What Should I Do When Child Protective Services Knocks on My Door

March 27, 2008 by
Dan Weaver  
Dan Weaver
Dan Weaver
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Social Services  |  Protective  |  Child Protective Services  |  Cps
October 4, 2004. I will remember that day for the rest of my life. For me, September 11, 2001 fades in comparison because October 4, 2004 was the day Child Protective Services (CPS) of Montgomery County, New York took my daughter away from me based
 on anonymous and false allegations. I finally got her back, but she would never have been taken in the first place if I had known more about how CPS and Family Court operated, and if I had known my rights under the law.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that it can't happen to you. Before it happened to me, I would have never thought it was possible. Although my wife and I were approaching age 50, neither of us had any experience with courts, lawyers or investigators of any kind. We had each received a couple of traffic tickets in our lives, which we dutifully pled guilty to and paid the fines. We had hired a lawyer twice for closings on house purchases. My wife had served on a jury once.We had been married for 25 years, raised two boys who were model citizens, extremely bright and had never had any trouble with the law. We both worked. My wife graduated from community college with a 4.0 average and was a charge nurse at a local nursing home. I had an M.A. degree in English and ran my own business. We paid our taxes, went to church, helped our neighbors, voted in every election, put up the flag on holidays-in short we were the kind of people that supposedly were the backbone of America.

The number one piece of advice I can give people who have been falsely reported for abuse or neglect is to hire a good lawyer. (I am not a lawyer, by the way, so please don't take any advice from this article without consulting a lawyer first.) But don't just hire any lawyer. Your lawyer must be familiar with family law and social services law. He or she must also be aggressive. Child Protective caseworkers and social service lawyers are very aggressive, and they will run right over a mealy-mouthed lawyer. I know because it happened to the first lawyer we had.

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You are quite right Aaron, a good Children's panel Solicitor is the only possible option. Other so called professionals are a blight, within the Family Courts,such individuals give conflicting Medical evidence, to gratify Local Authority Adoption targets within the UK. Parents are denied their documents, which they are entitled to under section 7 of the data protection act 1998, which can be detrimental to their case. Social Services, disregard the Public Law Guidelines on a daily basis,and very rarely are they made accountable for shoddy practice. Corrupt High Court Judges, is another problem. One such Judge,admitted in a High Court Adoption appeal, that there had been a definite miscarriage of Justice, but would not put his neck on the line,and overturn the Adoption Order. Alison Stevens Parents Against Injustice UK.
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Posted on 05/17/2009 at 11:05:11 AM

Good job Aaron. Legal action appears to be the only way to stop these tyrants.
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Posted on 05/13/2009 at 3:05:18 PM

Well, I have met with CPS and they have nothing to go on. we have had our dughter's pediatrician talk to the school and cps. He also wrote a letter demanding they don't call cps but him and he will make the necessary calls if he feels something is going on. We also have met with NAAMI. We have also written a letter stating that our daughter is not allowed to talk to cps because of her mental illnesses. The doctor stated the same. The principal, school psychologist and the superintendent of our district all have copies. we also have sent copies to the Commisoiner of education for NYS. the accusations were so fabricated and even my daughter told cps she never said those things. We are taking legal action against the school.
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Posted on 05/13/2009 at 1:05:43 PM

I am currntly going through a battle with CPS. I have not talked to them yet but my girlfriend has. We have a bipolar daughter who has just got out of a mental hospital. She was mad one day and said i gave her a bloody nose. It is so far fron the truth. She doesn't even remembering telling the school . We also have nothing in writing about the report or have been told our rights, which in NYS they have to give you the details of the report and a copy of your parental rights within 7 days. I am scared. We have 3 kids altogether and are afraid of losing them for false accusations. I haven't been able to eat, sleep and stop shaking. I don't even yell at my kids. I can't understand this. Just need some help I guess.
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Posted on 05/10/2009 at 8:05:25 AM

I am currently going through this with DCS for something I did not know. DCS are not into fact finding. They simply want to target someone (lots of times the father) They have tried to bully and intimidate me. DCS is extremely corrupt. The best advice I can give to you is hire a good attorney. Do not let the threat of police, etc intimidate you at all. If you are innocent, do not agree to attend classes even if it means going a little bit longer without seeing your child. What I learned is if you agree they see it as an admission of guilt and can still take your child or you end up with a permanent record for something YOU DID NOT DO. Also recognize that if you are divorced or had a child out of wedlock often the other parent is involved and working with DCS. Document everything and once you hire the attorney do not answer any questions at all without your attorney there. Realize they have no desire to work with you, they are trying to set you up. Another bit of advice. Sometime
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Posted on 03/30/2009 at 2:03:03 PM

First I would like to give this information. Anyone who has Cps show up on there doorstep, before cooperating call this number if you live in New York state, 518-486-7078. This is the number to the regional office in Albany. Find out what your rights are. We found out first hand the lies and threats that come out of CPS's mouth are just to scare you. They have no authority to MAKE a parent do anything. regardless. If it is a drug or alcohol accusation, they will try to make you do a urinalasis with your bathroom door open and her watching. That my friends is a violation. When they threaten taking you to court and taking your kids they have to have prrof in order to do any of that. They can not take you to court just on allegations alone. When they tell you , you cant get copies of any report untill the case is closed, They are full of it. They just dont want to be bothered. Dont be fooled by CPS, and dont let them intimadate you. They have NO authority...
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Posted on 03/19/2009 at 1:03:15 PM

Thank you for the good advice! but, I just found out CPS closed my case/a false acc. To late! We had contacted N.Y. state,(who county cps reports to).Told them whats been going on & what we were being put threw! (The Co. haden't returned calls). I study law,I knew things were not right,The State opened a case againsted the County and the Worker for threats and endangering the welfare of a child!!!! Our misstake was coroperating! We know we are good parents, thought It would proven when they had a look into our lives. Threats of taking our kids and going to court kept pouring in! It might be a "cold"/ closed case,and they are done ,but....I'm just getting started!! (for the protection of the good parents out there,and there children)
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Posted on 03/19/2009 at 1:03:51 PM

I wanted to comment on hiring an attorney. They usually target only people who are DSHS eligible. Most cannot afford an attorney. For this reason, I have joined and started marketing Prepaid Legal. How this works for people is for a nominal amount (approximately $17 a month) they can get unlimited legal advice and all their documents reviewed. You can't get a paralegal for that little amount. I am encouraging all activists to become distributors so that people can have equal access to legal information and assistance with pro se. Also, extended families are under attack for relative placement and need attorney advice too. The cost to hire an attorney for them goes as high as $100,000. Many just can't afford that. Here is a video talking about how to go pro se http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbPhfVhb6C4 or my website at www.washingtonstateextendedfamilies.com Thanks, Jan Smith
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Posted on 03/14/2009 at 9:03:41 AM

Disclaime: Please note that I am not a lawyer. Any advice that I give in the comment section of this article is not meant to be legal advice. Please consult an attorney before using any advice given in the above article or in the comment section of this article.
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Posted on 02/25/2009 at 1:02:34 PM

The best advice I can give is for your family to find a good lawyer who specializes in dealing with CPS, so you can get them off of your back. You might want to ask a lawyer about the possibility of filing a lawsuit against CPS, your county and anyone else involved with the harassment that your family is dealing with. While CPS investigators have immunity, it is limited immunity. I am not a lawyer, so I cannot give you legal advice, but when you have been investigated for two years and it is causing problem for you as a teen, then CPS is doing the abusing, and you need to fight back. Anyway, I hope you keep on learning and loving to learn.
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Posted on 02/25/2009 at 1:02:22 PM

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