CPS has now cut out visitations & wont give me a case plan

[gemelosamor]

I started a thread back in April called "Help please CPS took all 3 kids over false accusations!" and now after 3 court hearings here is an update.

Things have gotten worse!

**First I want to say I am not the parent but their legal guardian.**

No arrest have been made but a criminal investigation is taking place.
I was interviewed by an detective back in April the detective told me I would not be getting arrested and "You will not be seeing me anymore" "Good luck in court". The detective was nice even gave me a ride back home but Im not letting my guard down, I truly will never believe anything they say anymore.

The second hearing took place a week later, I brought witnesses but I did not personally take the stand nor did I have a lawyer since I am not the parent. The false allegations were brought back up and the judge pretty much told CPS that they have yet to prove the allegations were true. He ordered to have a continuance(3rd court hearing), asked for the criminal investigation records and a case plan. At the time CPS said the criminal investigation was BELIEVED to be still open.

I've been visiting the children since then but they cut down my visit to bi-weekly since Im not the parent. I've been taking parenting classes since the end of May, had a mental evaluation done(my therapist) and I've been seeking therapy/medication management since April. The parent has not visited the two youngest children for an entire month .

Now in June I attended the continuance court hearing.

CPS said that no child should be in my care, they will not be giving me a case plan and they will be cutting down my SUPERVISED visits and one of the workers even suggested for me to not have any supervised or unsupervised visits. Once again they have yet to prove these false allegations against me and NONE of the allegations have anything to do with the two younger children!!!!!!! The state's attorney asked the CPS worker if the criminal case was still open, the CPS worker replied "I believe so". However CPS did give the mother of the two youngest children a case plan which is good but I know the mother has no plans of doing what they asked.

The CPS worker never brought up anything positive(of course) and was a terrible liar. The judge said she would be making the final decision whether I'd get a case plan or not but the next court hearing has been set for 3 months from now! CPS also talked about possibly shipping the 2 youngest kids 5 states away to people they have never met nor have been proven to be their actual family(fathers side).

What can I do? I know they are doing all of this because I have no lawyer but I cannot afford a lawyer either. Is the criminal case still open even though I have not heard from the detective in 2 months?

[LindaJM]

Hi there,

You should have some verification of whether or not the criminal case is open ... can you get that from the detective or the DA's office?

Did you write a Declaration of Facts to tell the judge your side of the case?

[gemelosamor]

I called the detective right before the weekend, I am waiting to hear back. If not I will then call the DA's office.

I did not right Declaration of Facts, is it too late for me to now?

[LindaJM]

About the Declaration of Facts.... if it is too late, I'm not sure because I don't know enough about your case.

When you were in juvenile court, did you sign a guilty plea of some kind, or did this go to a trial which you lost?

How long have your children been in state custody now?

[gemelosamor]

There was no guilty or not guilty plea, there was no trial either. It just has been 3 court hearings so far, 1) The initial (sorry dont know the correct term) "where will the children go for now" court hearing, 2) The second hearing I had witnesses testify and denied the accusations, then the judge ordered a continuance, 3) The continuance happened a week ago and thats when CPS said no kid should be in my custody nor should I be allowed to do a case plan, the judge then pretty much ordered another continuance while stating she will make the final decision concerning the case plan.

The children have been in custody for about 3 months now.

[family_man]

Yes, CPS can get real tough and obstinate when they realize that you're going to fight them in court.

Who has custody of the children right now? There are two kinds of custody: Physical and legal. The person with physical custody is the one who takes care of them on a daily basis. Where are the children staying right now?

You say you are the not the biological parent, so how did you become their "legal guardian"? Legal guardianship is synonymous with legal custody. The entity or entities that hold legal custody are the one who call the shots. A judge may award temporary legal custody to the state, but that requires either an evidence-based trial or a stipulation from you that abuse/neglect has occurred. Did the judge do this?

If not, then you still have legal custody and you are voluntarily complying with the state's plan to keep the children safe. If you still have legal custody, a judge may order order you to comply with a temporary safety plan even if you don't voluntarily agree to one. Alternatively, the judge may throw the CPS case out the window and order the children to be returned to you.

Which decision do you expect from the judge at the next hearing?
Do you have legal representation?

[gemelosamor]

Yes, CPS can get real tough and obstinate when they realize that you're going to fight them in court.

Who has custody of the children right now? There are two kinds of custody: Physical and legal. The person with physical custody is the one who takes care of them on a daily basis. Where are the children staying right now?

You say you are the not the biological parent, so how did you become their "legal guardian"? Legal guardianship is synonymous with legal custody. The entity or entities that hold legal custody are the one who call the shots. A judge may award temporary legal custody to the state, but that requires either an evidence-based trial or a stipulation from you that abuse/neglect has occurred. Did the judge do this?

