My question involves civil rights in the State of: Washinngton. I want to know when DSHS CA/CPS "FOUNDED" me on neglect and I have appealed to the Administative Court is this case a Civil Case or Criminal Case.
My question involves civil rights in the State of: Washinngton. I want to know when DSHS CA/CPS "FOUNDED" me on neglect and I have appealed to the Administative Court is this case a Civil Case or Criminal Case.
By itself, a result of "founded" is not a criminal matter unless it is pursued by law enforcement or a prosecutor as a criminal matter. You can pretty much count on the allegation being cross reported to law enforcement, so it is possible that the matter MAY end up on a prosecutor's desk for evaluation at some point. But, it all depends on what the allegations were.
It is civil. CPS is not a law enforcement agency and its finding of neglect is not a criminal allegation. The appeal of the determination to the adminstrative law judge is a civil hearing, not a criminal one. CPS will likely inform the police and prosecutor of its findings, but it is up to the police and prosecutor to determine if any criminal law was violated and whether to pursue prosecution for that.
Criminal cases of neglect or abuse of a child in Washington state are filed by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office for the county in which the act(s) of neglect or abuse occurred and are generally tried in Superior court. You would be entitled to a lawyer in a criminal case if you could not afford one. You would typically have a jury in such cases.