neglect. The agency has established telephone hotlines and online reporting systems for reporting potential cases. Anyone can anonymously report child abuse or neglect to Child Protective Services. In certain situations, a child may be abandoned, prompting CPS intervention.
CPS caseworkers will launch an investigation if the agency deems there is sufficient evidence to proceed. The investigation aims to assess the status of potential abuse or neglect of a child, potentially leading to the removal of your grandchildren for further examination. If authorities remove your grandchildren from their home, the agency must conduct a hearing within 14 days of removal, allowing your child and their co-parent the chance to contest the removal and seek the return of the child home.
In this initial hearing, the court will decide whether removal was justified and remains necessary. If the agency becomes the temporary managing conservator of your grandchild, the hearing will address the temporary placement of the child outside the home. CPS might place your child in a state facility or foster home, or seek temporary care from a relative. This is where you, as a grandparent, play a crucial role.
This highlights the importance of acting swiftly, as you may have only a couple of weeks to intervene in the CPS case. It’s crucial to have your case prepared and a plan in place if you intend to offer your home as a refuge for your grandchildren during the CPS proceedings. If you fail to present yourself as a potential caregiver, authorities may place your grandchildren in foster care for the duration of the CPS case.
Requesting placement with you as a grandparent
You have the option to request that CPS place your grandchild with you while the CPS case is ongoing. Child Protective Services will require your child and their co-parent to agree to a safety plan and potentially two family-based social services. These measures aim to mitigate any risks of harm to your grandchild in their home. It could be as straightforward as addressing maintenance issues in the house or removing an adult from the home who poses a potential risk. Alternatively, your child may need to undergo therapy or counseling to address addiction or anger management issues.
Temporary Care: A Grandparent’s Choice in CPS Cases
You can opt to request CPS to place your grandchild in your home while their parents are working towards regaining custody from the state. This doesn’t entail you becoming the primary conservator of your grandchildren in the long term. Instead, you can specify that you’re willing to care for your grandchildren only during the duration of their CPS case, without committing to further involvement. This is a valid choice. Ideally, your child and the co-parent will regain custody, eliminating the need for you to continue as a caretaker.
This approach is common among grandparents in CPS cases. If you believe your child can comply with CPS requirements and regain custody of your grandchildren, you may choose not to intervene further beyond offering temporary care during the case. The hope is that the case will conclude once your child fulfills the agreed-upon CPS requirements.
Another common scenario where you might opt to provide temporary care for your grandchild is if your child is incarcerated but expected to be released soon. In such cases, having a clear understanding of the expected release date and the timeline for CPS involvement is crucial. It relies on your child maintaining good behavior while in prison and maintaining communication with both CPS and your child. While not everyone can manage this arrangement, it may suit your family well.
What are grandparent rights in a CPS case?
Based on the circumstances of your grandchild’s case, you may be in a position where you believe that your child’s home offers a physical threat to your grandchild. If you find your grandchild’s home environment unsuitable for their upbringing, you can actively request to have your grandchild placed with you in your home rather than placing them in foster care. Bear in mind that what you are asking for is still contrary to your child and their goals. This will inevitably make things more complicated.
You are asking the court for an intervention when you attempt to become involved in a CPS case as a grandparent. In this situation, you would be seeking permanent custody of your grandchild rather than seeking to care for them temporarily. There are a couple of issues that you need to be aware of when attempting to intervene in a CPS case on behalf of your grandchildren. Let’s work through those two issues before we move on to discuss other topics related to CPS cases and grandparents’ rights.
There is a chance that CPS may move to terminate the parental rights of the New York child. If that does happen, you will be in a better position to intervene in the case and request a permanent conservatorships. Until then, parents prioritize grandparents when it comes to issues like visitation, custody, and conservatorships. If you intend to intervene in the case to become the primary conservator of your grandchild, then you need also to request a termination of your child’s parental rights and those of your child’s spouse or partner.
Grandparents’ Role After Terminating Parental Rights
The other issue you need to consider is that once you terminate your child’s parental rights, you still need to work with CPS to find that placement in your home is in their best interest. Remember that CPS will use the best interest determination when making decisions for your child. This means that what is in your grandchild’s best interest will determine custody questions and things of that nature. You will be asking to become your grandchild’s managing conservator. In general, you must be able to show that you have an established relationship with your grandchild and likely that you cared for them on a frequent basis throughout the past few years. Anything short of that will put you in a position where it will be an uphill climb for you to be named primary conservator, mainly if other suitable options exist.
