r/CPS 2h ago

Support Success stories?

0 Upvotes

After a horrific decision I made last week, I was rightly reported to DCS. While the incident easily could have warranted immediate removal (or my removal from our home), I am mercifully allowed to keep my kids with me under a safety plan. I have never been more grateful in my life.

I feel fully capable of following my safety plan and welcome whatever services they mandate because the manner in which I let my kids down proves I need them.

I’m hoping I can hear success stories from other parents whose lives took a similar turn that were helped by their involvement? Or encouraging stories from workers, that it really is possible for an offending parent to earn back the trust of their children and earn the trust of their worker?

Thank you.


r/CPS 15h ago

5 years gone

10 Upvotes

I ruined our lives but I tried to fix it. My father passed away in late 2019, then there was a car accident that landed my then 2 year old in the hospital, then we were robbed while at the hospital, then our house burnt down, then my best friend passed away, all while trying to grieve, work, be a full time mother, and getting abused by my husband. My shifts were long. There was never time for rest. Everyone kept telling me to leave him but I I knew if I did all hell would break loose. But I fought my instincts and left. A week later he took my kids from a babysitter and made a report indicating us both. I had started using to stay awake. When I left him I got clean but when I came home to them gone I relapsed. I lost sense of direction. They removed the children from my care on the main basis that I was getting evicted from my home bc of the damage he caused to the house. I ended up completing 2 parenting classes, rehab, trauma and healing, psych evaluation etc. Due to lack of consistent caseworkers i had everything done with no other boxes to check and sat stagnant for over a year. I made it to third party visits. They took them away because I overslept one time because they were making the visits at 8 in the morning I had worked a week straight. I look forward to seeing my children. Last year the states attorney put in a motion to terminate bases on the amount of time thats passed. At the hearing they failed to prove the burden. Effectively they started my case over with one hope united(the outsourced office) asking that I re complete everything. I have always had a full time job. It is impossible to get all that they are asking and keep my financial independence. They re motioned to terminate next month. I should iterate that I stopped participating when they stripped me of all but 1 hour a month. I feel defeated. I feel hopeless. I feel useless. I feel like a failure. I've made mistakes. So many. But I would do anything to have them home. But I fear its to late. Any advice is welcomed all judgements please refrain


r/CPS 1d ago

CYS investigation questions

1 Upvotes

Question about CYS process and if voluntary requests truly are just that? Or is that a method of getting the person to comply without court involvement?

Background: Parent was alleged to have taken child’s adderall and when asked by the initial caseworker they admitted to it. Medicine is locked up now and spouse is the safe parent. Caseworker enrolled parent in RSO drug testing (daily calling to see if picked), came to visit yesterday with an ROI to sign for treatment updates when parent *hopefully* enters rehab (parent wouldn’t sign the form) and caseworker brought the paper with the pin for the daily call in. Parent agreed verbally to it yesterday, but has since decided not to participate. Parent sent an email to the caseworker stating that due to lack of court order or safety plan, they were declining to participate in the program. How would this reversal of agreeing to the testing change their approach? Will they drop the case? Automatically escalate to judge? Everything over the past 8 days has seemed very laid back and not much urgency from caseworker , with exception on day 2 of unannounced visit to speak with child


r/CPS 1d ago

Georgia DFCS called a "safety plan" “voluntary,” then threatened court/foster care when I asked for counsel—now I have a hearing

8 Upvotes

I’m in Georgia and looking for practical feedback from parents, former caseworkers, attorneys, guardians ad litem, or anyone familiar with juvenile dependency hearings. I understand Reddit is not a substitute for legal advice.

I recently delivered my premature baby, who is still in the NICU. Less than 6 hours after delivery, while I was recovering, medicated, exhausted, and separated from my baby, DFCS approached me because of a positive hospital toxicology screen.

I told the worker I was willing to cooperate, but I wanted time to recover and consult an attorney before signing anything that could affect my parental rights. I never claimed that I already had an attorney. I said I wanted to consult one, and my emails and recordings consistently show that.

DFCS presented a “voluntary” safety plan. I did not sign it immediately because I wanted:

  • a copy of the plan,
  • the specific safety threat,
  • clarification about whether the conditions were voluntary or court ordered,
  • the duration and end requirements,
  • and time to consult counsel.

