r/CPS

I am 30 (F), I adopted two golden retriever puppies from my neighbor who posted them on Facebook. I went and picked them up and it was a nice family. A mom, son (11) and dad. They all seemed normal, the dad is a cop. They offered to bring the mom dog over the next day to help the puppies socialize. They came over just the mom and son and tell me the dad broke up with the mom. The mom also tells me she’s pregnant. She then asks me to watch her son after school for one friday while she drives back from work. I already thought that was weird but he was willing to watch after the puppies while I worked. On Friday she then asks if her son can leave from my house in the morning too for school. I tell her no. Why do I wake up to her 11 year old sleeping outside of my house in my backyard at 2am. I am so so so so so confused. I called her to come pick her son up. He also brought a dog. I changed all the locks on my house, as he let himself through the side gate. She was going to be okay with him sleeping outside at 2am without ever telling me until his school started. What about breakfast? What about brushing his teeth? How is this not neglect? I only happened to find him because the dogs needed to go outside to pee and there he was. No 11 year old should go through this. I called the dad too and he was in disbelief. We are strangers to these people and I was appalled.

UPDATE: thank you for the help I am calling CPS and reporting. I am so sad for this child and the last thing I want is him to be a ward of the state but I also need to protect myself.

This question is aimed at supervisors of case workers and case workers.

Regardless of why my son was taken away, I haven't had contact with him in about a month (a little over). Their were aligations of abuse, but they were unfounded.

My don has spoken to my parents, his grand parents, crying that he thinks we aren't trying to get in touch to talk to him. He is under to assumption that we have abonded him. This is just not true. He has stated this to his attorney, to my parents, and to his uncle.

I also looked it up. Under OAR Charter 413-070-0830, a parent does have a right to see their child. Unless their is a court order stating otherwise, even if the chikd does say they don't want to see him, a parent does still have rights.

What should I do at this point? We both want to at least talk on the phone to our child. He wants to talk to us. CPS? Specifically two different case workers have been caught lying multiple times (me, my wife, and her attorney have witnessed the different lies).

Any suggestions?

I am homeless in CA, staying in Air Bnbs where I can make deals with the owners in exchange for work. I have an eviction so it's tough to get into a house and afford the rent here. I also don't have a vehicle that is working and legal. I was in the process of moving to TX with my dad who has a paid off 3 bedroom home with my family. The day before I was to move CPS got an emergency order to retain my 3 kids. They are currently with the other grandparents now. Our next court hearing is on May 26. What these people are asking for is nearly impossible to achieve in the timeframe they want it in order to get my kids back. Moving to TX is really the only option to get back on my feet and stable. My dad is retired so he can take care of the kids, we won't have rent and he has working vehicles he will allow me to use for work. My court appointed attorney doesn't seem to do anything for me and when I mentioned TX the social workers took that as a threat and risk of fleeing jurisdiction instead of an option. If I'm forced to stay I will really lose my kids. Can anyone offer any advice on what forms I need to look into and how to get my dad involved as an option of placement? My brother also lives 5 miles from my dad and I can stay with him until the courts OK me to move back in with them at my dad's house. This is a terrifying process and to be clear, I have hopped around from house to house, mainly air bnbs, never once have my kids slept in a car, no shelter, always had food, always had clothes and bathed, probably too many toys, no physical abuse or sexual abuse allegations at all, none have behavioral problems, and my oldest that's the only one in school gets straight As and has skipped a grade, never had any emergency room visits that would initiate an investigation

I worked in social work until I had my daughter last year and I'm just at a loss if this is true. Aside from the obvious ethical issue, how does a parent assisting their teenager in obtaining what the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states is a safe medical intervention and an essential component of comprehensive healthcare qualify as abuse or neglect? Especially if the teenager wanted to obtain the abortion.

I know CPS has a very high bar for removal and while the system has its flaws generally immediate removal, especially of a teenager, is reserved for only the most tragic cases of abuse or neglect. So I'm baffled at how this scenario could be justified. Is this even possible legally in the most restrictive red states!? Has anyone heard of anything like this?

I'm posting here because I've gotten a lot of support from this group in the past and a lot of patience. I'm in a very dark place this weekend. It's just all a reminder that I don't have my son, that I was a piece of shit mother to him, and what a failure I am as a mom. I've been keeping sobriety but I'm in a dark place and am wondering if I care about the consequences of dulling the pain. Need to just reach out to as many people as I can.

I live in MI and have occasionally used edibles during my pregnancy for extreme HG (no smoking though). It is legal here in MI — however do I need to worry about a CPS visit / the hospital testing me or baby? I want to give myself enough time to test “clean” if possible. Thanks & no hate please

I have a new coworker who works midnights and tells me about her kids. She has a 17 year old, a 1 year old and a 2 year old. At night she leaves them all home alone while she’s at work, expecting the 17 year old to take care of the younger two. Then in the morning the 17 year old has to take the bus to school, and if for some reason she gets held up at work or traffic or whatever, the two babies get left home alone for however longer. Usually like 15-20 minutes she says. Then when she does get home from work she will lock them in the living room and take a nap for a couple hours before getting up and checking on them. She says there are cameras all over the house, the doors are locked, and nothing they can get into. I don’t know her adders, just her name and place of work and that she gets discounted childcare through the state. She’s a single mom so I obviously feel bad for her. I know there are worse possible situations for these kids out there and that’s why I’m hesitant. She obviously loves them and does what she can but it does not sit right with me. Is it worth reporting? What can actually be done to help her?

