CPS Visited My Child at School

Hi,

A CPS person visited my child at school. Initially they called us and wanted us to come to the office.
Since this was really the first time this happened to us, we said our daughter is fine and we dont have to come and they need to have a court order
to question us. I am not sure if we did the right thing here etc. Need advice.

Then the CPS person visited the child at school - since we refused to talk - I think we could have and honestly nothing to hide. I think thats why
they took this step. My child did tell the person that sometimes we fight and that my wife once hit her etc. but no bruises etc. my wife loves my daughter
and it is part of normal disciplining of child i think - she never hit her to hurt her - NO NEVER.

Me and my wife have been into some heated arguments etc. and the CPS person also asked if parents fight in home and my daughter said YES. We dont fight as per say
but sometime get into arguments etc. that we dont agree on and I try to keep the conversation when the kid is away or sleeping but since she is home - child can have a
sense that parents have an argument etc. My daughter is 5.5 years and absolutely no neglect etc.

I need advice in term of the above issues: how to respond? should i get a lawyer? should i just call CPS and go there talk to them? i dont have anything to hide.

Our daughter is doing great and we are providing her the best possible living. Absolutely.

Need help!!!

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Quoting Ben007

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Hi,

A CPS person visited my child at school. Initially they called us and wanted us to come to the office.

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Okay. But you also need to tell us where you're located in the US.

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Since this was really the first time this happened to us, we said our daughter is fine and we dont have to come and they need to have a court order
to question us. I am not sure if we did the right thing here etc. Need advice.

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Well, that's not entirely correct.

They don't need a court order to question you OR your daughter. They DO, however, need a court order to remove your daughter or to compel you to allow them into the home.

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Then the CPS person visited the child at school - since we refused to talk - I think we could have and honestly nothing to hide. I think thats why
they took this step. My child did tell the person that sometimes we fight and that my wife once hit her etc. but no bruises etc. my wife loves my daughter
and it is part of normal disciplining of child i think - she never hit her to hurt her - NO NEVER.

Me and my wife have been into some heated arguments etc. and the CPS person also asked if parents fight in home and my daughter said YES. We dont fight as per say
but sometime get into arguments etc. that we dont agree on and I try to keep the conversation when the kid is away or sleeping but since she is home - child can have a
sense that parents have an argument etc. My daughter is 5.5 years and absolutely no neglect etc.

I need advice in term of the above issues: how to respond? should i get a lawyer? should i just call CPS and go there talk to them? i dont have anything to hide.

Our daughter is doing great and we are providing her the best possible living. Absolutely.

Need help!!!

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Seriously?

Why would CPS have been called over a family argument?

I am located in CA - San Francisco bay area.

The story is me and my wife have been going through lot of stress due to work/study and my wife is really very sensitive towards my daughter - even when it comes to me.
Even though she knows as a father I am doing the best.

Then one day I told her that our insurance provides 8 free counseling sessions every year - she called my insurance for that. Which was OK she wanted to talk
to a counselor in regards to stress management etc.
She also asked the insurance lady if anything like this is available for the kid since my daughter is also covered and the insurance lady started asking her questions
about the kid and whether she is alright and whether as parents we fight etc. (i was not present during the call but this is what she told me). Now the insurance
lady probably said that the CPS can help (I am not 100% positive on this) but my wife told me that the CPS lady on the first phone call told her that our insurance
contacted them about it and that is why they are investigating.

Now second thing that happened was - 2 months ago I got arrested due to my wife called 911 (without going into the details of this) - my case was discharged in court
with no charges filed against me - wife off course again regret calling the cops for no reason.

But the CPS person called my wife again second time and said that you fight and that your husband got arrested etc. (like I said no charges were filed and my case was dismissed).

Based on above facts I think they thought to go ahead and get a court letter to talk to my daughter.

Thanks in advance for the reply. Look forward for some thoughts in view of above and my previous questions.






Why would CPS have been called over a family argument?[/QUOTE]

- - - Updated - - -

The 911 call by my wife was in no way related to my daughter - police said domestic violence. Since my wife got pissed off badly on me.

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Quoting Ben007

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I am located in CA - San Francisco bay area.

The story is me and my wife have been going through lot of stress due to work/study and my wife is really very sensitive towards my daughter - even when it comes to me.
Even though she knows as a father I am doing the best.

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...how does anyone know that?

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Then one day I told her that our insurance provides 8 free counseling sessions every year - she called my insurance for that. Which was OK she wanted to talk
to a counselor in regards to stress management etc.

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I'm...glad you're "OK" with it.

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She also asked the insurance lady if anything like this is available for the kid since my daughter is also covered and the insurance lady started asking her questions
about the kid and whether she is alright and whether as parents we fight etc. (i was not present during the call but this is what she told me).

Now the insurance
lady probably said that the CPS can help (I am not 100% positive on this) but my wife told me that the CPS lady on the first phone call told her that our insurance
contacted them about it and that is why they are investigating.

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No. Please read what you write later on....

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Now second thing that happened was - 2 months ago I got arrested due to my wife called 911 (without going into the details of this) - my case was discharged in court
with no charges filed against me - wife off course again regret calling the cops for no reason.