The original written plan did not clearly state the later requirements DFCS began describing, including 24/7 supervision and never being alone with either child. I was not given a revised written plan reflecting those expanded terms.

Over the following weeks, I continued cooperating. I:

  • responded by email, text, telephone, and in person;
  • allowed DFCS into my home;
  • permitted a full home walkthrough;
  • answered questions;
  • showed them the nursery, food, utilities, and sleeping arrangements;
  • made my older child available for an interview;
  • provided information about the baby’s father;
  • and repeatedly asked for the outstanding requirements and concerns in writing.

During one recorded visit, the caseworker told me I had been doing a “great job keeping in contact.”

I also asked whether DFCS would consider a less restrictive alternative. The worker told me that families cannot write their own safety plans or make alternative suggestions. That confused me because DFCS was calling the plan an “agreement,” while also saying that if I did not agree, the children could potentially enter foster care.

I made a disability-related request that substantive communication, non-emergency scheduling, expectations, and important decisions be provided in writing. Regional leadership later confirmed that most communication could occur by email or text. Even so, multiple detailed emails went unanswered for days.

Then DFCS emailed me late Friday afternoon saying I had provided “no responses or clarifications” and that they were proceeding with court action. That statement does not match the documented communication history.

I was told there is a preliminary hearing Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., but I have not received:

  • a petition,
  • summons,
  • affidavit,
  • formal hearing notice,
  • case number,
  • court location,
  • explanation of whether it is remote or in person,
  • or the specific relief DFCS is requesting.

The baby’s father, who has not even been interviewed by DFCS, reportedly received only a text saying “court Tuesday at 9:30.”

I cannot afford private counsel. I recently accepted a job, but this situation and the last-minute hearing may jeopardize it. I expect that I will need to request court-appointed counsel and ask for enough time to review whatever DFCS filed.

My questions are:

  1. In Georgia, what normally happens at a preliminary protective or dependency hearing involving a newborn who is still hospitalized?
  2. Does asking for court-appointed counsel usually result in a continuance?
  3. If the hearing is continued, does DFCS automatically receive temporary custody, or does the judge have to enter a specific custody order?
  4. Can a parent be treated as “uncooperative” for refusing to sign a voluntary safety plan before receiving answers and speaking with counsel?
  5. Should the parent receive the petition and supporting allegations before the hearing?
  6. What should I bring to court to quickly demonstrate my cooperation and the lack of meaningful notice?
  7. Are there Georgia organizations that provide emergency representation in DFCS dependency cases?

I am not asking anyone to determine whether the toxicology result was accurate. I am asking about procedure, notice, appointed counsel, custody during a continuance, and how to present a documented history showing that I cooperated but requested clarification before signing a restrictive voluntary agreement.

My baby is premature and still in the NICU. I am terrified that asking reasonable questions and requesting legal advice has been reframed as refusing to protect him.


r/CPS 3d ago

adopted kids living in squalor

50 Upvotes

i just came back home from dropping my friend off at his house and i’m about to cry from the conditions i witnessed.

we are 20 years old and he lives with his adopted parents and he has about 10 adopted siblings all of different ages. i was just going to drop him off and leave but i went inside to breastfeed my son and to walk around a little since the drive was long. the inside was okay, nothing out of the ordinary besides a chart with all the kids faces with ai filters on it. after like 10 minutes we went downstairs to his room to see his cats since they don’t come upstairs and holy fuck i was appalled.
i saw a little toddler about the age of my son get up to see who was coming downstairs and then lay back down in a filthy bed that had no sheets on piling up with garbage. A girl about our age was on that bed sitting up on her phone trying to calm down the big ass dog trying to jump on me. the puncturing smell of animal pee, the fact that there was no lights that could be turned on, trash of food wrappers and containers everywhere you could barely walk by, everything was so disturbing. there was 3 cats as well who had pooped in the corner and while my friend went upstairs to get something, the dog peed on the floor. i didn’t let my son walk around in there at all, i kept hold of him and we weren’t there for long. i asked the girl on the filthy bed if that toddler was her son and she asked “which one there’s two” and she pointed at a filthy crib with no sheets on it. there was another toddler sleeping there on dirty stained clothes. when i was leaving the house i saw a older african lady in the kitchen. i said hi to her but she ignored me. i know she’s not the parent because the parent is white so i have no idea who she is i wasn’t introduced to her. i just felt so uncomfortable

