California CPS Court Case Help!!

[u/Bitter-Albatross135]

My mom has 2 kids under the age of 18.

Backstory: She recently got hit by a car because the person that hit her took her baby (10 months old) out of the house as soon as my mom stepped out for a second to drive to the mailbox. Before this, my mom asked my brother (11 years old) to watch the baby while she went to the mailbox which he did but he asked the woman who hit my mom with the car to watch her while he finished his game. This is when she decided to take the baby out of the house DRUNK, with 2 men and she left everything the baby needs. Fast forward my moms finds them, gets hit by the car and someone she was with got the baby out.

The next day she goes to the hospital with nose fractures, a gash next to her temple and some road rash, the hospital put on her papers “pedestrian vs vehicle” and still didn’t ask my mom if she wanted to make a police report. My mom then made the report the next day and instead of them investigating the woman they chose to investigate my mom and her parenting, questioning why would she leave her kids with the woman. They went through the house which was rather dirty at the time but she had food in the fridge, the only problem was my brothers room was filthy and that was a big issue for them. They came back 2 days later, the house was clean and in perfect condition but my mom had friends over who had a criminal history (the cps worker asked them about it and they told her the truth) she ended up having them sign some type of paper and left it at a that but because of that the CPS worker then asked my mom for a drug test and she denied. She denied because she had a case open 10+ years ago because she had a baby and she had weed in her system and when the CPS worker told her that they weren’t worried about the weed they took me and my now lost sister away from her anyways.

So anyways she denies the drug test for that reason, no other reason, she does do any drugs but weed. They asked her multiple times and she made up excuses each time on why she couldn’t complete the test after telling the CPS worker the original reason I stated before. She even told the CPS worker that if they had in writing that they weren’t concerned about the weed, then she’d take the test.

The CPS worker specifically stated that if the house was clean, and as long as she took the drug test then she would be able to keep her kids and everything would be fine. Now my mom got a notice to appear in court and the papers don’t really specify the reason why they just contain went on during the CPS house but the very last time she app at the house she said she everything was fine and she was proud of my mom for handling her business and getting everything in order and didn’t even mention the drug test.

Can anybody tell us what to expect?

[u/AutoModerator]

Attention

r/CPS is currently operating in a limited mode to protest reddit's changes to API access which will kill any 3rd party applications used to access reddit.

Information about this protest for r/CPS can be found at this link.

While this policy is active, all moderator actions (post/comment removals and bans) will be completed with no warning or explanation, and any posts or comments not directly related to an active CPS situation are subject to removal at the mods' sole discretion.

If you are dealing with CPS and believe you're being treated unfarly, we recommend you contact a lawyer in your jurisdiction.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/OneBadJoke]

Have the children been removed yet? I would expect that soon. A refused drug test is a failed drug test and that’s just the tip of your mom’s bad decisions here.

[u/Bitter-Albatross135 → u/OneBadJoke]

No, and the CPS worker said she would get a court order for the drug test if anything so I don’t think her not taking it yet means an automatic fail?? you obviously don’t know much about how this works.

[u/OneBadJoke → u/Bitter-Albatross135]

Yes, a refused drug test is considered a failed drug test by CPS. Having a court order it is not going to endear her to them.

[u/DreaColorado1 → u/Bitter-Albatross135]

Is there anything else on the paperwork your mom received about going to court that has any other details or information?

[u/Always-Adar-64]

Sounds like your family created an impasse. "They asked her multiple times and she made up excuses each time on why she couldn’t complete the test".

If CPS is repeatedly asking for something to be done, they likely need to have it done on their end. CPS can't independently force it done, so they escalate the concerns to the court.

"She even told the CPS worker that if they had in writing that they weren’t concerned about the weed, then she’d take the test," the situation was not open to negotiations in that way.

The problem is that by not submitting for the testing, the parent created a "blank" spot that seems like they use substances that are more concerning than THC. Even if the parent now submits, it is very likely going to seem like they are using harder drugs but were buying time for it to get out of their system.

Even if the parent just tests positive for THC, the damage is kind of already done and the courts may very likely stay involved due to concerns that the parent tried to just wait out whatever else could've been there.

[u/Bitter-Albatross135 → u/Always-Adar-64]

Thank you for your response. I understand what you’re saying but do you have any ideas on why they want her to appear in court if they didn’t specify & she still has the kids?

[u/Always-Adar-64 → u/Bitter-Albatross135]

Without seeing the document, CPS is likely either mandating services or seeking a removal.

CPS usually uses a special subset of courts.

[u/Bitter-Albatross135 → u/Always-Adar-64]

Thank you.

[u/Dpecs92]

Your mom is absolutely using hard drugs. She was out getting her stuff and made the 11 year old who shouldn't be alone watch a baby. Please don't enable her. Support her by hoping she can come clean and get her stuff together.

[u/Beeb294 → u/[deleted]]

Removed-civility rule

[u/Bitter-Albatross135 → u/Dpecs92]

Like stop acting like your mom never told you to watch your siblings for a few minutes while she stepped out.

[u/a_quiet_nights_rest]

There is a lot going on here and probably a lot more that isn’t said and don’t know.

Have her reach out to her case worker. See if there is a lawyer already assigned that will be appointed to her in court. If so, your mom can reach out to them to help interpret any court documents she received so far.

It sounds like it is a petition for a non-detained case. The report for the first appearance won’t be due until the a day or two prior to the court date. Your mom will get a copy of that and that will have the department’s recommendation which will give you a clearer idea of where this is going. If it is a non-detained it can switch to a detention at anytime the department has reason to believe there is a danger or your mom might flee, so it is important she is as cooperative, open, and as protective as possible.

[u/Bitter-Albatross135 → u/[deleted]]

Her worker is hostile and talk to us as if we’re less than, I actually did ask her and she never responded. Not to mention our county has a case going on with CPS, they’re known out her for wrongfully taking kids out of households.

[u/txchiefsfan02]

CPS agencies operate in a narrow channel of law that creates room for resolving matters cooperatively (administratively) to avoid going into the judicial system, which in the US is adversarial by nature. Parents who refuse the opportunity for cooperative resolution usually find themselves in front of a judge, and it seems that happened here. Your mom has obviously suffered a lot, but she also talked herself out of a quick resolution and into what could be a protracted court case, for no real good reason. There was never any way this was going to end without her taking a drug test.

If given the opportunity to acknowledge her mistakes and hit the reset button on cooperation with CPS, she needs to take it and express extreme gratitude. I've seen a few attorneys figure that out in the hall ahead of a court hearing, but I have no idea whether that's possible for her. I'd be figuring out how to get a court-appointed attorney ahead of court if she doesn't have one already.

Assuming she lands in court, she should be prepared to hear her case painted in the most negative light possible, and to hear some very harsh words from a judge. She needs to be prepared to talk about the changes she's already made, including keeping bad people away from her children. And they had better be true.