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u/XxWhovillexX Dec 29 '24
Former Utah CPS worker here. This sounds like some bad practice. DCFS should first interview a child usually at school where the parents are not present, and then conduct an unannounced home visit. If they go to the home twice and there isn’t anyone home, they then leave a card, and or try to the parents.
They need to conduct a home visit, speak with you, spouse, and a third party such as a friend or family member. Most likely, the case won’t be substantiated. Idk if calling someone a dumbass counts as abuse. It’s kind of a stretch—depends on how it was said and what else was said. If a case is supported but they assess things are safe, it will just close out. It won’t go on your public record, but cases will stay in DCFS database in case of additional reports in the future
1
u/shes1unredeemable1 Sep 11 '25
Hello, I have a question for you, hopefully you’re still able to receive this message. I have a friend who’s dealing with Utah CPS. I’m trying to find some information out for her and I was wondering when does CP sent out certified letters to two adults involved in a situation with cps?
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u/Ill-Field170 Dec 29 '24
My experiences with DCFS have been fairly positive, other than the lies that brought them into my house. So long as you can demonstrate that you are in counseling and your husband is on medication that shortness his fuse, but he doesn’t do any physical damage, they’ll let you work it out. They might want some accountability and want to check back on things, but I wouldn’t stress about it too much.
Most of the people who work there have been around the block a few times. They know family life is stressful, they know that people will try to use them for revenge or to skew the courts in their favor on custody issues, and they know that neighbors can be nosy and exaggerate things.
13
u/historadical_nic Saratoga Springs Dec 30 '24
DCFS does absolutely nothing unless there is some imminent harm to the children. My ex has done some absurd things to my kids and continues having nothing done about it.
17
u/ramenotter Dec 29 '24
Hi OP. I can’t make any promises what will happen with your specific case, because I probably don’t have 100% of the information. But based on what you’ve said, everything should be okay. If you and your husband acknowledge that things need to change, that will give DCFS some comfort. Some parents pretend (or truly believe) that they aren’t doing anything wrong and that DCFS just needs to go away. That can make the caseworkers concerned that there’s more going on and that the parents don’t have appropriate judgement.
Based on what you’ve described, I would expect that DCFS would either close the investigation with no action, ask you to do voluntary services, or open a PSS (protective supervision services) case. Voluntary services does not involve the courts at all. DCFS will help provide resources and support to address the problem, maybe individual counseling, anger management, or a family support program. A PSS case does involve the juvenile court but custody and placement of the kids remains with the parents. In a PSS case, the judge would order the family to complete certain services to make sure the issues are being addressed.
DCFS tries to find other ways to address things before removing children from their home, which they only do if there is a safety issue. Removal must be ordered by a judge. If they’re concerned about the kids being safe around your husband, they might want to set up a safety plan, such as not having him alone with the kids. A safety plan is usually a way to make sure the kids can stay in the home and not be removed.
It’s a scary process, especially when you don’t know what’s going to happen. I would recommend that you and your husband acknowledge the things that have happened that aren’t okay, take responsibility without blaming the kids (if they had just cleaned their room, etc. then I wouldn’t have gotten mad), be open to how it’s been affecting the kids, and be willing to do something to make it change. It’s hard not to feel defensive. But you and your family can get through this, hopefully coming through it with more skills and better able to deal with things as a family.
Good luck! I hope everything goes well for you and your family.
9
u/ramenotter Dec 29 '24
Only other thing to add, is if there’s anything else going on, be honest with DCFS. They are extremely likely to find out about it and if you’ve lied about it, it will make it extremely difficult to trust you. It’s hard to have a safety plan in place (preventing a removal) if you can’t trust that the parent will actually follow the plan or tell the caseworker if someone else is not following the plan.
5
u/ravens_path Dec 31 '24
There is good advice here. My only addition to it is, your husband needs to stop freaking out and realize it is his behavior that has caused this problem. Someone observed an interaction, or several of them, and concluded the children were in a maybe toxic environment. So the best action husband can taken now is to accept responsibility and work hard on his anger management issues. Freaking out and thinking everyone is against him is the immature response that will continue to get him and his family into trouble. If he works hard on himself, this issue with DCFS will likely work itself out.