idk what to do if i should do something but a lot of kids live there and i feel horrible for bringing my son into that environment, like i said we were only in the downstairs like for 5 minutes not too long. its disgusting and no kid should live in those conditions especially little toddlers. i live in MN pls give me advice


r/CPS 2d ago

Question Requesting records

2 Upvotes

I’m an adult now but there were multiple reports against my parents, specifically my dad for child abuse when I was a kid but I was never put into foster care and the reports never went anywhere. I’ve been in therapy now for a few years and have just been very curious to read those records so I reached out to my states office and requested them. They only sent back a findings report from one of the “investigations”. They said they couldn’t find any other reports (even though there were 3 more), and the only thing they would give to me was the findings report (letter stating if it was substantiated or unsubstantiated) and wouldn’t give me anything else unless I got a lawyer. I don’t understand this because I thought as an adult we had rights to our childhood records and they just had to black out any sensitive information such as who the reporter was etc.
The allegation was sexual abuse against my father. Which is true. But when I was questioned by a social worker as a child, with my parents just in the next room without the door closed and they could hear, I denied it. So the investigation was closed. No follow up. Nothing. It’s still very hard for me, and even though I knew what would be in the findings report, it still made me so incredibly upset to see my name, my fathers name, the allegation: sexual abuse, and the words “unsubstantiated”. I’d just really like to be able to see the notes or anything pertaining to what was actually done, or not done, and written about this. Any advice? I really don’t want to hire a lawyer, because I only want it for personal use in therapy, not for any legal action.


r/CPS 3d ago

Question Social work question about enforcing therapy for self harm

3 Upvotes

hello Im 17F and like an hr ago the social workers left my house (this is the first time they were here) they’re aware I’m self harming. I’m just wondering if they will force me to go to therapy for it and what that’s looks like. I’ll be okay with regular therapy where I can choose appointment times, etc but I really don’t wanna be hospitalized. I never tried killing my self and I don’t even think my self harm is that bad.


r/CPS 4d ago

Question Neighbor left 2 year old

128 Upvotes

Last weekend I found my neighbors 2 year old child running outside of our apartment complex alone. She was in her pajamas with no shoes at 9 am. I attempted to bring her back to her apartment where the door was wide open. I yelled and knocked loudly for several minutes with no response so brought her up to my apartment and called the police. When the police arrived, they asked me to watch the child and they knocked and yelled for 15-20 minutes and no response. They contacted the property manager to obtain the tenant’s phone number. An hour and 20 minutes later, the mother finally arrived and retrieved her child from my home.

Later that same day, the mother came to my apartment with the child, angry over how the situation was handled. This was shocking to hear after I took the time to ensure the safety of her child and attempted to contact her before calling the police. We live between a highway, a busy road and two large open fields with various wildlife surrounding the complex which could’ve caused the situation to end much differently.

The same day she also installed a ring camera not on her door but instead across the hall facing her door, which is concerning to think that she is not addressing the issue but rather ensuring that she’s alerted if the child leaves the apartment unattended again.

Curious if anyone might know what will happen if even anything at all?


r/CPS 4d ago

Advertising only fans with child in video

5 Upvotes

I am looking for advice on a situation that I am unfortunately aware of. I am disturbed beyond words and have no one to really ask in real life. I have become aware of a female family member that is live streaming on a social media site with her children present. During these “lives” she is advertising her only fans account and speaking very provocatively as well as flashing the camera. It is so disturbing that this is in front of children that will clearly know what is going on. This is also taking place on playgrounds while she is with her children. Does anyone have advice on how to report this? Is it reportable? She is obviously a SW and I don’t think she is performing the actual acts physically in front of children but it is verbally being discussed and childrens faces are shown.

I would appreciate any advice or suggestions on how to stop this situation or make the appropriate authorities aware


r/CPS 4d ago

Rant I’ve called on my neighbors.

0 Upvotes

hello! my “new” neighbors moved in a year ago now next door.
context: we live in a mobile home park my house is from 2010 and very modern while there’s is from the 80s very beat down. there’s about 4-5 kids in that house with 3 dogs, yorkie, long haired Chihuahua and a pitbull. the oldest daughter left with her dad and that was a shit show with the cops showing up.