If not, then you still have legal custody and you are voluntarily complying with the state's plan to keep the children safe. If you still have legal custody, a judge may order order you to comply with a temporary safety plan even if you don't voluntarily agree to one. Alternatively, the judge may throw the CPS case out the window and order the children to be returned to you.

Which decision do you expect from the judge at the next hearing?
Do you have legal representation?

I became legal guardian because of multiple reasons. Parent of the first child was a drug addict and the other parent did not want them. The child was also abused sexually and neglected. The younger children were taken away from their parent because of multiple reasons. I have always taken care of the children in my family when need be.

The first child I voluntarily gave up my legal guardianship, very detailed reason(s) on why so I cant get into that on here but at that point I was not found guilty of anything. In fact nothing was really discussed during that hearing.

**** Came back to edit this - I honestly do not know whether CPS has temp custody or not. During the adjudicatory hearing the judge said CPS had not proven anything to be true or untrue, she said the kids will remain in custody until further hearing BECAUSE of the criminal investigation had yet to close. The ordered papers I received from the adjudicatory hearing said the children were found to be dependant because "mother is homeless" and also the mother agreed to allow the children to remain with CPS.

Now during the dispositional hearing, nothing was really discussed. CPS shut me down, said I should not have custody of the children and no case plan. Judge set another hearing for 3 months from now and said that she would determine whether I recieved a case plan or not. ****

What do I expect? Honestly I do not know anymore, I am very discouraged at this point. Once again the judge was not too precise on whats going to happen during the next hearing. CPS denied me a case plan and the judge said she would make the final decision on that so Im guessing either I will get a case plan or the children will be permanently taken away from me.

I have no legal representation, I am working on that now but its hard to seek representation with a limited amount of money.

[family_man]

"Dependent" generally means legal custody is awarded to the state. It doesn't really make sense that they are "dependent" because the "mother is homeless." You were the legal guardian and you weren't homeless, correct?

[good dad]

Are you their "Temporary Legal Guardian" or "Legal Guardian"?
And do you have the legal paperwork supporting it?

The Adjudicatory hearing(trial) is where the judge determines whether the facts as stated in the petition or warrant are true. The judge may temporarily postpone a case to allow all parties time to obtain a lawyer or for any other reason needed to have a fair trial.

This hearing was simply postponed by the judge, this is what your next hearing will be..
The next hearing you need to either have a lawyer that will quash CPS's claims or you need to represent yourself and be fully prepared to enter the needed evidence to negate or contradict CPS's claims/evidence...

When you are notified of court dates/hearings, are you listed? such as: The state of XX vs <your name> or In the matter of<childs name> vs <your name>?

What state are you in? pm me that if you don't want to post it

[gemelosamor]

Family Man - Yes Im looking at the paper work now, it says the court found that the " MOTHER stipulated to dependency ... as she cannot provide routine care for either of the children". Then it gets into what happened in court. No I am not homeless just the birth mother is.

-

Good Dad - I am their legal guardian.

The Adjudicatory hearing has already happened. At the hearing the judge said CPS had not proven anything did or did not happen(her exact words), she then proceeded to tell them to "come back with a case plan and criminal investigation" (i guess the findings?). The judge told me she could not give the kids back to me at that moment because the criminal investigation was still open(according to CPS).
Although at the time, the judge said my next hearing would be an continuancy, the the paperwork stated "dispositional hearing".

That dispositional hearing just happened in June. CPS came back with no case plan for myself. CPS's attorney asked the social worker "is the criminal investigation still open?", social worker said "I believe so" .

CPS then said no more visits and I should not have any kids in my custody "because of what *childs name* accused me of doing". The judge said she was not able to go over what they gave her at the last minute(paperwork) and that she would determine whether I got a case plan or not. Now I dont know whether that will be before my next hearing or what?

Most of of the notifications says " CPS vs. the mother, the father and myself" The adjudicatory ORDER says "CPS vs. mother, father and myself In the interest of ___"

[family_man]

I really think you need a good lawyer on your side. You and he need to find out exactly "what the child is accusing you of." Forensic interviews of children are supposed to be recorded and are discoverable as evidence before the trial (either criminal or civil). A good attorney would be able to get that recording, so you know what you're up against. Without that direct recording or testimony of the child, it's just hearsay.

Just because because the mother stipulated to dependency doesn't imply that you did. You and she have different interests in this case. Her attorney cannot represent you.

I can understand why the judge wouldn't want to have the child returned to you if you are under active criminal investigation for some kind of abuse. This criminal case has to be cleared up first. However, it sounds as if the CPS worker has no idea whether the DA is still investigating or not. A good lawyer would be able to get a definitive answer for you.

