When Child Protective Services or CPS assume custody of a child from an erring parent, can the other parent regain custody of the child? Find out how you can work around the system and get your child back.

Click here to watch the video on Initiating Custody Case When A Child Is Placed Under The Care of The State

Sometimes when you have custody issues come up, It could be between parents. One parent is accused of neglect or abuse and the state has temporary placement. The state uses a system defined by a set of statutes. Going against the system is not easy but there are remedies.

What You Need To Know About The Powerful State

The state is such a powerful force to take on with all its resources at its disposal, more so in with a child in its care. The state works through agencies and a network of people called mandatory reporters. To appreciate how the system works, you must know and understand the role of each element of the system.

The Courts

When parties disagree, courts are necessary to interpret and apply the law. In this way, courts transform the rule of law from a dry, dusty text into a dynamic component of everyday life. To the unique conflicts presented before them, courts apply the law. They resolve disputes involving people, companies, and governments.

It is common practice to request courts uphold limitations on the government. They provide protection from abuse by all legislative and executive branches. They protect minorities of all kinds from the majority and stand up for the rights of those who can’t stand up for themselves. Additionally, they represent the ideas of justice and fair play. Everyone has access to the legal system and its safeguards.

In a child custody case, the court will determine eventually who gets to have custody of a child.

The Local Police Enforcers

We already know who we call via 911. We already know who enforces the law in our community. These are the same officers who will enforce the laws protecting children and assist in taking custody of children for the state. They are mandated to follow procedures or protocols just like the Child Protective Services of the Department of Health and Human Services or DHSS.

The protocols police must adhere to are much more extensive. There are very stringent guidelines governing things like gathering evidence and what is permitted to be said during an interrogation. If the police discover any evidence of child abuse or neglect, they may file criminal charges.

Child Protective Services

The state government department in charge of looking into allegations of child abuse or neglect is called Child Protective Services or CPS. It may go by various names, such as the Department of Youth and Family Services, Department of Family Services, or Department of Social Services, to name a few, depending on the state. The state Attorney General’s office typically defends CPS (or the related Department). In Michigan, CPS is under the Department of Health and Human Services or DHHS.

Protecting children from maltreatment and neglect is the responsibility of CPS. A kid is abused when their health or well-being is harmed or threatened. It causes intentional mental or physical harm. Neglecting a child means either or both of the following:

Not giving a child in your care enough food, clothing, shelter, or medical attention
Placing a child at an improbable risk of injury when you were aware of the risk or should have been aware of it, could have protected the child from harm, and chose not to do so

A CPS investigation differs from a police inquiry. CPS is subject to much less regulation and is free to tell the court virtually anything to support removing your children from your care. A CPS investigation, however, is more likely to result in your children being placed in foster care and your family receiving “services” like court-mandated parenting classes or group therapy if the case worker suspects abuse or neglect. When abuse or neglect is reported, several organizations typically get involved.

Mandatory Reporters

Mandatory reporters in Michigan are those who have “reasonable cause to suspect” that child abuse or child neglect has occurred or is occurring and who are required by the Child Protection Law to report to Centralized Intake, CPS at the DHHS. There is a long list of people in Michigan who are required by law to report certain information. Adults who frequently interact with your youngster are listed on that list.

Physical and occupational therapists, athletic trainers, school counselors, teachers, clergy, dentists, doctors, therapists, law enforcement officers, licensed master’s social workers, licensed bachelor’s social workers, psychologists, emergency medical care providers, specific DHHS employees, and licensed day care providers are some of those on the list.

Remember these mandated reporters are never off-duty and are therefore required to report any reasonable suspicions even when they are with friends or family or not working.

The Truth About State Care You Need To See

Some stats and facts you need to know to have a perspective of what awaits your child if the state through CPS takes custody. The state or the government in general, given a choice, will house children in facilities called residential treatment facilities or RFs.