In many cases, you will find that the CPS agent in the caseworker attached to your case will not be primarily in favor of your being appointed as managing conservator. There may be many reasons why this is the case in your circumstances, but I can tell you that it is sometimes the case that grandparents are unfairly viewed as being too old to care for their grandchildren. I am not telling you that you are too old to care for grandchildren by any means. However, this is something for you to bear in mind as you begin this process. Just because you were positioned to intercede as a relative does not mean that you have a leg up over every other party who may be in the life of your child and grandchild.
What about the rights of foster parents?
If circumstances did not allow for you to be the source of temporary care for your grandparents during the beginning of a CPS case, then you may find that a foster family has been caring for your grandchildren. Many of us are familiar with negative news stories and, generally speaking, negative information about foster families. It is tricky for us to understand those foster families, typically speaking, have good intentions, and I only want what is best for children. However, we hear about negative stories associated with foster families in the news, which is why many of us hold negative views about foster care in general.
Many foster parents intend to adopt a child that they are caring for eventually. Bear in mind that we have no idea that your grandchild’s foster family will want to adopt them. However, your child’s foster parents often develop a close bond with them during the case and, therefore, will be interested in adoption as a result. This is a competing interest with you and your desire to be a managing conservator of your grandchildren.
From time to time, foster parents are as confused as anyone about the intentions of Child Protective Services when it comes to a child they have been fostering. Many times a guardian ad litem, attorney ad litem, or even the grandparents can intervene in a case and disrupt what for them had been an excellent opportunity to become an adoptive parent. From the perspective of a foster family, frequently, we see that CPS may allow the child to return home under circumstances that are not good for that child. With this in mind, a CPS caseworker must understand that even foster families can proceed with representation in hopes of an adoptive family at some point.
Grandparents’ Legal Advice Amidst Competing Claims
What they should tell you about your situation is that you as a grandparent may find yourself with competing parties who believe they are well-positioned to take care of your grandchildren on a full-time basis after the completion of the CPS case. With that being said, I would recommend that you hire an experienced family law attorney as soon as possible once you begin to realize that your goal is to be named as primary conservator of your grandchildren.
It may not be an easy decision for you to decide that this is where you want to go with your case. The idea of working to terminate the parental rights of your child cannot be an easy moment for any parent. However, bearing in mind what is in your grandchild’s best interests will keep you focused on the objectives of your case while keeping everything else there spent. Impacted, do not underestimate how important it will be for you to have the advice of an attorney who has been there before in guiding families just like yours.
No one expects you to go through a case like this alone. It can be challenging to shoulder the burdens of CPS cases of a grandparent alone. For that reason, I would recommend going through with a CPS case after examining all of the issues in the case and determining that you offer the best possible route towards your grandchild experiencing a fruitful childhood.
Conclusion
Texas grandparents dealing with a Child Protective Services (CPS) case might feel overwhelmed by the lack of information and cooperation from both CPS and their child. It’s essential to explore every option to ensure their grandchildren’s safety and well-being, including finding out how to get their grandchildren out of foster care. Seeking legal counsel and understanding their rights as grandparents are crucial steps in advocating for their grandchildren’s best interests. Despite the obstacles, their commitment and persistence can play a pivotal role in reuniting the grandchildren with their families and securing a stable future for them.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
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Other Related Articles:
- What CPS Looks for in Placing Your Child After Removal From Your Home
- Representation for Grandparents in a Texas CPS Case
- Unlocking the Heart of Family: A Deep Dive into Grandparents’ Visitation Rights
- What you need to know about the Texas foster care system before a CPS case
- Grandparents’ Rights in Child Custody Cases Texas: A Comprehensive Guide
- Can grandparents get benefits for looking after grandchildren?
- Is it possible for Child Protective Services gives temporary conservatorship to your child’s grandparents?
- Family Law Cases in Texas: Conservatorship for Grandparents and Custody Determinations
- Grandparents can find themselves in a tough spot when raising a child in response to a CPS investigation
- Custody and Visitation Rights of Grandparents in Texas
- Can grandparents get benefits for looking after grandchildren?
Frequently Asked Questions
In Texas, you age out of foster care at the age of 18. However, if you are still attending high school, you may be eligible for extended foster care until the age of 21.
When you age out of foster care in Texas, you become responsible for yourself and your well-being. The state will provide support and resources to help you transition to adulthood, such as life skills training and financial assistance, but you will no longer have a foster family or caseworker.
Yes, grandparents in Texas can seek custody of their grandchildren if certain conditions are met. They must show that it is in the child’s best interests to live with them and that the child’s parents are unfit or unable to care for the child adequately.
Sometimes, if there is a shortage of available foster homes in Texas, the state may place foster children with families in other states. The goal is always to find the best possible placement for the child, whether within Texas or out of state.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