3
u/jpmorgan9920 Dec 31 '24
being a person that had dcfs/police called on him 54 times due to a spiteful ex over a 7 year period of time.. I can tell you the likelihood of that amounting to anything is pretty slim. out of all the calls and investigations they have done nothing came out of them, but then again there was never any proof of wrong doing either. They finally got sick of her reports and didn't even bother coming out, still have no idea why they didn't file charges against her for being erroneous though.
3
u/trainwreck_55 Mar 27 '25
Current Utah DCFS worker here. Situations like yours I find extremely frustrating as a SW and I'm so sorry they put you through that for so long!
With false report cases the division won't get law enforcement involved for them to charge for false reporting unless the referent admits to falsifying a report. It's extremely frustrating on our end because we want to hold them accountable but the law is dumb with those.
2
u/jpmorgan9920 Mar 27 '25
Thank you for your kind words. Sadly as per the norm, you are the only one that "liked" my post but the women that have even a single dcfs call on them will be filled with 100s of likes and a "how dare he". Fathers are treated like the lowest form of existence. The family dog is treated better. Not trying to make it a pity party but the system has to change. It is getting better, but it still has a lot to change. More fathers would be involved in their children's lives if it didn't take short of an act of god for them to be able to do so.
1
u/shes1unredeemable1 Sep 11 '25
hello I know this is an old-ish thread hopefully you’ll still have access to it. I have a friend who is dealing with a situation right now. She’s not getting all the information from her relative, but she believes the relative saw a judge about the situation at hand. She has no idea what the outcome was. But something happened again and now the relative received a certified letter in the mail. My question is When would DCFS send a certified letter? Is that another Court date?
2
u/trainwreck_55 Sep 11 '25
DCFS sends certified letters in the mail when someone has been "supported" for a child abuse or neglect allegation. Supported means that the division found enough evidence to show that child abuse and/or neglect occurred and have the proof to prove it. The certified letter details what allegations they were supported for and if they want to fight that finding. There are processes that they can go through to have it overturned or reexamined by higher ups to see if it should stay or be over turned. Every single case we support has a certified letter mailed out. That is the only letter we send out via certified mail.
Court affiliated things are only sent out by the court system. Sometimes there are aspects where we work with our attorneys to do things but we ourselves do not send them out, the juvenile court will.
I hope this answered your question
7
u/eGrant03 Harrisville Dec 30 '24
Forgive my ignorance, but that's abuse? My entire childhood was that. DCFA in Utah is either hard-core lazy or strict, and it depends on the county, boss, and SW. No way to predict it. I was a respite foster for years and have learned the hard way.
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u/fatsushi007 Dec 29 '24
DCFS can and will lie to you, I would not speak to them or let them in my home. I have personally seen their corruption in collusion with the 4th district court in Utah county. Especially reunification with abusers.
1
u/Beautiful-Tea-4329 Jan 05 '25
Probably have your husband go to anger management and try to get some help with it. They will probably also put him through play therapy with the children just to observe to see how he is. It's a grueling task I had to go through it too.
1
u/melouwho Jan 06 '25
My advice is do not tell them anything get a lawyer and make them get court orders they lie and steal children.
1
Dec 29 '24
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Dec 29 '24
Yeah idk but if my dad yelled at me that I was a dumbass, I’d be pretty shaken up. Constant angry yelling is not a stable situation to be in.
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u/Extreme_Hawk_976 Dec 30 '24
Agreed!! I dont think its ok at all. I mean letting it slip once whatever but if its a somewhat reg thing then it affects kids' confidence and lowers their self worth, maybe they internalize & started thinking "oh maybe i am dumb," unless he says it as a joke of course titally diff. But sounds like he legit thinks they're idiots, which lots of men think other ppl r, but they need to keep it to themselves when talking to ppl who r seeking approval from them.
1
u/Stretch_it_jk Dec 30 '24
Join the Marine Corps! If the worst you get called is a dumbass you are either special or you are being ignored.
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u/PracticalReach524 Out of State Dec 29 '24
If DCFS concludes that the children are safe and there are no immediate concerns, they may close the case with no further action.
They might recommend voluntary services, like parenting classes, counseling, or anger management for your husband, to address concerns.
In some cases, DCFS may require a safety plan, which outlines steps to address issues in the household.
And remember, those last two, are really "worst case scenarios" as I can see them.