preadjudicatory improvement period yes or no please help

[mjohnson218]

they are offering me a preadjudicatory improvement period i dont know what to do can someone please help me im not sure if it is one of there little traps they want me to fall for cause they know they dont have the evidence to stand up in court or what should i take my chances with the judge and fight or take this offer please if anyone can help me and my children decide what this really means let me know i have to decide by the 26 of june as that is my adjudicatory hearing if i dont take this offer

[katgotsteve]

i am not familar with the laws of wv, but that doesnt sound right. basically if you agree,(i am just thinking and this doesnt mean much), that you will be admitting guilt and voluntarily placing your children in care. the ajudicatory hearing is the part where the determine if there is sufficient reason for them to be involved in your life. it is the guilt/innocent phase. in my state it is to take place 10 days from the removal. it sounds to me personally like they are trying to buy time. has the investigation been complete. if you agree to this you are looking at least 12 months of involvement. if you admit fault, (this is normally how they get you to do it), you could be looking at it longer. they are going to press you, talk to an attorney before anything else is done. do your own medical investigations. talk to different doctors, talk to your own peditrician. my fault for losing my ajudicatory hearing was i wasnt prepared. if i had to do it all over again, i would blow them out of the water, i made the assumption that no one would lie, no one would take statistics and twist them. your first defense for yourself and your children is you. recruit other family members to help you, i dont know what i would have done with out my cousin. if you give them a run for their money they will back down. hang in there.

[good dad]

§49-6-2. Petition to court when child believed neglected or abused--Right to counsel; improvement period; hearing; priority of proceeding; transcript.

(b) In any proceeding brought pursuant to the provisions of this article, the court may grant any respondent an improvement period in accord with the provisions of this article. During such period, the court may require temporary custody with a responsible person which has been found to be a fit and proper person for the temporary custody of the child or children or the state department or other agency during the improvement period. An order granting such improvement period shall require the department to prepare and submit to the court a family case plan in accordance with the provisions of section three, article six-d of this chapter.
*******************
It's a 6 month period for you to prove to the court "things are better in your home life"

If you go along with the "improvement period":
1.Your admitting there is a need for intervention by the state.
2.You will be given a caseplan with a number of services to accomplish.
3.If they don't have enough evidence against you now, during this improvement period anything you say or do, or the results of any testing/evals/councelling can and will be used against you...

Meaning they will probably get the evidence they need during this six months.

For those who don't think entering into a caseplan shows an admission of guilt(to some degree)... WV code states:

§49-6D-3. Family case plans for parents of abused or neglected children.

(8 An assignment of tasks to the abusing or neglecting parent, guardian or custodian, to the caseworker or caseworkers and to other participants in the planning process;

After looking back at your first post and seeing this was a stroller accident, there is no way I would go along with it... Make them prove their case now, but like kat says, you need to be prepared.
I have a couple of free evenings if you need help.

How much faith do you have in your attorney?

[Frustrated]

I was wondering does this also involve signature of the caseplan? When they offer the Services Plan, do they require his signature at the same time they bring this to Court? or does this occur after the hearing?

[good dad]

the court may grant any respondent an improvement period in accord with the provisions of this article

You have to ask the court to grant it.... You are asking the court to allow you to "participate".... I'm sure you could argue services you think aren't needed but you know how judges rule after you agree your family needs attention

[mom2boys]

I'm so sorry to hear this involved a stroller accident.

My thoughts are: I would not agree to sign anything.
Build your file.
Get copies of all your kids medical records, (maybe you have never missed 1 timely vaccination) letters from teachers, family, friends, anyone who knows your family and kids personally, get a HISTORY of everything about your family on paper. Special programs, classes, sports, ANYTHING to that will be to your benefit. You have a chance to show them 'your not an abuse home' and 'never have been' and the accustation is ridiculous!. Your older kids are old enough to speak their mind.
This was an accident. Get any supporting documents that show you are a good home, prove it.
If you feel strong enough, go to the top of your cps chapter and ask what justifies their intervention if your family has no abusive history, and in light of this having been an accident, ask them questions, one person may be willing to step up for you (just a hope). Be ready to tell the judge EVERYTHING THAT POINTS TO WHAT A STRONG, GOOD, CLOSE FAMILY YOU ARE.

