fightcps.com

The psych evaluation is standard - everyone with a court ordered service plan has to do one... I've never known of a case where they weren't required. I don't think this is due to prejudice so much as the federal funding that enters the county through service providers. That money comes from the Soc...

I understand why the switch to a better lawyer (better reputation) after all the delays. What is the next step? When is the next hearing?

If CPS closed the case you will have to file in family court to get your child returned. Can you get an attorney to help you? If the custody order is temporary, when does it expire? You may have to fight it out in court. Collect evidence showing that the allegations she made against you are false. Y...

How did your reunion with your son go? How often do you get to see him, and where?

Why terminate your rights? If this is sibling abuse, why not find another home for the older children - with a relative, for guardianship, for instance? I don't understand why this is moving toward termination of parental rights. If you go to a TPR trial that means they are saying YOU are not able t...

Unfortunately, in most of these types of cases where the parent leaves the area with the children because of CPS, they will file charges and put out an all points bulletin on the parents. Children will go on missing child lists, milk cartons, amber alerts, etc... until they are picked up. I always t...

If DCS closed the case, then who has legal custody right now? Has there been a court order giving someone else custody?

18 months is a long time to be away from your child because of a false accusation. It could be a worthwhile lawsuit.

I'm glad to hear she's willing to have shared custody. A good co-parenting agreement is best for the kids.

I don't know what the judge will do. They are all different and make different decisions for different people. I'm really sorry your daughter continued to use drugs even with CPS in her life. That's disheartening. So, are the children still living with their mother now? If they are put into foster c...

Were you the primary caretaker of the children before they were picked up by CPS? There are no "grandparent rights" but in CA you might have had "de-facto parent" rights, a guardianship, or kinship care rights (to take care of your grandchildren while they were in foster care). W...

I just read through this entire thread. What an ordeal... I don't know if I ever read this before. Sometimes I miss out because of being too busy or distracted. It has been so long!! So ... was there a criminal trial back in April/May? I'm excited to hear that you can see your son again. Where do yo...

Who decided that you couldn't be the one to take care of your grandchildren? Was it the judge or the social worker? If it was the social worker, I'd contest their decision about not letting you have your grandchildren due to one trivial complaint during your daughter's teen years. You could request ...

They will probably be able to trace the calls back to you... and I'm not sure that's a good idea. On the other hand, if they're really abusing a child in state custody, someone needs to say something.

Cinbad, have you done everything required on your court ordered service plan? Have you collected proof that you complied? Do you go to all the visitations? (Never miss a visitation.) Strengthen your case... right now, put the reunification case at the top of your list of priorities... you can sue th...

Very proactive!! Congratulations... I am happy you're not letting them walk all over you.

I am so happy... this should encourage every family faced with false accusations to find a way to file a lawsuit. You deserve every bit of this - I know it will help you and your other children to recover from the misery and losses they put you through. This is a very happy day for families fighting...

This sounds very irregular. They are supposed to have a court hearing within two or three days. Have you been to court? How do you know these people are from CPS? When does law enforcement pick kids up without a CPS agent present? I've never heard of this before. Have you SEEN your daughter? How abo...

Have your 4th or 14th amendment rights been violated? You could see a civil rights or constitutional law attorney to ask about filing in federal court.

How to sue in federal court

This sounds like a complex legal question - and I'm not a lawyer... and even if I was, I wouldn't have enough information to understand the whole situation. I'm wondering about the timeline. Usually when there's a TPR the children have been in foster homes for a long time already. So how long has it...

I think any lawyer asking for that much money up front is a bad lawyer. I could be wrong about that but the fee seems too high... like a mile too high.

Sometimes they will let a mother have five or six children then swoop in and take them all.

TPR follows the parent, not the child. If a parent has parental rights removed, they can be removed for all subsequent children.

Did you ever get your children back? Do you have an open CPS case? Didn't drug tests prove the allegations untrue?

It varies from case to case. One can never say how they will react. People are different. Cases are different. There are no hard and fast rules about whether going to the media will be effective or harmful to the case.

Have you tried posting the details about this child and family on the web... on Facebook or on a blog? Teenagers are often connected to the internet and may at any time look for information about themselves. If the girl doesn't know her own family's name you could try posting her birthdate, the plac...

Unless God provides us with a miracle change in the world, that's probably where this is heading. Already some states want to force every family with a new baby to be regularly visited by a baby care nurse... in other words, a mandated reporter sent to spy for the government while they're ostensibly...