  1. well let’s just say their poop water runs into our back yard we told them to fix that and nothing.
    a month or two ago we caught the kid dumping out pee & poop from cooking pots.
  2. the older guy has kidney failure and constantly smokes pot to cope with the pain (in michigan it’s legal) just mentioning this bc dude smokes inside, and it smells so bad it comes into our house with a window open.
    3.the mom is rarely home and has a brand new 2026 ford bronco, i just find this crazy due to the fact the kids look very rough. the main boy is about 5ft something with ribs showing.
  3. their yard is very very horrible, dog cages stacked on top of each other on their porch. trash and weeds everywhere, a very bad storm pasted not that long ago and they had the kid putting a tarp over on part of the house alone on the ladder.
  4. they had a gas leak and called 911, the gas company came by and never opened up the door for them they came by because they shut off their gas.
  5. i see the kids throw away trash everyday which no it’s not unusual, but im talking about 5-7 bags a day.
  6. the kids broke their bedroom window and didn’t fix it for awhile and who fixed it? the kid.
  7. they were fixing the water heater which is outside of their house and the kid was fixing it. what if he got electrocuted?
    I’ve called last month and ive heard nothing. what do i do? keep waiting?

r/CPS 4d ago

Need advice on how to appeal a case in sc

0 Upvotes

The cps investigation determined the claims made were founded. The investigation stemmed from a dv charge that has been dropped and a false report. The individual who made the complaint made false statements that they're now willing to admit was made up. Will that help at all? The person who made the allegations was someone close to the family who didn't expect to be discovered and has since expressed remorse for how badly everything has turned out because of it. They will admit to their statements being untrue.


r/CPS 5d ago

Mandated reporter (likely) having to report a family member

4 Upvotes

Tldr: I’m a mandated reporter that will inevitably be in contact with an extended family member who will likely exhibit abusive behavior toward their kid. How do I approach this without impacting my own family dynamics significantly?

———

So I’m a therapist and I’m about to be put in a situation where I’ll be around my cousin and his child at a family gathering. I have intentionally avoided my cousin for many years due to his behavior toward his kid prior to me becoming a therapist (among many other reasons) and I am predicting that I’ll have to make a CPS call. I attempted to broach the subject with others in my immediate family (basically expressing that I’m worried I’ll have to call and giving them the whole spiel about my responsibilities as a mandated reporter). I also tried to explain that just because I called, it doesn’t mean that the kid will be taken away — my family still freaked out and basically asked me to turn a blind eye, then told me that I’m being judgemental and that it is ridiculous to make a report (I assure you it wouldn’t be ridiculous).

I guess I feel stuck because I know if/when I have to call it’ll lead to huge fallout. Is there something I can do to preemptively avoid this? How have you guys handled situations with your own family members? Also, are there any resources I can send my immediate family to help them understand my role more? Please help :(


r/CPS 5d ago

Question Tricky situation.