-I would be one to research the statistics of accidental stroller injury,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entre ... t=Citation

-Call the stroller mfr., get written data, maybe its a tip hazard they knew about...Has it been recalled??

-Can you have your 10 month old checked for 'previous injuries' to prove he has never suffered any abuse?

-Make cps/judge see your effort to prove the accident, shifting the guilt meter to show them, maybe, just maybe were wrong here!!!

-Find out exactly what is expected to happen during this court hearing.

-When you think your done getting prepared, do more research, and then some more.!!

-The hospital that you went to, talk to them, see if they list the number of stroller injuries received each year.

-Ask at the hospital, make a few calls, see if someone will speak up for you.(Im just thinking what I would do) Go to the TOP!

-The first hospital you went to said nothing was wrong, talk to them, maybe because the 'didnt find anything' they will have someone speak on your behalf or difficult the 'suspected injury' was to find...dig, there may be some help here..

IT’S NOT legal advice. You have to decide what you think is best. What energy you have to continue to have them in your life. I’m sorry you have to make this decision. I would put as much as you can possibly get together in the days ahead and be ready to go 'all out'. GET EVERYTHING PERSON WHO WILL STAND UP FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY TO BE WITNESSES. EVERYBODY. Remember to keep every contact, every word, every visit, written down, documented, and never take their 'word'.
Build your mountain, you have but your family to have reason!

Prayers~

[anxiousmom]

Can you tell me what your case was about again?

I gather it had something to do with a stroller.

Do you have a lawyer?

It sounds like it was an accident.

It's really in your & your kid's best interest for you to NOT do anything voluntarily with them......I learned the hard way.....to before a jugde!

If he does order something, you will have more protection with his order than working with cps voluntarily as they will have to follow the rules more carefully to please the judge.

[mjohnson218]

they are saying that the ct scan the doctor did at 2nd hospital showed subdural at different stages of healing i dont know what that means but this is their reasoning for accusing me of abuse and their neglect reasoning is that i allowed him to get hurt what child has not gotten hurt i understand that it was a serious accident but that is exactly what it was an accident i turned my back for 1 min to get mp3 playr cord for my oldest daughter my improvement period will last 3 months they say, they want me to take a parenting class guided toward younger child and they say if i agree they will let the older children come home soon and the baby sooner than later so they can observe him in my home before the 3 months is up i just want my children home where they belong i would do anything to get them there but im scared to death that that is what they are feeding on(CPS) they said i dont have to make any admission to anything by signing this, the first one i told them absolutely not cause i knew from research that it meant i was admitting abuse/neglect so they came back last week with this one not sure what to do my lawyer says if i fight in court she thinks he will at least agree with the neglect and my kids still cant come home this is the fastest way i can get them home but is this just one of their lies to buy time

[mjohnson218]

they are saying that the ct scan the doctor did at 2nd hospital showed subdural at different stages of healing i dont know what that means but this is their reasoning for accusing me of abuse and their neglect reasoning is that i allowed him to get hurt what child has not gotten hurt i understand that it was a serious accident but that is exactly what it was an accident i turned my back for 1 min to get mp3 playr cord for my oldest daughter my improvement period will last 3 months they say, they want me to take a parenting class guided toward younger child and they say if i agree they will let the older children come home soon and the baby sooner than later so they can observe him in my home before the 3 months is up i just want my children home where they belong i would do anything to get them there but im scared to death that that is what they are feeding on(CPS) they said i dont have to make any admission to anything by signing this, the first one i told them absolutely not cause i knew from research that it meant i was admitting abuse/neglect so they came back last week with this one not sure what to do my lawyer says if i fight in court she thinks he will at least agree with the neglect and my kids still cant come home this is the fastest way i can get them home but is this just one of their lies to buy time

[mjohnson218]

i had a preliminary hearing where my lawyer told me to waive it i listened dont know if it was good idea or not but i did that was 2 days after they took my children, now a month and a half later adjudacatory hearing on the 26 so i thought now i am told if i take improvement period we will still see judge on 26 for approval of period but if i dont take period prosecuting attorney has already filed to change date of hearing to the 13 of july how is this fair i dont know if their investigation is complete but i do know it is supposed to be within 30 days of filing of petition cps has called my childrens doctors i cant get any records from them to prove my children do not miss any appointments and have never had any signs of any abuse my son has asthma so he has frequently been to the doctor sometimes twice a week since he has been born i thought at the least those records could help me but i cant get them they do not want me to have them

[Frustrated]

Did you sign any Medical Release Consent forms from CPS?