These institutions frequently receive contracts from state and local governments, both inside and outside of their respective states. This practice is partly a result of the facilities’ upbeat and encouraging marketing, as well as the dire lack of community-based programs offering the care these kids need at home. For-profit RFs’ business strategies “depend on governments’ inability to establish safe environments for their most vulnerable children.”

More kids in America are placed in foster care every year. According to the most recent data available, 673,000 children were in foster care in the United States in 2020.

In America, there is a 1 in 16 probability that a youngster will have spent some time in foster care before turning 18 years old. Sadly, kids have frequently spent more than one time in foster care.

There is no exception to these figures in Michigan. With over 14,000 children in care on any given day, Michigan is ranked 18th nationally for having the most children in foster care per resident.

Foster children in Michigan are far younger than you may imagine. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers under the age of six make up approximately half of all foster children in the state of Michigan.

The death by suffocation of 16-year-old Cornelius Frederick at a for-profit residential treatment center in April 2020 brought international attention to the condition of children and teens housed in RFs. Sadly, these worries are not brand-new. Protection and Advocacy (P&A) organizations were established by Congress in the 1970s to advocate for people with disabilities in every state and territory.

Through monitoring and investigating these facilities, P&A organizations have discovered many RFs do not treat the children housed there with the respect and dignity that they deserve. Over many years and across the country, the P&A Network has kept track of, reported on, looked into, examined papers and data, and proposed specific policy changes involving these facilities.

The research claims teens are often the victims of physical, mental, and sexual abuse as well as the unnecessary use of psychiatric medicines. Additionally, the programs did not offer the precise mental health supports they had billed for and represented as a part of their services.

The abuse is widespread and systematic, a major issue affecting a large number of states across the nation.

This issue is present, persistent, and not particular to any one company or area. P&A investigations, which are detailed in reports, have uncovered abuse in for-profit residential facilities across the country.

This abuse ranges from physical harm, fight clubs, and sexual assault by trusted staff to forced isolation, humiliation, and the complete failure by some facilities to provide the mental health treatment that originally prompted placement. In other facilities, kids are kept in rat-infested buildings and don’t get nearly enough food to grow normally. They are denied access to their relatives and do not get urgent medical attention in time to avoid major harm.

There are times when medication is given not to safeguard the child’s health and safety or the protection of others but rather as a “chemical constraint” to manage behavior for the staff’s convenience.

So think about the consequences of allowing your child to be in the custody of the state. Although the intentions and process are all well and good, the picture in practice isn’t exactly desirable and up to standards. Don’t allow your child to be in the system if you can help it.

Reasons Why People Get Caught In The Gigantic State Custody Trap

Before we consider initiating a custody case for a child placed under state care, we should contemplate first on why the child is in the care of the state in the first place. Now what actions of the state or its reasons will get you sucked in the state custody trap.

There are just several possibilities a child can be removed from a household and placed under the care of the state. In Michigan this means under the care of CPS.

The taking of the child through emergency removal.

Ex parte orders, also known as emergency removal and placement orders, can only be issued in the most unusual and dire situations when a child is in immediate danger. The court prefers to make decisions about child removal and placement during a preliminary hearing.

Prior to calling the court, the need for an emergency removal must be assessed. When a petition or fact affidavit is received, whether electronically or otherwise, by a judge or referee, and the court determines all of the following:

There is good reason to assume that the child is in immediate danger and that the only way to keep them safe is to remove them immediately.
An ex parte order pending the preliminary hearing is appropriate given the circumstances.
Reasonable steps were taken to avoid or minimize the need for the child’s removal in accordance with the circumstances.
There is no other reasonably available protection for the child than protective custody.
It is not in the child’s best interests to stay in the house.

Removal of a child in an action by law enforcement.

A child may be taken away by law enforcement with or without a court order, depending on their own legislative criteria.

Without a documented court order, whether it be sent electronically or otherwise, approving the specific action, CPS is not permitted to seize custody of a child from law enforcement, remove a kid from his or her home, or arrange for emergency placement.

