Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Representing Domestic Violence Victims in Child Welfare Cases 85
Advocacy During a CPS Investigation
A parent has a legal right to refuse entry into, and inspection of, her home
by a CPS caseworker, but, in most circumstances, asserting that legal right is not
advisable. If access is not granted, the caseworker may summon the police, seek
a warrant or ask the Family Court to authorize removal based solely on the
allegations. Once the CPS investigation goes forward, it is more feasible for a
mother to decline continued home inspections, especially if the abuser and not
the mother is alleged to be placing the child at risk, and she may instead offer to
bring the child to the CPS office for interviews. However, when a mother is
residing in a confidential domestic violence shelter, an attorney should oppose
CPS entry into and inspection of the “home.” A domestic violence shelter is a
government-licensed and inspected facility and is already confirmed to be a safe
and appropriate environment for children. The risks of a breach of confidentiality
are too high to justify revealing the location to CPS caseworkers and supervisors.
The address of the shelter also will appear in CPS records to which the abuser is
entitled, by law, to have access. Revealing the address puts not only the subject
of the investigation at risk but also endangers other residents and their children.
If an attorney knows that CPS intends to interview the mother, the attorney
may attend the interview or identify someone else — preferably a social worker,
but also a paralegal or intern — to attend the interview. The attorney should
develop a contingency plan with the mother should it appear that the children
will be removed without an opportunity for the mother to be heard in court.
The mother should identify relatives or friends who could take the children in the
short term. The attorney should explore whether the mother would be willing to
go into a domestic violence shelter or relocate in the short term if it is a way to
avoid removal of her child. These decisions may need to be made quickly and,
as frightening as it may be for the mother, the attorney should explore them in
the early stages of the investigation.
CPS must interview the mother at a separate location from any interview with
the abuser. The CPS caseworker should not merely ask the abuser to step into the
other room while she queries a mother about his violent tendencies. CPS also
must provide an interpreter if needed; a battered mother cannot be expected to
discuss difficult family issues in a language in which she is not fully conversant or
to use a friend or neighbor to translate. A child should never be used to translate.
During the interview, a battered mother faces a conundrum in determining
what information to share. If she discloses serious abuse in the home, she risks
having her child removed, having a neglect case filed against her or having the