Does DCS background check people with every investigation?

[quizzy]

Does DCS perform a background check on the person involved in the investigation? Washington state. Is this automatically a requirement for them or some optional thing? What happens if they find a serious crime ~ even if it occurred over 13 years ago. Will they just come take the kids?

The worker stated that there were no findings and that the case would be closed. Then two days later calls a family member to get the birthday of person involved.

[LindaJM]

Every case is different and there's no way of knowing what a CPS worker will do because so much is left up to their subjective judgments.

I knew a CPS caseworker who had been in prison for manslaughter and it didn't seem to affect his job status at all.

[HappyMommyx4]

In my very brief experience, yes if they know about it then it doesn't matter if it was 13 or 113 years or 13 days ago. If you tell them then they know too much up front, if you don't tell them and they find out then you lied. Sometimes it feels like you cannot win either way.

Our case went from "closing it out tomorrow" to going to court when our investigator called my husband's command for birthdays of the kids. When they are calling other people for more information it is a huge red flag that they are investigating further and bad things can be aroudn the corner. Just make sure your house is spotless, you conduct yourself well, and know your rights.

It sounds like it is time to get a lawyer. If whatever happened 13 years ago was abuse, sexual assault, rape...etc...I would get that lawyer yesterday.

[Momoffor]

The worker stated that there were no findings and that the case would be closed.

How can you tell a CPS worker is lying? Their lips are moving!

Dont ever believe them about closing the case until you have gotten the letter stating it! Dont let your guard down ...EVER!

[HappyMommyx4]

Yeah our investigator called me on a Tuesday to tell me she was very comfortable with my parenting and was closing the case. She complimented me and mentioned how wonderfully my children are doing and she is glad to see my husband is getting the help he needed with PTSD (which is what brought CPS into our lives). Remember, this was on a Tuesday. On Saturday of that same week I was served with a summons to appear in juvenile court. The summons had 5 charges of neglect in it ranging from I had denied them medical care to our $350.000 house was not adequate shelter. In the CPI's statment she even said my husband had refused psychiatric care when she had already been given the name of who was working with him and knew he had voluntarily entered programs to help him deal with his post-war "issues."

It has been easy for us to prove they were lying and our case is being dismissed, not all families are so lucky.

Again, in my brief experience, trust nothing they say, don't divulge more information than you have to, and with each word you speak remember it can be twisted.

The unfortunate thing is that you don't learn how to play the game until you're already well into it and most of us have already made big mistakes by then. My mistake was I assumed honesty was the best policy and I was very upfront with things that made our situation worse.

I swear, when we have a baby someone should give us a manual on how to properly deal with CPS just in case we ever have an encounter with them. It should come stuffed in those cheap diaper bags they give us at the hospital.