When law enforcement contacts the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to request CPS’ help in removing a child, CPS is required to get in touch with the appointed judge or arbitrator right away.

Caseworkers have the option to ask law police for help in removing children. When a written court order has been obtained and the parents refuse to let the child be taken away, assistance from law enforcement must be requested.

Because of the state of the parent or because a small child is unaccompanied and no parent or other responsible adult can be found, the child’s life or safety is in urgent risk.

There is a crime being committed (for example, methamphetamine production, or domestic violence). A worker or child may require protection from physical injury.

Court-ordered removal of a child from home.

The Family Division of Circuit Court must be called right away for written authorization of removal and to arrange placement or to authorize the department to arrange for placement when removing a child from his or her home is the only option to protect him or her from danger.

It is necessary to finish the legal module of Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System or MiSACWIS CPS. The worker must list the reasons why keeping the child in the home would be detrimental to their welfare under removal reasons, as well as what reasonable attempts were done to prevent removal.

A petition or affidavit of facts must be delivered, electronically or otherwise, to the Family Division of Circuit Court when court intervention is required to protect a child. Caseworkers should take into account alternative home conditions before demanding the removal of children, such as evicting the offender from the house or coming up with other inventive solutions that ensure the children’s protection.

A kid is abused when their health or well-being is harmed or threatened. It causes intentional mental or physical harm. Neglecting a child means either or both of the following:

Not giving a child in your care enough food, clothing, shelter, or medical attention
Placing a child at an improbable risk of injury when you were aware of the risk or should have been aware of it, could have protected the child from harm, and chose not to do so

Workers with CPS are expected to decide immediately whether a child is at risk of additional abuse or neglect. Because they disagree with a parent’s decision over how to raise their own children, they frequently assume the worst and take away kids who aren’t really in any danger.

As we’ve already said, actions like spanking as a form of discipline and leaving kids alone at home unsupervised (even if the parents believe the kids are old enough and responsible enough) can result in the state taking your kids away.

Failure to follow a doctor’s instructions may lead to CPS removal.

Unbelievably, disagreeing with a doctor can result in CPS removing your children. Over the years, there have been numerous examples of doctors advising parents and then contacting CPS when those parents choose to proceed in a different way with their child’s medical treatment. Situations where medical professionals would not accept a second opinion or where a treatment might be best for your child but you would deny it.

In some circumstances, a doctor might get in touch with the government and accuse you of medical neglect. There will be a CPS agent there to look into things. They will accuse you of disregarding your child’s medical requirements if they accept the doctor’s account of events, which they frequently do because the doctor is the trained professional and you are “just a parent.”

In the eyes of the state, that would be no different from a parent who fails to provide for their child’s other essential requirements, such as food and shelter. At that moment, CPS can justify the removal because the child is deemed to be in danger.

A child might be removed if allegations of sexual abuse are made.

A youngster is deemed to have been abused each time they are believed to have been the target of a sexual assault of any kind. You better believe the state will remove the child from your care as soon as you blink. If you or a member of your family is found guilty of sexually assaulting a youngster, even if the accusations are wholly false, even if none of the allegations are true, the state can remove your child and take custody.

You must establish your innocence in these circumstances.

There are a variety of situations in which someone might be charged with sexually assaulting a kid.

Your partner can accuse you of sexually abusing children in an effort to exact retribution, or out of resentment or jealousy. In order to obtain custody of a child after a divorce, a relative or parent may persuade a child to make such kinds of untrue statements.

Another possibility is that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and were wrongfully charged despite having done nothing wrong. There could be many different causes. However, the outcome is the same: your children are taken by the state, and you must struggle to get them back.

So, what can you expect from an ongoing CPS case?