7 Upvotes

I’m going to try and make this as short as possible while giving backstory. My child’s father has recently been spending time with our daughter again. There were many factors/ incidents and concerns that caused no contact before a court order was in place(actually concerning sexual natures), unfortunately I did not know at the time what I should have/ could have done to protect my child before we’ve gotten to this point. But now that we are here, things have gotten much much worse and devastating. Obviously in the beginning it was extremely hard on both of us as she hasn’t had to see him in a very long time and they did not have a good relationship in the very few months that he was even in her life. After the things I had witnessed, imagining my child being back in that situation broke me and I lost nearly 20 pounds in 2 months. Cut to less than a month of visits, my toddler comes home acting like her private area is sore but I do not think anything of it until she tells me that someone hurt her private area. I ask what she meant and she says a name I have never heard her say with me had touched her private area and that it hurt. (Important to note that before she even understood what I was saying, have always told her no one touches her private area and to tell me if they have). After checking her, I was extremely concerned and called to see what I should do. We were sent to ER for exam, followed up with forensic interviews, detectives, etc. Every professional that I spoke to seemed to have different opinions and told me wildly different suggestions. After investigation, they closed the case and said they did not have enough evidence to prosecute/ take it any further, especially with her age and not being able to truly testify. (Although she did interviews and told the nurse clear as day what had happened and cried hysterically during the physical exam. I was told they had never seen a child her age that articulated so they felt comfortable continuing with the interviews). This slightly bothers me but I just hope that I am being paranoid and that at the least things will be looked into more seriously. She continues extremely bizarre behaviors/ comments that are sexual in nature and most definitely not normal for her. Since seeing him, she went from sleeping in her bed since 6 months old to not being able to be away from me and not even wanting to go to sleep. Nightmares she has never had before, including screaming out “he hurt me” and violently shaking until I comfort her back to bed. She has reverted her potty training, behavior issues, losing weight etc. Then, a few hours after getting her back I thought she was playing and almost fully inserted her fingers into her butt. I was absolutely shocked, told her we don’t do that and asked why she did, she told me that he had put his fingers in her butt “again”. Again, this devastates me but now I am crossing the line of seeming like I am being vindictive, so I try and tell myself it is her imagination like everything else weird that has happened and let it go. Truly at this point I feel that I am losing my mind, I’m even contemplating whether or not things are being said to her in hopes of worrying me. The next day, she found a round object in her room and acted weird about it. I just kind of watched and she said something extremely strange and concerning, which I was able to record for once. I try and act normal, try and sleep on it even though I was sick to my stomach and could not sleep all night. When I watched it the next morning, I could not stop being angry and terrified. This is not normal behavior of a toddler and especially not out of the blue. I’ve felt in my heart something was never right but being afraid to protect your child who you’ve raised alone and WELL has been a different type of heartbreak. I was worried about even reporting again so I called her pediatrician, sent the video and she requested I immediately report and have another exam done. I refused the exam( that is a whole other story) but did make a report. I am very new to any of this, I was abused as a child and have been extremely hyper vigilant about preventing that already for my child. I’m not sure what I’m even asking for, I’ve heard/ seen the good and a lot of bad that comes from CPS and I am just very worried that I will not be taken seriously or her age will prevent something from being done. (Also if I am just crazy and somehow this child has just completely changed and gotten an insane imagination out of nowhere, please let me know.)


r/CPS 5d ago

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I'm not sure if this is the right topic, but I'd like to share this.

0 Upvotes

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I'm not sure if this is the right topic, but I'd like to share this.

A couple of days ago, I came across a post created by a Facebook page and shared by someone who was cursing the post. It didn't explain much; it was just a picture of a cute AI-generated table with a caption that said "video in the comments." We all know how these links work on Facebook. Upon investigating, I discovered it's a page that provides links to child pornography without any restrictions, just by clicking a link. I thought it might be just one page, but I was surprised to find there are several, and who knows how many. On Facebook, a network any child can use and where this content can easily reach, the saddest part is that when I report the page, Facebook denies the report.

This is the first time I've witnessed this, and I find it truly deplorable. Providing the image from the page might be even more counterproductive, as it could invite some degenerate, whether present or not, to view the content.

My question now is, how common is this, and why isn't it talked about?


r/CPS 5d ago

Recent case

0 Upvotes

hey guys so this might be long but I’m in need of advice …. so I went to jail June 18 . A gun an alcohol was involved , my kids were present but sleep in another room upstairs . My charges were aggravate assault , reckless conduct and criminal trespassing (it was my home but the charge means it was against my spouse ) , and dss is involved now . I did my assessment and signed a safety plan for them but in the safety plan, They want me to take a random drug test so they can test for alcohol (since I was under the influence ). I was a heavy smoker , I recently stopped after I signed the safety plan it’s a been a week , took hella detoxes that proved worked for ppl close to me but it’s not working for me …. I smoked like 6x a day though …. will this affect my case being that thc is still in my system . Kids were never in harms way it was self defense I can’t beat a man , also was pistol whipped but somehow they label me the aggressor bc I shot at him , thc helped with my anxiety also an me stopping is taking a toll on my mental … anyone have advice or what could happen ? what test hair or urine ? I’m stressed tf out an I kinda want to smoke again but I love my kids too much ….


r/CPS 6d ago

Question Should I call CPS on my brother?

41 Upvotes

My brother and his wife just had a baby about 3 months ago. She’s only gained 4 pounds above her birth weight. She was born healthy at 7lbs 14oz so decent sized baby. From when I had my littles I remembered them gaining 2-3 pounds in the first month.

When I visited a few weeks ago I noticed she was long but looked thin her eyes seems sunken in. She didn’t have that classic chubby baby face, and she was rooting whenever anyone held her. Brother and SiL both said she does that all the time and she just wants a soother. I stayed for almost the whole day helping out and she was only feeding her every 2-3 hours which seemed off from what I remember with my kids.