If not, the CPS was not supposed to call your Doctor for any medical information or records. Doctor is allowed just to say that yes the children regularly had visits and everything is healthy but nothing more further as it is confidential but won't be confidential anymore if you had signed your Rights away to CPS.

You can ask the Doctor directly that you want those Medical Files for you so you can use them for your Lawyer to use for Court. Never give these to CPS as they can get it themselves through protocols.

You would need Emergency Records too. Compile all the evidence to put yourself in Defense to prove you did not do this. Did anyone witness the downfall from the stroller accident? You may use her or him as a Credible Witness on the Stand for Court as well.

[good dad]

they are saying that the ct scan the doctor did at 2nd hospital showed subdural at different stages of healing i dont know what that means but this is their reasoning for accusing me of abuse

What they are saying is there is one or more subdural hemorrages and they occured at different times.

I don't see them offering you a deal giving you the other kids back and giving the 2 year old back in less then 3 months if they had this kind of proof.
I think with that kind of proof they would charge you criminally, as it shows a history of abuse,,,, and not give your kids back..

Subdural hemorrages can are usually associated with shaken baby syndrome thats why they fixate on it, but they can be caused by a bump on the head or even occur during birth. The reason they are dwelling on it is, most experts say subdural hemorrages usually don't occur from 3-5 foot falls, a stroller is probably about 3 feet, but the force of being pushed magnifies the impact.

Does the hemorrage point match the point of impact?
What kind of surface did she hit her head on?

cps has called my childrens doctors i cant get any records from them to prove my children do not miss any appointments and have never had any signs of any abuse

They can't keep it from you, you still have parental rights.. I'd go to the doctors office and request them, if denied make whoever denies you sign a paper stating they have denied you and the reason(s) why.....

If you state allows 1 person consent recording, record asking them for your records so you have proof for the court to see CPS has obstructed your ability to prepare a reasonable defense..

One thing looked at in deciding if it's abuse is the child's "clinical record", they won't present evidence that helps you, ie: always making timely appointments, no signs of abuse,etc. Thats why it's important you get a copy of the files.

Have you or your lawyer received copies of the findings of the CT scans?

[good dad]

This appears to be WV dhhr checklist of steps in each type of hearing. Have they followed it?
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:wk ... cd=4&gl=us

[mjohnson218]

i did not sign anything for cps they came to my apartment once told me they found several subdurals even tried to say one was a week old and the other 2 weeks old i got med records from second hospital (prosecuting attorney gave them to my lwayer) or ii still wouldnt even have that but there is no record showing these 1 and 2 week old hematomas it states that there is a hematoma diff stages of healing they did an mri to date it but that record of course was left out of the file they contacted babys doctor told him that he was in foster care the doctor told me when i requested his records that since he was in foster care they could not release them to me the state has taken my right to get anything i dont know how but i have tried to get these records and cant im wondering what my chances of fighting them in court and not taking their little deal is my lwayer says at the least the judge will find neglect because i was not standing right their when baby fell i was helping mu oldest daughter at that time. im scared to death for my children is it better to fight or take this deal and run with it but hten again im wondering WHY are they even offering me this if they think they can prove anything in court,

[mjohnson218]

im on my way to courthouse to see what exactly their terms of this improvement period are and if im not satisfied im not signing we will go to court at 10am today thank you everyone for all your help i will let you know how it turns out in a little while THANK YOU again
after reading everyones views on cps and how they work im not gonna let them push me around anymore at least im gonna try.
these are my children and i can and will fight for them

[mom2boys]

You said it, why are they offering a deal if they have evidence?...

....its cps....if they can pry a way in, they will, in hopes of the parents not having a clue. The more you keep up on their schananagins, the more your able to keep above the garbage. Dont give up or give in. If they have no true cause, it will come to light.
Prayers~~