Can CPS Remove My Kids Without Court in a Juvenile Dependency Case?

After a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator comes to your home, they can immediately remove the child and petition the court to stop the child from returning home. As a parent, this can leave you scrambling to stop the emergency CPS removal and regain custody.

Unfortunately, this is a surprisingly common situation. Each year, more than 700,000 children interact with California’s child welfare system in some way. In just 2022, over 382,000 children were referred to CPS for abuse and neglect. To avoid becoming a part of these statistics, it’s important to learn about your parental rights and CPS guidelines for child removal in California.

As a general rule, there is a specific CPS child removal process that must be used in order to remove a child from their home. CPS cannot simply show up and remove a child. There are three specific methods for taking a child away from their home.

• Court order: To remove the child, the CPS worker must have a court order.
• Voluntary removal: Alternatively, the child could be removed if you agree to the removal.
• Serious danger: Even if there is no court order, the CPS worker can remove a child immediately if there is a serious danger to the child present.

Keep in mind that you aren’t obligated to let CPS into your home unless they have a warrant or there are emergency circumstances present. If they ask permission to enter, you can say, “I’m sorry this isn’t a good time for me, but we can reschedule your visit for in the future.” This demonstrates your compliance while giving you more time to call your lawyer and make sure your home is prepared for a visit.

If the CPS worker says that emergency circumstances do exist, politely ask them what those circumstances are. While CPS workers have significant discretion in whether they remove a child or not, they must follow all of the CPS guidelines for child removal in California. This means they must try to place the child with a family member or friend, and the parent must be allowed visitation while they wait for the court hearing.

Legally, CPS must file a petition with the juvenile dependency court within two days of removing the child from your home. Then, the court must hold a hearing by the end of the day after the petition is filed to determine if the child should go back to the parent’s custody or not.

There are many rules about what CPS can and cannot do. If they violate these rules, you can challenge the CPS wrongful removal in court with the help of an experienced attorney.

CPS must have a court order to remove a child from their home unless an immediate danger is present. Once the child has been removed, CPS has 30 days to investigate the case and come to a conclusion.

A CPS case can take many months to resolve. If the child is in foster care for more than 15 out of the last 22 months, they will be placed up for adoption. The court tries to find a permanent solution for children who are in state custody, so it’s essential to try to resolve these cases as early as possible.

Unfortunately, CPS has the power to immediately remove a child if they believe that they are in serious, immediate danger. However, they must immediately file a petition with the court and get the court’s go-ahead to keep the child in foster care. If CPS doesn’t take the case to dependency court by the end of the next day after the petition is filed they are not in compliance with the law.

Understanding CPS guidelines for child removal in California can be challenging. To learn more about your parental rights and responsibilities, reach out to our legal team today.