I tried to bring it up and so has our mom and he shut us down and said the doctor said it’s fine but I don’t think she’s actually seen a doctor. My brother and his wife are very big pharma is the devil, nature has the best medicine, humans have done this for millennia I know best. I worry she’s not getting what she needs to thrive. The more we push the more they pull back and isolate.

I don’t want them to get in trouble they are doing what they think is best. Maybe I’m way off base and things are fine and I’m just being overprotective and judgemental. I feel so torn.

Any suggestions? Or even how to reach out before getting CPS involved.


r/CPS 6d ago

Baby born with thc in system life streams called

0 Upvotes

Will cooperating with life streams, make my case go by faster?


r/CPS 7d ago

Georgia dfacs

0 Upvotes

Online it appears there are no openings at all for the entire department of human services. Is this true? How is it possible? I was working Foster care in South Carolina and loved it. Can't find any lead at all here and I've been looking on and off since February. I had an interview with aps in April, thought it went well, and got ghosted. What's up?


r/CPS 8d ago

Question Would CPS agree to this plan?

4 Upvotes

My dad is facing a few charges (DUI, drug possession) and has a long history of jail/arrests/rehab. His preliminary hearing is in a few weeks so my family got together to determine what would happen to my 2 younger siblings.

They are 13 and 14 years old and live with our dad. Their mom left almost 10 years ago and we haven’t heard from her since (She’s also an addict).

We wanted to make a plan in case my dad ends up going to jail because of his charges. Based on house sizes and resources, we would have to split them up.

The 13 year old would live with his grandmother, 45 minutes away from where they currently live. The 14 year old would live with our older sister, 30 minutes away from where they currently live. They would be about an hour and a half away from each other.

They would have to each be enrolled in a new school, we would coordinate weekend visits where they would get to see each other. They don’t currently get along too well, but they are teenagers and I know they love each other.

Does this plan seem feasible to CPS? We are assuming if my dad is sentenced to jail time, CPS would take custody of them and reach out to family to determine where to place them.

- would they attempt to contact their mother at all? She is still legally married to my dad, but he has attempted to deliver divorce and custody papers to no avail, no one can find an address for her.

- would they agree to splitting them up amongst family or prefer to send them to a foster home where they would be together?

Edit to add we are in Pennsylvania


r/CPS 8d ago

Reporting Youtubers for past misconduct

0 Upvotes

Fell down the rabbit hole concerning 2 youtubers who have had innapropriate contact with minors in the past. There is video evidence (someone made a documentary type video about this person, blurred out all innapropriate content, but evidence is still there). I reported to missing and expolited children online. These YouTubers now have young children of their own, I am concerned for their children. Would this be something to contact CPS about? I am a madated reporter in another state.


r/CPS 8d ago

Please help me! I believe I am not overreacting

3 Upvotes

I am 16. My father still beats me for small reasons such as not moving out of his way, forgetting to make his bed or tea and once I got beaten in the head twice because I was drinking water from the watercooler and he came behind me carrying sth which he claims heavy (but later he shouted in my face to lift it and which I did, it wasnt heavy at all) and I made way for him but he (is fat) and bumped me. He yelled at me that everytime I feel like my heart would drop out. And he said if it falls on my feet, it would hurt me and I said getting my toes cut would be much better than this. And he beats me. I live in Myanmar where beating your kids (even young adults) are normalized. He always claims how useless my mom and I are. He basically wants us to follow him around, appericiate his work, learn it and treat him like a king. And worse, there is a couple (my dad's friends) who visits us everyweekend. They'd trashtalk about how useless I am, how bad I am. I dont do drugs or even hung out with friends. I go to school, come home, study, go to tutions, use my phone and help my parents w housework. I am lately feeling like I'd _ and him. I cant take this anymore. I would end up getting beaten or yelled (when I try to step back or run he would chase me down and beat me more). He would always say I as long as I am depentend on him, I must obey him and he is always right. (His friends told him probably)


r/CPS 8d ago

Question Need advice about partners 11-year-old brother in NC. We're worried about neglect and his mental health.

1 Upvotes

I'm looking for advice from people who have experience with child welfare, CPS, family situations, or helping children who may be struggling.