[gemelosamor]

I really think you need a good lawyer on your side. You and he need to find out exactly "what the child is accusing you of." Forensic interviews of children are supposed to be recorded and are discoverable as evidence before the trial (either criminal or civil). A good attorney would be able to get that recording, so you know what you're up against. Without that direct recording or testimony of the child, it's just hearsay.

Just because because the mother stipulated to dependency doesn't imply that you did. You and she have different interests in this case. Her attorney cannot represent you.

I can understand why the judge wouldn't want to have the child returned to you if you are under active criminal investigation for some kind of abuse. This criminal case has to be cleared up first. However, it sounds as if the CPS worker has no idea whether the DA is still investigating or not. A good lawyer would be able to get a definitive answer for you.

Yeah thats whats bothering me, the fact that CPS arent even sure themselves if the case is open or closed. I totally understand the judges side of things for sure. I have a consultation with a lawyer coming up and I've found a few CPS lawyers in my city so hopefully I can get some sort of legal help. I feel if I had a lawyer from the beginning everything would be cleared up by now or at least CPS would be playing less dirty tricks!

[good dad]

Without that direct recording or testimony of the child, it's just hearsay.

.

Depending how the caseworker words it or who said it or what was said... Hearsay is allowed in CPS cases..

This criminal case has to be cleared up first. However, it sounds as if the CPS worker has no idea whether the DA is still investigating or not. A good lawyer would be able to get a definitive answer for you

My gut tells me the worker knows,,,
1.If there was still an ongoing investigation, he/she would have it highlighted in each new piece of paperwork...
2.If they say "NO, there isn't" a lot of their possible evidence is gone..
3.If they play dumb saying "I believe so", they aren't held to any answer, the possibility still lingers that it is and time rolls on and on... Giving them more time to gather any other evidence to use
4. Who represents CPS in court? A prosecutor from: The District Attorneys Office..
******************
CPS isn't going to enter/give up evidence to help your case.

I'd get a statement from the Investigator stating when he closed the investigation... File it with the court-
1.Point out the length of time the case has been ongoing.
2.The date you and the investigator met and the number of days neither the Caseworker and/or the Prosecutor failed to make contact with police or the criminal prosecutor in the same office to see if the case was even open any longer.

[gemelosamor]

Without that direct recording or testimony of the child, it's just hearsay.

.

Depending how the caseworker words it or who said it or what was said... Hearsay is allowed in CPS cases..

This criminal case has to be cleared up first. However, it sounds as if the CPS worker has no idea whether the DA is still investigating or not. A good lawyer would be able to get a definitive answer for you

My gut tells me the worker knows,,,
1.If there was still an ongoing investigation, he/she would have it highlighted in each new piece of paperwork...
2.If they say "NO, there isn't" a lot of their possible evidence is gone..
3.If they play dumb saying "I believe so", they aren't held to any answer, the possibility still lingers that it is and time rolls on and on... Giving them more time to gather any other evidence to use
4. Who represents CPS in court? A prosecutor from: The District Attorneys Office..
******************
CPS isn't going to enter/give up evidence to help your case.

I'd get a statement from the Investigator stating when he closed the investigation... File it with the court-
1.Point out the length of time the case has been ongoing.
2.The date you and the investigator met and the number of days neither the Caseworker and/or the Prosecutor failed to make contact with police or the criminal prosecutor in the same office to see if the case was even open any longer.

Thank you, I will do just that but hopefully the investigator gets back to me as I know they can be very busy and overwhelmed w/ other cases.

[*Lady Liberty]

From here on out, always get it in writing. CPS will get to them, and people's memory fade.

The police are busy yes, but you need to push and push again, go in person and explain the urgency. Often times, they will not "officially close an investigation, " but instead leave it lingering for years. It is a matter of paperwork. That is all.

If you can get a statement that the case was closed, submit a motion to dismiss. Head them off before they have more time to dig and interfere.

[*Lady Liberty]

Because you are a named party, you CAN request representation. In addition, you can file on your own behalf. So, I would file a motion to produce evidence or dismiss. You can file a Motion to restore visitation. Also, get the audio and transcriptions of the hearing, because everyone including the judge seems to have amnesia at future hearings. You are entitled to this because you are a named party.

Go through the statutes for your state, the Administrative Code, and the Handbook for CPS. Highlight everything that they have failed to follow.

You have what sounds like a semi-reasonable judge on the case (although she may quickly change moods) use that momentum to your favor.

You do not have to wait three months. They will be building a case. Visitation, parenting classes, are not designed for the best interest of the child. They are there so you slip up or fail. While they are building a case, build yours and beat them to the punch. Tip the judge to see that CPS has blundered the case.