Has a Social Worker knocked on your door?

If a social worker knocks at your door, it is typically because a referral (investigation) has been generated after a mandated reporter—such as a teacher, hospital staff, or therapist—reported a potential risk of harm to a child.

Here is how you should understand and prepare for the situation:

Understand the Process

  • The Social Worker’s Role: The emergency social worker’s job is to decide whether to close the investigation or promote it to a court case. They use a specific checklist to rate the seriousness of the risk.
  • The Interview Structure: Interviews are divided into two parts:
    1. Allegations: Questions regarding the specific reports made against you.
    2. Social History: A section designed to gather background information.  The social workers present it as an innocent fact-gathering.  In reality, it is a “fishing expedition” used to help social workers identify additional areas to investigate and to gather evidence to be used in court.
  • Possible Outcomes: There are three results of a referral:
  • Unfounded: The allegations are without a factual basis, i.e. Nothing happened
  • Inconclusive: There is some evidence, but not enough to take further action.
  • Substantiated: The social worker will likely recommend a court case.

How to Prepare

  • Preparation is Essential: You should prepare for the interview to understand the possible outcomes and how the social worker will make their decisions.
  • Deciding on Legal Representation: While preparation is “absolutely” necessary, having a lawyer present during the interview is not always an “automatic yes”. In some cases, the presence of a lawyer may create a negative perception that you have something to hide.
  • Seek Fact-Specific Advice: Your best course of action—including what to say and whether to agree to certain requests—will depend on the specific facts of your case.

Give my office a call for a FREE 15-minute consultation or pay for a one-hour consultation and I will walk you through a DCFS checklist, share a sample of social history questions, explain what factors go into making CPS decision to open a case and what is likely to happen in Juvenile Dependency Court.

Give us a call Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm (310) 853-2907

www.juveniledependencyattorney.com

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