Here’s some truths:

The source of the abuse or neglect report’s identity shall remain a secret. This is done to shield the reporting from the potential for abusive retaliation.
Interviews with your child may occur without your consent.
The CPS caseworker has the right to interview your child without the parent or guardian present in order to acquire information to aid the investigation, even if the parent is not the suspected abuser.
Collaboration is crucial. The child may not always be removed from the family because of a CPS case.
CPS may demand actions like community service, parenting programs, drug tests, or even simple house repairs in order to address the issues raised in the report.
If parents or guardians don’t cooperate with CPS caseworkers during these interventions, it could strengthen the accusations made against them.
Parents must maintain polite relations with CPS personnel or investigators.
Whatever parents or guardians say to CPS investigators or law enforcement could be used against them in court even if they are innocent.

Because of these accepted truths, the wisdom of a legal counsel comes in. Your lawyer can advise you on how to speak with CPS caseworkers deliberately, plainly, and honestly before the matter goes to court.

The Value Of Acting Now Will Be Epic.

It’s terrible to have your children taken away from you! As a parent pursuing an action against the state you must have a singular focus: get your child out of state custody as soon as possible.

You have to have a very rational mind to be able to work with your attorney, and a heart to be relentless in getting your child home with you. Choose a lawyer who shares your goal.

You have options! You can stand up in court and ask your children to be placed with a particular friend or family who has agreed to take them in if you object to the placement CPS suggests.

Also keep in mind that you should be ready in advance if you believe your children may be removed from you. Verify if the family member who will be caring for your children is willing to obtain a license as a foster parent. In case the scenario is long-term and continues on for months or even years, make sure they are ready.

Can the court throw out a CPS case?

In a nutshell, absolutely, and it might not even be necessary to go to court.

Your attorney can map out some strategies for promptly concluding a CPS case.

Work with your attorney and get the case resolved before it potentially goes to court. Most CPS cases involve some form of neglect. Neglect refers to a situation when a parent or guardian does not meet a child’s basic requirements, such as providing enough food, shelter, medical care, or education. In some areas, neglect can also refer to failing to enroll a child in school or to give special needs children the necessary care.

When there has been neglect, the CPS case can usually be resolved swiftly by treating the root of the problem. For instance, if the residence is deemed insufficient or unsuitable for the child, making the required renovations can support the case being resolved out of court.

Aim for a resolution if at all possible. Without having to go to trial, your lawyer can negotiate a settlement during the case conference where you, your lawyer, the CPS caseworker, and any party involved can consider a potential resolution to the claimed neglect or abuse.

Your attorney should be able to spell out to you the definitions of abuse and neglect as they relate to federal and state legislation. What is considered abuse or neglect in one state might not be considered the same in another. The complaint may be dismissed upon motion on the grounds it fails to state a cause of action. If it is clear from the start the allegations do not genuinely amount to abuse or neglect, the court must approve the dismissal.

Work with a lawyer who does his own due diligence and research. You might have all the proof but a comprehensive and impartial investigation by your lawyer into the alleged abuse or neglect may reveal information refuting the claims.

Medical and psychological reports, academic transcripts, career history, and even research papers may be helpful in hastening the dismissal of your case. Even if probable cause isn’t established, a comprehensive analysis of all potentially important information might. The court may even throw the case out before trial if there isn’t sufficient justification.

Maintain constant contact with your lawyer. It is crucial to get in touch with your lawyer frequently during the CPS case procedure. Your lawyer should be advising you of your rights throughout the CPS case procedure as soon as possible.

Regular communication not only keeps you informed about hearing dates and case progress but also about your child’s living arrangements and any pertinent changes crucial to the case.

The change in circumstances in this case supports revisiting the custody issue giving the child to the non-custodial parent. The attorney should file appropriate motions so the change in custody could happen. Decide promptly, act quickly.

You don’t want your kid to end up going through the system. Going through CPS, then living in a temporary placement. And then later to a more permanent placement with a bunch of strangers when you, the mother or the father, are available to have custody and to give a better environment for your child.

Your lawyer may have grounds to request the CPS case be dismissed if your living circumstances undergo significant change.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more advice on Family Law!

Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.