When the CPS or ACS complaint is made through their complaint hotline the investigator will seek to meet with your children. If they don’t see your children or meet with your children at your house, they will try to meet with your children at their school. They will go to the school without your knowledge and seek to interview your children. Imagine a five or six-year-old being interviewed by a stranger at the school. Think about the fear and the ability of the investigator to manipulate the discussion with the child. They could ask the child “How often does your mommy or daddy hit you.” It’s an inappropriate question. But it would most likely trick a young child.
Removal of Children
Sometimes CPS and ACS case workers can threaten to remove children from a household. The fact of the matter is the worker does not have the authority to do this without your consent. They must obtain from a Judge a court order to take this type of legal action.
The Right to Have an Attorney Represent You
If you advise the ACS or CPS investigator you wish to consult with an attorney, they will often say you have no right to have an attorney. This is America. You always have a right when you’re being investigated in the United States to consult with an attorney and be represented by an attorney at all aspects of a case against you. If they advise you, you have no right to an attorney they’re being dishonest and you should stop talking to them,
Threats by CPS or ACS Worker
If the CPS or ACS investigator threatens to bring legal action against you it is definitely time to stop talking to them. At that point you should seek out an experienced CPS or ACS Defense Attorney to represent you. At a minimum, you’ll need an attorney to help guide you through the process you’re going to be exposed to in the legal system.
Here are some of the things a CPS or ACS Defense attorney can do for you:
- Appear at court appearances, hearings, conferences, trials and emergency court dates.
- Gather all of the evidence and advise you how evidence needs to be presented in your case.
- Obtain copies of the records from CPS, ACS and the prosecuting attorney they plan on using in the case. This will allow the attorney to develop a detailed defense.
- Obtain affidavits from witnesses who can support the parents with regard to the allegations against them.
- See to it that the parents are offered the appropriate services through CPS or ACS. These services may involve parenting courses, anger management courses, or other programs to minimize the action being taken against them by CPS or ACS.
- In cases where the children have been removed, take the appropriate legal action to have the children returned to their parents custody
Helping the parent in situations where they need to comply with certain requirements by CPS and ACS to accomplish what is necessary to get the children back.
Experienced Defense Attorneys
An experienced CPS or ACS defense lawyer, when they go to court will present evidence to the Judge the parents are doing everything in their power to provide a safe and stable home environment for their children. An experienced CPS and ACS defense lawyer will work with the parents to convince the court it is in the children’s best interests to leave them in the custody of their parents or returning the children to their parents home.
Sometimes even the best parent’s find themselves in a difficult situation involving CPS and ACS. When in reality they have done absolutely nothing wrong and the conclusions that have been made about their conduct are either untrue or are caused by accidental circumstances beyond the parents control.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is the managing partner of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP. He has been practicing law for 42 years. Elliot, his partner Nathan DeCorpo, and their associates represent individuals in child abuse and child neglect investigations throughout the Metropolitan New York area. The law firm has been involved in handling these cases for more than 45 years. Elliot, Nathan and their associates have extensive experience dealing with scores of cases and successfully defending their clients regarding allegations of child abuse and child neglect. Elliot and Nathan can be reached at 800-344-6431 or e-mail Elliot at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or Nathan at Ndecorpo@sdnylaw.com.
