When Child Protective Services meets you it is not by accident. As a part of the Department of Family and Protective Services, CPS investigates situations where abuse or neglect of a child may have occurred. CPS learns about these potential incidents through anonymous reports made to the agency. Any member of the public may make anonymous, confidential reports regarding the well-being of your child. When a CPS caseworker contacts you, it is a sign that your child may have been the victim of abuse or neglect.
For many parents, this is one of the worst moments of their life. The realization that your child could have been harmed in some way is downright scary. This is a helpless feeling. However, it is an especially intimidating experience when you are named as an alleged perpetrator of other abuse or neglect. Reports to CPS are a snapshot in time. When someone reports an incident of perceived abuse or neglect of your child then CPS must investigate that circumstance. This is where the agency needs to begin to collect information.
In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we are going to share with you information about how CPS decides whether to open a case involving your child. Even though CPS seeks to make decisions that are in the best interests of your child it does not always feel that way. Feeling threatened by CPS is a normal feeling when they enter your life. However, there is information that can help you better understand their motivations and investigations.
Determining the safety of your child
The safety, well-being, and best interests of your child are at the top of a CPS investigation. The agency will review the anonymous report made and assign the case to an investigator or caseworker. That case worker’s job is to collect evidence and determine the level of safety presented for your child. Additional persons from CPS like supervisors or program directors may be a part of the investigation. It all depends upon the exact circumstances you are facing, and the nature of the allegation made against you or any other person. Almost certainly, CPS will attempt to contact you given your role as parent of your child.
The confidentiality of a CPS reporter
CPS will not disclose information about the person who made the report initially. This is to protect that person’s identity. CPS wants to encourage members of the public to make reports which may lead to children being better protected. As a result, do not expect to find out who the reporter was in your child’s case. However, CPS may share that person’s identity with law enforcement or anyone else investigating the situation involving abuse or neglect of your child.
What happens if CPS cannot find you?
Have you considered avoiding CPS? In avoiding CPS, you hope to avoid an investigation. This may be the result of certain situations. For example, if CPS is unable to determine whether the allegation made is based on truth then it cannot continue its investigation. However, in other situations, CPS will talk to other persons who may be able to corroborate the allegations made in the initial report. In that situation, the investigation into your child may continue. In other situations not speaking to CPS may harm you and your future relationship with your child. If you do not cooperate with CPS that may lead to the agency beginning to work with their attorneys to remove your child from the home.
How does a CPS case go from intake to investigation?
Typically, a CPS supervisor will review the report made regarding the abuse or neglect of a child. That review involves determining whether there is sufficient evidence to potentially begin a full-fledged investigation. The circumstances and nature of the report are assessed. In some situations, time is of the essence. Being able to process a report and determine the appropriate employees to investigate the matter means that moving quickly must be a priority. The ability to meet with your child, you, or any other relevant person is impacted by a timeline.
CPS and visits to your home
Not surprisingly, a CPS investigation often involves visits to the alleged victim or perpetrator’s home. Your home address is ascertained and CPS will visit. Any other residents where any incident of abuse or neglect may have occurred will also be a subject of the investigation. In some cases, your child may call multiple residences their home. For example, if your child lives with you, your co-parent, and a grandparent then it is likely that all three of those residences will need to be a part of a CPS investigation. With that in mind, adults living at any of these residences should expect to be interviewed as a part of a CPS investigation.
What does CPS do initially in their investigation?
The timeline of a CPS case involves the agency performing certain actions within 10 days of a report being made. Preferably the agency will perform the following steps before coming into contact with you or any other adult who is the subject of a CPS investigation. Your history with CPS is one of the first ways that the agency learns anything about you. For example, if you or your child have been involved in a CPS investigation before then that is something that the agency will want to find out.
Almost certainly, your prior involvement with the agency because of an investigation will determine the speed with which CPS attempts to speak with you about the situation involving your child. Depending upon the results of the prior investigation involving you and your family, CPS may attempt to resolve prior cases along with the current case.
CPS will reach out to the person who made the initial report. The context and circumstances of that report are important. Many times, people observe things that lead them to make a CPS report. However, those observations may sometimes be taken out of context or be otherwise incorrect. The CPS caseworker needs to determine the nature of the report and the mindset of the reporter. In some situations, an investigation may be terminated because it was clear that the reporter lacked sufficient information to have made a report.
Allowing a CPS caseworker into your home
In the United States, there are protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. This means that CPS cannot enter your home or remove property without obtaining your permission. This is true no matter what the circumstances are in your CPS case. On a practical level, this means that CPS cannot enter your home without first obtaining permission or consent. Likewise, CPS cannot interview your child if they do not have your consent or if the child is in CPS custody. Additionally, CPS cannot remove your child from the home without consent or legal authority.
One of the questions that is asked of our attorneys frequently is whether a child may consent to an interview. Additionally, sometimes children will answer the door when a CPS caseworker approaches. Can your child permit CPS for them to enter your home? The answer to that question is that there is no specific age at which a child gains the ability to consent to these types of actions. CPS considers the age and maturity of your child when determining whether he or she can provide consent. This usually means that an older child is judged to have a greater capacity for consent than a younger child. However, factors like intellectual disability are also relevant.
Talk with your child about the importance of speaking to an adult when it comes to providing consent to enter your home. Having this discussion with your child can avoid unpleasant circumstances and mistakes in the context of a CPS investigation. If your child is left home alone then this should be a conversation that you have with him or her.
When CPS enters your home
In situations where you and your co-parent live in the same household then you both must consent for a CPS caseworker to enter your home. When one parent consents but the other does not CPS may not enter. The exception to this rule is if there is an emergency circumstance or a court order is obtained. In a situation where law enforcement has the authority to enter that does not necessarily mean that CPS also has the authority to do so. In that case, CPS must seek consent or external authority to enter.
It is not only you who has the potential authority to provide consent in a situation involving CPS. Any adult who has responsibility for caring for your child may also provide consent. This means your co-parent, grandparent, or other relative may provide sufficient consent for CPS to enter the home. Likewise, any adult living in the residence may also provide consent. Finally, your child may do so as long as CPS determines that the person can consent.
When a CPS caseworker obtains consent from another adult to enter the home the consent is limited to areas like the living room or the kitchen. Bedrooms of you or your children are not able to be accessed. For this reason, if you have a family member, renter, or guest in the home it is important to speak to him or her about this subject. The last thing you would want is to inadvertently have access granted to the house by a guest or relative.
Emergency circumstances within a CPS case
In most situations, a CPS caseworker cannot enter your home without having permission. That permission needs to come from you or a court via an order to enter the home. Otherwise, CPS would not be able to enter your home. However, there are what is known as exigent circumstances that allow a caseworker or other CPS employee to enter your home. CPS would need to examine the entirety of the circumstances to determine that an emergency is ongoing.
The first such emergency involves abuse. The law in Texas treats abusive circumstances as being more of an emergency than neglect. This abuse could be either physical or sexual. When the CPS caseworker believes that there is a strong threat to a child then he or she may attempt to enter your home without obtaining a court order first. Additionally, the purpose of entering the home must be to protect your child. It cannot be to obtain evidence or to ask anyone questions.
A good rule of thumb is that if your child could be kept safe while CPS attempts to obtain a court order then there is no emergency circumstance at hand. Additionally, CPS will often request that law enforcement accompany them into your home if there is an exigent circumstance. This is done to protect themselves, your child, and anyone else who may be present in the home during entry. Talk to an experienced CPS defense attorney about emergency circumstances in a CPS case.
CPS may obtain a court order when a parent does not cooperate
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to deciding whether to participate in a CPS investigation. For the most part, a CPS investigation involves the agency attempting to keep children safe. That could involve interviewing you and asking for permission to enter the home. That permission may be sought to interview you, and your child or to obtain evidence. However, it may also involve attempting to keep your child safe.
When you choose not to participate in an investigation that puts CPS in a difficult position. If CPS cannot enter the home, then the agency may choose to seek a court order permitting them to do so. This court order is sought to further the purpose of their investigation. CPS completes an affidavit which is a sworn statement under oath. This is the equivalent of testifying in court. CPS would report that the child has not been interviewed or seen by the investigator. Next, the child needs to be in imminent danger of being harmed. Third, a court order is necessary to protect your child from abuse or neglect. Finally, gaining access to your home is necessary for interviewing a party to the case, child and to further the investigation.
What happens when CPS attempts to interview your child at home
CPS will need to ask your permission to speak to your child. When you deny CPS the consent to do so a caseworker has some steps to follow. First, CPS may choose to remove your child if there is an emergency circumstance at play. After the removal takes place CPS would then be able to interview your child. Or CPS may try to obtain a court order that would allow them permission to interview your child. Once you or your co-parent have denied the agency permission to interview your child they may not seek permission from another adult. This includes your child or any other adult who is caring for your child.
Final thoughts on CPS cases in Texas
Having your family be the subject of a CPS case is not an enjoyable experience. There are many circumstances involved where you are made to feel like you are powerless. However, the key thing to bear in mind is that you certainly do have rights during a CPS investigation. You are the best advocate for your child and yourself. The key is being confident in asserting those rights and doing so without hesitation.
Even the most well-versed and competent people oftentimes need help during a CPS investigation. This is where reaching out to an experienced attorney can help a great deal. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are adept at assisting families like yours handle family law in CPS defense circumstances. You should not go into a CPS case without counsel. There is too much at stake. Too much can go wrong. Removal of your child is a possibility no matter how confident you are that nothing has happened with your child that violates the law.
Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day today with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our team of attorneys works tirelessly on behalf of our clients to advocate for their rights. This is true both inside and outside the courtroom. When CPS contacts you about a potential investigation there is no time to waste. You need to immediately begin advocating for yourself and making decisions that are in the best interests of your child and your family. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is uniquely suited to be able to assist you in doing just that.
Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan with any questions you have
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.
Evan Hochschild was raised in Houston, TX and graduated from Cypress Creek High School. He went on to graduate from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with an undergraduate degree in Political Science. While in college, Evan was a four-year letterman on the Cross Country team.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle before him, Evan attended law school after he completed in his undergraduate studies. He graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law and has practiced in a variety of areas in the law- including family law.
Mr. Hochschild is guided by principles which place the interests of clients first. Additionally, Evan seeks to provide information and support for his clients with the heart of a teacher.
Evan and his wife have four small children together. He enjoys afternoons out and about with his family, teaching Sunday school at his church and exercising. A veteran attorney of fourteen years, Mr. Hochschild excels in communicating complex ideas in family law simply and directly.
