I Need Help Fighting CPS

I Need Help Fighting CPS

Here’s the situation: you are a responsible parent, living in a home with one or more children. You feed them, house them, love them, and take care of them. One day, one of them falls or trips and gets a bruise. Maybe the neighbors hear you shouting at your son for breaking a glass or hitting his sister. Someone, most likely someone who hardly even knows you, calls Child Protective Services to report abuse. Maybe your daughter’s teacher sees her bruised knee from playing outside or a scratch from a branch. Kids are awfully playful and often fall down or get scratches from roughhousing. All of this is incredibly normal, as any logical person can see. Yet for some reason, a stranger will take it upon themselves to “save” your child from you and remove them from your home, without any proof that you did anything.

Before you know it, social workers are at your front door, asking to come in “just to talk.” They look at your house; it’s a bit messy, as any family house may be if you’re not expecting a visitor. The children’s toys are out and about, some dishes are unwashed, and the dogs are running around. The social worker takes note of this, and when building her case will say that your home is an unsafe environment for a child. She asks if you spank or use any kind of physical punishment with your children. Well, many parents use spanking as a way to teach kids when they’ve misbehaved. If you say yes, she’s already building her abuse case file against you.

Here are the things that you need to know when dealing with CPS.

1. You NEVER have to let a CPS worker into your home unless they have a warrant. Letting them in allows them to find anything that may lead them to believe you are abusing or neglecting your child, even though you are not.
2. Ask for their identification immediately. Some people have pretended to be social workers or CPS workers, and they’re not. The CPS workers must show you identification.
3. Ask what they are investigating. They are obligated to tell you what you are being investigated for, and this may help you to understand the situation.
4. CPS workers CAN talk to your child at school or daycare without your permission. Always be wary of strangers talking to your children, and if your neighbors are getting any calls about you.
5. Get a lawyer! You NEED to speak to an attorney before CPS has the chance to take your children away. We recommend not speaking to any CPS workers at all until you can contact a lawyer. Anything you say can and WILL be used against you.