Domestic Violence, sometimes called domestic assault, can result in criminal charges and a host of other unwanted consequences for the people involved. From court costs, fines, time spent in jail, attorney’s fees and the possibility of a criminal conviction, domestic violence charges are no joke. But what many people don’t realize is that domestic violence charges can open the door to CPS, and with that comes a whole other set of potential problems.

For those of you who may be unclear about the difference is between a simple assault charge and a domestic assault charge, this should clear up your confusion. It has everything to do with the defendant’s relationship to the alleged witness, and nothing to do with the type of assault of the aggression level involved.

The two factors that define a domestic assault, making it different from other forms of assault are:

1. The alleged victim is a spouse or former spouse, has a child in common with the defendant, has or had a dating relationship with the defendant, currently or previously lived in the same household as the defendant.
2. The defendant committed an assault or battery against the person with whom they share any form of the above mentioned relationships.

Domestic violence is a police issue, but children involved means CPS

When partners, spouses, or even roommates become involved in physical altercations with each other, there is always the chance that the police will get involved. If however, there are children in the home, officers are often unsure of how to deal with them. If the defendant is arrested and the victim is hospitalized most officers will call CPS so that the children aren’t left alone in the home.

This also applies if the officers believe that the children are in any way at risk, may have been subject to violence, or have witnessed any kind of violence. And once a CPS worker walks through your door, everything changes. They may decide that your children are at risk, and should be removed for their own safety. Or they may decide that you can keep your children, but you will have to jump through a series of hoops in order to continue parenting your kids.

Either way, this can make things very difficult for a parent who is being victimized by a spouse, and then is punished by the state in addition, by having their children taken away. Few things could be more awful for a parent who is struggling to break free from an abusive relationship, than to have CPS take their children from them.

For this reason it is so important to have an experienced attorney on your side. CPS agents will use instances of domestic violence as excuses to remove children from their parent’s custody, and once CPS has your kids, it could take months to get them back. Months of attending mandatory classes, supervised visits, court appearances, and maybe even counseling, can be time consuming and invasive.
This is why, if you have been involved in a domestic violence situation, and CPS is involved in any way, you need to contact our offices immediately. Call 866 766 5245 to speak to one of our highly skilled CPS defense attorneys. We have spent decades battling CPS on behalf of parents, and we are experienced in defending families. So don’t wait – call us today! We are here to help you.