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This ^^^ is kind of important. Why didn't you mention this?

And really, if your case was "discharged in court" there were charges filed. Otherwise, why would you have been in court?

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But the CPS person called my wife again second time and said that you fight and that your husband got arrested etc. (like I said no charges were filed and my case was dismissed).

Based on above facts I think they thought to go ahead and get a court letter to talk to my daughter.

Thanks in advance for the reply. Look forward for some thoughts in view of above and my previous questions.






Why would CPS have been called over a family argument?

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[/QUOTE]



Speak to a local attorney.

Sure. One correction -
My case was not brought into the court - i was handed the discharge letter on the hearing date. There was no appearance in front of a judge.

The school principal told my wife that the CPS person left a phone number for us to call as well.

The only thing I would add is that charges being dismissed is not the same as "nothing happened." When people call 911, something happened. Whether that something is going to turn into a successful case for the state is an entirely different question. Prosecutors pursue charges when there is a chance of getting a conviction. This means there must be enough evidence to convince a jury of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Many factors can derail the state's ability to meet that burden of proof, including a wife that regrets calling the cops. Be real. She didn't call for no reason. And she didnt' call a counselor for no reason either. There is something SHE is feeling and experiencing that is driving these behaviors.

Long and short, CPS may be able to consider evidence and take action based on a much lower standard than is necessary for a conviction in criminal court.

OK - so the suggestion is to talk to a lawyer and not call the CPS person as he or she said to do? when she left the phone number at my daughters school now?

Ben, I have to ask.

You seem more concerned with a visit from CPS than your wife's fears.

Why is that?

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Ben, I have to ask.

You seem more concerned with a visit from CPS than your wife's fears.

Why is that?

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Not true - Like I said me and my wife have no issue talking to a person from CPS and/or visiting the CPS.
I want to make sure I do the right thing. We did not even knew that they will do this.

I am just requesting advice based on these recent events and how to respond in the best possible way.
Instead you guys have started interrogating me on this thread! come on...

First, teach your daughter to say "I refuse to talk to you without my mom or my dad present." CPS (if they want to) can twist things that are said around. I believe CA is a 2 party state, so, in speaking at ANY time with CPS, I would let them know that I am recording everything (for their protection and for mine)

You can do things one of two ways. You can invite the worker into your home, record the entire conversation, and show her there's nothing wrong. (that's the least expensive route and often the easiest) If you do have her in your home, remember that you don't have to allow her free access to all of your home, and that you are in charge of what you answer and you don't answer. Do not be emotional (as hard as that is) and remember that this person is just doing his/her job, and they probably think it's as big of a waste of time as you do. (but they are mandated by law to follow up on reports that may be legitimate abuse)

If you believe that CPS is "out to get you" or if you don't think it would be in your best interests, (for whatever reason) to talk to them in your home, hire an attorney to speak for you.

Honestly, with the way this went down, I'd probably do option A. The insurance lady seems like she jumped (and I mean JUMPED) to an illogical conclusion. I don't believe any (reasonable) judge would order your child be taken based on the evidence presented. There are always risks involved when dealing with CPS, but in this case, (I believe) your risks are minimal.

Good luck.

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Quoting Ben007

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I need advice in term of the above issues: how to respond? should i get a lawyer? should i just call CPS and go there talk to them? i dont have anything to hide.

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If you feel you need a lawyer, then consult or hire one. If there is nothing to hide, then you shouldn't have any problem talking to them. If you think something may not look good, then you may want to consider retaining legal counsel.

The bottom line is that they cannot compel you to talk to them or to comply with any of their suggestions absent a court order. Hopefully the allegations (whatever they might be) are not sufficient to allow them to obtain such a court order.

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Now second thing that happened was - 2 months ago I got arrested due to my wife called 911 (without going into the details of this) - my case was discharged in court with no charges filed against me - wife off course again regret calling the cops for no reason.

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I think we have the real answer why CPS is sniffing about! I suspect this was written up as a domestic violence incident. State law requires that these be documented by the police and most agencies require that they be cross-reported these to CPS. Charges or not, these incidents that attract police attention are usually enough to get CPS asking a few questions as is their job.

You say you were arrested ... that means there was probable cause to believe that a crime had occurred and that you had committed the crime. The fact that no charges were filed does not mean that it never happened. There are a great many reasons why charges might not be filed, many of them involve victims recanting or even lying to protect their abuser. Clearly, I cannot say what it was in this case, but understand that the fact that no charges were filed does not mean that no problem exists.

A stated by mmmagique, allowing them into your home and speaking to them might be the easiest and cheapest route to take. But, as I mentioned, if you have any thought that something you or your wife have done might be interpreted poorly, then you might want to consult that attorney ASAP. The job of CPS is to try and assure the safety of your child. if they are shut down and they have some reason to believe that your child is NOT safe, they will keep poking around. And, yes, they can get a warrant to speak to your child at school without your permission with relative ease. But, since they have already spoken to her, I doubt they will do that. Right now they probably simply want to speak with you and your wife so they can close the incident out.

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate.