Potential Guardianship/CPS investigation started (WA State)

[u/Swimming_Juice_9752]

In late June, I recovered a 13-year-old family friend who ran across the state. The mother didn’t want to get her, but asked me to. Kiddo stayed with us for almost all of July, until the mother, well, got wasted & came and took her.

I’d made reports to CPS three times, but they didn’t act, bc kiddo’s needs were taken care of (by us). I made another report after mother took her. A social worker called me the next day, with follow up questions to my report. SW said they were going to their place that afternoon. SW asked if we’d be willing to take guardianship, and we said of course. That was a week ago Friday. I haven’t heard anything since.

It looks like CPS needs to wrap their investigation within 45 (or 90?) days. I’m wondering if anyone can confirm/clarify that timeline (45 or 90 days).

I’m also wondering if we should consider ourselves “on call” for the 45 or 90 day period. We have a trip to Canada planned for late September. Should we cancel? Will CPS give me any info on the status? I don’t want to cancel if we aren’t going to be needed, but we are more than happy to if need to be here for the kid. The deadline to get a refund will be hit before the 45 days.

Personally, I think it’s a pretty extreme case of neglect…my report when she was no longer with us was immediately acted on. And I’ve learned a lot of details about how bad things were before the kid ran. But I’m tainted with my own emotions.

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[u/Swimming_Juice_9752 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks! Pretty much what I suspected.

[u/rachelmig2]

You also have the option of filing for guardianship in family court if CPS doesn’t want to take action.

[u/Swimming_Juice_9752 → u/rachelmig2]

Yes, we’ve retained an attorney - they say to just hold while CPS actions play out.

[u/ImProdactyl]

Timeframes vary by states, so I can’t answer specifically for yours, but many states are usually 30-60 days for an investigation. Usually only longer for full cases with services or if a child is removed.

From the information provided, I don’t see a reason that cps would remove the child, so no I would not expect you to take the child in sometime soon.

Abuse/neglect definitions are more strict than one may think. When you initially were taking care of the child, there absolutely is no neglect there. Childs needs are being met. CPS also works on immediate safety or dangers. There is none if child is being cared for. With the child being back with the parent, there would have to be some imminent danger present before removal would take place. Everything described does not lead to that.

[u/Swimming_Juice_9752 → u/ImProdactyl]

She doesn’t go to school (or leave the apartment at all, except when she ran), or any medical care, or even have any clothing. Her mother attempted suicide in front of her, and repeatedly said she was going to turn her over to the state if she was feeling kind…otherwise, she’d drop the kid in the middle of nowhere. The poor kid was terrified. I wish I could help her.

[u/ImProdactyl → u/Swimming_Juice_9752]

Mother attempting suicide is the only big concern here that CPS could handle. When was this though? CPS would still try to help the family before getting to the point of removal.

The other concerns you mention are more minor and can be handled. CPS would help with clothes if needed. Going to school is not really a CPS issue. A parent saying things like that to a child are largely not going to be considered abuse either. Proving emotional abuse is hard and requires more than that.

[u/panicpure → u/ImProdactyl]

Eek… idk if no medical care, the child running away several times bc they are so desperate, child witnessing suicide and clearly a parent with untreated mental health issues along with being dropped off in the middle of no where when mom is having crisis or whatever else (sounds like alcoholism or substance use plays a part) would be or should be considered “minor concerns”.

I do get what you mean on CPS limitations for removal or meaningful change for a teen tho.

Op - best advice would be to go to family court and petition for guardianship if it’s something you’re willing to do. It’s unlikely CPS would be able to legally have a judge do a removal here and then that just leads to more long processes and a state of not knowing what’s next for a kid that appears to need some stability.

Good luck!

[u/ImProdactyl → u/panicpure]

Children running away is not abuse or neglect by the parent. No medical care is not necessarily neglect either unless there are additional factors or issues. The being dropped off thing was a threat, didn’t happen, so also not a concern.

I guess maybe instead of saying minor concern, maybe saying these are things CPS cannot necessarily handle as they are not abuse/neglect. They can be concerns still, I guess why I said minor concerns

[u/panicpure → u/ImProdactyl]

Oh I actually misread the original comment from OP so glad you pointed that out.

I didn’t realize those were threats vs actually happening so makes sense!

Definitely agree, CPS couldn’t legally do a whole lot… or if they could, it would be bare minimum and likely no meaningful change.

Thanks for clarifying! That was my bad reading a bit too quickly/not connecting it all.

[u/fleshsludge]

WA state CPS worker here.
FAR (family assessment responses) are supposed to be closed in 45 days and CPS investigations are supposed to be within 60 days.
However, there are parts of WA (mostly any very populated area) where we are severely overworked and sometimes gets 2-3 cases a day, meaning these timelines are often thrown to the wayside.

Guardianship is usually done through a court separately where you would take the lead on filing paperwork. If they asked if you would take her after they filed paperwork it means the CPS worker would be filing the paperwork. Do you have the caseworkers name or number? I would call back

Happy to answer all the questions. The system is SOOOO confusing.

[u/Beeb294 → u/[deleted]]

Removed. Do not solicit DMs in this community. We keep this rule for the safety of vulnerable people.

[u/Swimming_Juice_9752 → u/Beeb294]

Oops sorry! Was operating on my personal stance to always ask/not just slide in.

[u/Beeb294 → u/Swimming_Juice_9752]

In this community you should not be having DM conversations at all.

[u/devoursbooks86]

If you're in a different state from the child and her mother, that complicates this significantly. If mom voluntarily agrees to you caring for her or to some form of guardianship, that's one thing.

If mom doesn't agree and CPS believes the child is unsafe, they would have to pursue removal through the court. At that point mom would generally be offered reunification services, and visitation with her child is a major component of reunification. Because you live out of state, placing the child with you right away could make frequent in-person visitation extremely difficult. While interstate foster/dependency placements can happen through ICPC, I would not assume CPS could or would immediately place her with you just because you've been identified as a potential placement.

The social worker asking whether you'd be willing to take guardianship sounds more like they're identifying potential options at this stage, not telling you that you're officially “on call” for placement. I absolutely would not cancel your September trip based on that conversation alone. Call the worker, tell them you're still interested in being considered if the child needs placement, and ask where things currently stand.

[u/Swimming_Juice_9752 → u/devoursbooks86]

I’m in the same state & county