When the Child Protective Services calls
Janet, a fervent educator at home, never thought she would have much to worry about. After all, he always believed himself a superior mother. He spent a lot of time with his children and presented his sworn affidavit in private school as required by state law. Unfortunately, Janet completely ignored the growing threat to family autonomy. It was a sudden blow.
She received a call from the Child Protective Services who asked to make an appointment to visit her and her children. It would be a visit only to investigate a call they had received from a concerned neighbor. It would only take a few minutes.
Janet agreed to receive the CPS at her home a couple of days later to answer some questions about her. She doubted little since she was a good mother and had nothing to worry about. That same week, the CPS appeared with two law enforcement officers. They had a court order to enter the premises and take their three children for questioning. Janet was not told where they were being taken or whether she would see them again. Does it sound absurd?
Unfortunately, Janet is by no means the only one. CPS in California has tremendously increased the number of cases they handle. And as Janet soon discovered, no exception is made with children who receive their education at home. In fact, as education becomes more widespread at home, cases like Janet's will probably increase.
So, what can parents who give school to their children at home when they see themselves in a situation like Janet's? First, here at the Pacific Justice Institute we recommend that these parents communicate with either our organization or a private attorney, to provide them with immediate legal advice. Second, the Pacific Justice Institute has discovered the following method for those who give school at home, which although uncomfortable, almost always effectively saves such a tragedy from happening.
Assuming the CPS calls ahead to make an appointment, parents should not lose their friendly behavior or sound defensive. Parents need to ask the CPS why they think they should visit them or their children, and then make sure there is enough time to take their children to the doctor for a private examination prior to the visit. Parents should not simply hang up or refuse to cooperate. The CPS only needs a "reasonable suspicion" of the child's (physical or emotional) abuse to temporarily take the children. Therefore, the goal is to eliminate that reasonable suspicion before the CPS has the opportunity to visit them or take the children. But how to do it?
Parents should immediately take their children to a private doctor, not affiliated with the CPS, for a physical examination. The doctor must carefully examine them so that they immediately write a letter stating that they do not present with bruises, marks or any other medical condition that could create suspicion of abuse or neglect. (If parents think they would suspect emotional abuse, they should have their children see a psychiatrist to prepare a similar report.)
After parents receive these reports, they must send certified copies by mail to the CPS employee in charge of the case, as well as to their supervisor. To ensure that the employee and his supervisor receive these reports on time, parents could (in a friendly and friendly manner) deliver the reports in person.
Next, parents could follow up with a phone call to make sure that the reports satisfied the questions that CPS employees had, and that it would not be necessary to hold the meeting with the children and parents. Most of the time, that will be the case. However, in rare cases where this is not the case, parents should immediately call a competent lawyer to intervene.
Parents should also not hesitate to question the CPS employee to find out specifically what kind of concern he has that has not covered the reports. You will find that the CPS employee simply searches for a second opinion or that you have forgotten or lost the reports that were sent to you. Please note that CPS employees in Sacramento County handle an average of 400 cases.
If the CPS employee continues to insist on examining the children, or even taking them away, the parents can be sure that they probably have the necessary evidence to recover their children without delay. The parents will also have prepared the ground for a possible civil suit against the CPS if it can be proven that the CPS employee maliciously hid medical or psychological reports from the judge who signed the order to take the children.
It often happens that after the CPS employee has taken the children, they could offer the parents to deliver their children on the condition that the parents sign an admission of negligence or waive their right to trial, and / or swear undergo "parent training" supervised by the CPS. Every parent must ask for legal advice before signing such a document.
Fortunately, in the last five years of coordinating the representation of parents confronting the CPS, there has not been a single time in which a CPS employee has been able to remove the children when their parents follow the preventive measures mentioned.
Without a doubt, no parent who gives home school to their children, can be completely sure that they will never be confronted by the CPS. However, there is no reason why parents who do not abuse or commit neglect with their children would have to bear to subject their family to such serious trauma resulting from such confrontations.
Support to: https://spanish.pacificjustice.org/cuando-habla-el-cps.html
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