For victims of domestic violence, daily life can be full of fear, uncertainty and pain. They never know when the next attack will come. They walk on eggshells, afraid of being assaulted, afraid to leave, and afraid of what the future holds. But more than anything, they fear for their children. They try to keep their violent spouse away from the kids. Try to keep the focus on themselves so their children escape the assault unscathed. They want to leave, but they have no idea how to survive on their own, and their self esteem is so damaged they don’t even know if there’s anything better out there for them. Or if they deserve anything better. And then CPS shows up and makes a bad thing even worse.
Cops aren’t prioritizing your parenting rights
When the cops show up because of a domestic fight, and there are kids in the home, the responding officers aren’t usually equipped to deal with children. They can’t take them back to the station, and if the abuser is taken to jail and the victim is taken to hospital, there’s nowhere for the kids to go. And in those cases they always call CPS. Although it’s worth noting that even if the victim isn’t hospitalized, if the responding officer feels that the child was at risk of harm, or even just traumatized in any way by the violence in their home, they’re likely to call CPS. And once CPS is involved, it’s a completely different kettle of fish.
Domestic violence victims can lose their kids to the state!
From the perspective of the average CPS worker, a parent who stays with an abusive partner is intentionally subjecting their children to abuse. The victim’s fear of being hunted down by an abusive partner, or the threats of suicide and even murder that abusers use to control their victims, don’t factor in as far as CPS is concerned. So when they show up at a home where a parent is being abused or threatened by their partner, there is a pretty good chance the CPS worker will decide that the kids are at risk, and take them away. And once they’re in foster care, it can be a time consuming process jumping through many legal hoops to get them back.
Know your rights when CPS shows up at your house
This can make things very difficult for a parent who’s being victimized by a spouse, and then is also punished by the state by having their children taken away. Few things could be more awful for a parent who’s struggling to break free from an abusive relationship, than to have CPS take their children from them. Which is why you need to know your rights. Know that unless a child is in danger of further abuse or neglect, a CPS worker is not supposed to take them from their home. Also, CPS is not allowed to come into your home without a court order. But CPS workers won’t tell you any of this. And they’re happy for you to believe that they have unlimited power and can do whatever they think is best without having to explain themselves to anyone.
That’s where a good CPS defense attorney comes in!
The role of a CPS defense attorney is to protect your rights, keep your family together whenever possible, and put themselves between you and CPS. An experienced CPS defense lawyer will fight to make sure that you aren’t taken advantage of or strongarmed by the state. Here at The Kronzek Firm our skilled CPS defense attorneys have decades of experience successfully defending parents accused of subjecting their kids to harm because of domestic situations that got out of hand. If you need help protecting your family from CPS, call 866 766 5245 today and let us fight for you.