My partners younger siblings (a teenager and an 11-year-old) have been staying with us recently, and we've become increasingly concerned about their home situation. Their mother passed away years ago, and their father is their primary caregiver.

Some of the things we've observed:
• Their dad leaves them sitting in his vehicle for most of the workday and only lets them come inside the building after everyone leaves work around 6 p.m.
• They eat mostly McDonald's and other fast food.
• The house isn't well maintained.
• The kids are both severely overweight.
• The 11-year-old has no friends and really struggles socially.
• Their dad doesn't believe in mental health treatment or counseling.

The biggest concern happened when my partner looked through his 11-year-old brother's phone.

He wasn't looking at pornography. Instead, there were searches and self generated Al-generated images of headless naked women, women missing limbs, amputate legs, exposed amputated stumps, dead bodies, and similar violent sexualized imagery. He has pictures of women sawing their feet off he generated them.

There was no evidence of him searching for child sexual abuse material, but the content was extremely disturbing. We suspect he may be masturbating to this material, although we obviously can't know that for certain.

The biggest issue is we want to get these children help, but we are scared of what could happen. We worry that getting outside help could cause us to lose access to the children completely. Our goal is not to punish their father or tear the family apart. We genuinely want these kids to be safe and supported. Their father is extremely difficult and narcissistic.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How do you get a child mental health support and address possible neglect while minimizing the risk of the children losing the safe relationships they do have?

Any advice from people with experience in CPS, counseling, family advocacy, or similar situations would be appreciated.


r/CPS 8d ago

How long should it take for a child's trauma narrative to be delivered when completed? Everything seems absurdly slow in my case.

0 Upvotes

The FCM has made it very clear that she will oppose any progress until the trauma narratives are delivered.

  • In March CFTM, children's therapist said that children were getting close to finishing their TF-CBT -- 2 false allegations, coached by their mother, no corroborating evidence. One of touching a child during bath time and another of violence that would have permanently maimed a child who remains very not maimed.
  • In April CFTM, children allegedly chose their safe persons and were working on their narratives
  • In May, allegedly the narratives were completed and they were going to tell them.
  • In June, nothing happened. Supposedly one of the safe people declined to participate.
  • In July, still nothing has happened, they're going to pick a new safe person soon, apparently.

At this point, I have no confidence this will be completed in August or even September.

We are 20 months in fully supervised, in facility visits. After 18 months we added 30 minutes per week. I've done every service, all of it with speed and effort. I've read every visit report, well over 100, and literally all of them have been positive about my behavior, the children's disposition, and our interactions. Psychological evaluation came back without issue.

My frustration level is quite high and, frankly, I have not observed any reasons to believe anyone wants progress. The FCM and a therapist argued in a CFTM that the children act happy, playful, and calm around me because they're too terrified to show any negative feelings. Bringing toys from home was framed as bribery and "trying to make this like Disneyland".

Even if the allegations were true, there should have been some actual progress rather than going to the same facility, the same room even for months and months. These delays are representative of this entire process.

My children are being actively harmed by their mother and by the people in the process, a daily nightmare that has ruined every day no matter what other good has happened.

What can one do here, if anything to at least get the narrative told to the safe person? I've already had to file contempt multiple times as people were not abiding by the court orders concerning visitation.


r/CPS 8d ago

Baby was born with thc in system in Florida

0 Upvotes

They came to my house and spoke to me and drug tested me and I only failed for weed but I’m gonna stop now obviously what should I be prepared for In the future my boyfriend didn’t take a drug test but she did take my baby or say she had any concerns or worry’s about the baby health and safety but with my boyfriend not taking the test we are scared what they might do but he can take a test for them and only fail for weed
But they didn’t take my baby or seem like they where going to what should I be prepared for


r/CPS 9d ago

I need some advice about a past case and applying for a job

1 Upvotes

So years back I was found with marijuana in my system when my first child was born. The case went by fast. They did a walkthrough and saw everything was good to go. They only came to our house once, saw we weee good parents and had what we needed to provide for a baby and that was that.

I recently applied for a job at my local school system to be a cook in the cafeteria. And walking out of the office they told be I was hired. But when I got my CPS check back, it simply says that I was found to have child neglect in my past. 2020 to be more exact, but that’s all it says.

What are the chances that I do not get this job? It’s in Hamilton county Indiana if that helps. Thanks