In every case, Child Protective Services (CPS) will try to assess the home for child safety. Whether or not to let them in and how much access to give them is a difficult decision to make in the moment. CPS might say that if you’re a good parent, you’ve got nothing to hide. However, in the world of CPS, you might not know exactly what CPS might define as a safety concern and the consequences that might bring. That fear and anxiety often leads families to give too much or too little access. So what should you do when CPS requests to assess your home?
Many who have experienced the child welfare system would recommend, in hindsight, against ever letting CPS into your home. This advice is typically no better than giving CPS free reign in your home. The simple reason is that CPS is required by law in all states and Washington, D.C. to investigate all allegations of child abuse and/or neglect. This includes interviewing all household members and ensuring the home is safe for the child(ren). If CPS is perpetually denied entry to the home, they will go and get a court order, which is almost always granted. When that court order is granted, any control you do have over CPS’ access to the home disappears completely. This leaves you with even less power and discretion than you had prior to an entry order being issued by the court.
It is always important to keep in mind that CPS is not looking for evidence the allegation(s) are false; they’re looking for evidence the allegation(s) are true! Therefore, the less information CPS is able to obtain, the less information they have to meet the standard of evidence. An approach to CPS’ access to the home should always find a balance between restricting the information CPS is able to obtain and the risk of court involvement. Finding just the right amount of access to give between giving CPS full, unfettered access and trying to block them at every turn is the key to reaching the best outcome available to you in the least amount of time, the least amount of expense and your rights intact. It is easier to deal with CPS directly than it is to get the courts involved- especially in the early stages of a CPS case.
If CPS is asking to see the home, ask them questions about what they’re looking for and then provide them with the answers to their reasonable questions. No more and no less. If they ask to make sure there’s enough food in the home, either show them a receipt from your last trip to the grocery store or show them the refrigerator and freezer. If they want to make sure the kids have a safe place to sleep, show them the children’s bedrooms. That doesn’t mean you need to open up every closet, every bathroom and every room. Without a court order, their tour of the home is on your terms. If there’s no reason that you can think of for them to be poking around in the master bedroom, then don’t show it to them. CPS is unlikely to get a court order just to see just to see the master bedroom, where the child(ren) allegedly don’t go, anyway. The issue with showing them the home is you don’t know what they might find that from their vantage point, is an issue. It could be something as simple as an exposed heating grate, a sharp edge in the wood floor, a smoke or carbon monoxide detector with a battery that just died that morning or an air mattress instead of a bed for your child.
If CPS knocks on the door for an initial visit to your home or it’s a subsequent unannounced visit (not scheduled in advance) and you’re not sure whether your home will fit what CPS defines as the minimum standard of care, it’s a good idea to let them know it isn’t a good time and to suggest an alternative time (later in the day or the following day, for example) for them to come. This will give you the chance to address any outstanding issues before they see them. This will give you the time to get the home up to CPS’ standards without allowing CPS to identify a small issue that it could see as a safety concern and the disproportionate actions the identification of that safety concern could set in motion.
A home assessment by CPS is invasive, intrusive and lays so much of your life and choices right out for the government to judge. A home can be an intimate place. The best decision for each case and each family will be, at minimum, slightly different. Even when the conditions pose a low risk of action by CPS, the consequence that is breaking up a family is seen as so high by families that the risk is ever present whenever and for however long CPS is involved. If you treat this risk with the care and strategy it warrants, you can make it through. Use the resources available to you to ensure you understand what you’re up against (your attorney, Heartwork Defense and other professional resources) and that you’re emotionally ready (friends, family and other trusted confidants) and you’ll preserve your rights and protect your family.