EDIT: I was able to get some more information from her the other day. I was asking about the 17 year old and turns out he is autistic but high functioning. Overall a good kid, just hangs in his room to play video games and wants nothing to do with the actual care of his little brothers. The mom was telling me that she asks him to check on the younger ones when he hears screaming and he won’t. In the mornings when she gets home, she will sneak in the side door so the kids don’t see her otherwise they won’t leave her alone to sleep. She will leave the 1 year old in his crib for a couple hours while she naps before taking them to daycare. She said at least he won’t get into anything, but the 2 year old will sometimes pile pillows and blankets into the crib and sit on him. She was also asking me about potty training and she said she’s ready to tie her child to the toilet till he is ready to go. I asked about other family in the area and her parents live out of state. she has siblings that are around but not enough to be consistently watching. The dad of the two younger kids is apparently an alcoholic and a crappy person but she’s older and wanted more kids so she took whatever she could get in terms of a father. I will not be helping out with the care of her children. She is the one who decided she wanted more kids. That is not my burden to bear. But how shitty would I feel if something happened to them and it could have been prevented if they were being supervised properly.

So a girl I knew from high school has been making some questionable posts within the past few months after giving birth to her twins. There’s been more than a few posts talking about how she has an unregistered gun, and how she has no issues shooting any woman that messes with her baby daddy because nobody is bullet proof. She talks about shooting anyone that does her dirty. In my opinion she seems very trigger happy, and a little unstable.
I don’t blame her for having a gun, from what I know she lives in more of a dangerous city. It’s just the wording she uses when she decides to post about owning one. Nothing about using as protection for her or her family. Just shooting people that do her wrong.
I have no doubt in my mind that she loves her children. But I know she is home with them 24/7. No job. No car. It seems like she has no escape or any room to breathe if she gets overwhelmed with them. I’m just worried about her mental state and stability. She’s very open about her postpartum depression. And I just don’t know how to feel about her intentions with the gun.
Am I overreacting for thinking about reporting this? I know she could be putting on a tough guy act for social media. Or is this necessary to report?

I’m posting here because I genuinely have zero resources right now to hire an attorney, and yes…I’m fully aware that the ideal answer is probably “talk to a lawyer.” If I had the money or ability to do that right now, I would. At this point I just need honest advice from people who have actually been through CPS.

My girlfriend recently gave birth to our daughter by emergency C-section. The morning of delivery, she was under extreme stress and took a very small amount of her legally prescribed Xanax. She does have a valid prescription.

At the hospital, she tested positive for benzodiazepines, but our baby tested completely negative—no benzos in her system, no withdrawal symptoms, no medical concerns.

Despite that, CPS opened a case against us for neglect.

There are no other allegations, as in no abuse, no unsafe living conditions, no signs of impairment around the baby, no history of neglect, nothing.

Now CPS wants both of us to take drug tests.

My girlfriend isn’t worried because she has documentation for her prescription and isn’t actively using anything outside of that.

My concern is me. I’m prescribed Adderall, which I can document, but I’m worried because I may test positive for marijuana from occasional recent use. I have never been impaired around my child or put my daughter in danger, but I know how that could look.

I’m not asking how to cheat a drug test or hide anything. I’m trying to avoid making a mistake that could hurt my family.

For those who’ve actually been through CPS:

- Did you comply with drug testing immediately, or did you try to get advice first?
- How much did a THC result affect your case if there were no other safety concerns?
- Did CPS focus more on the drug test, or on whether the baby was healthy and the home was safe?
- What mistakes do you wish you had avoided early on?

I know a lawyer would be ideal. I just don’t have the money or resources for that right now, so I’m trying to learn from people who’ve actually lived through this.

Tonight I got a call from my daughters therapist (12 years old) . I absolutely love her therapist and so does my daughter.

Last Friday my daughter had her normal session. She called me tonight (Thursday) saying my daughter said something during therapy that required her to call cps.

I was literally floored when she called . It put me into an immediate panic attack. I have nothing to hide at all and of course any cooperation needed on my part I will be giving 1000%

She told me she couldn’t tell me what my daughter said which i understand completely and that she is a mandated reporter which I also 100% understand and in any situation I feel that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

She said she told cps she was not worried about anything physical has never seen any marks or that I wasn’t prioritizing my child mentally or physically/ getting her emotional help etc.

She said that i will be getting a call from cps and i am just literally going through every emotion and of course being anxious and thinking the worst possible thing .

Can anyone tell me what i might be expecting? I suspect it might be because my daughter and I sometimes have disagreements for maybe a minute or two , or tones change just normal teen parent relationship.

Me and my daughter are really close in all aspects again i was just so caught off guard

Any advice would be helpful

Thank you

If you request a record from the state for a closed CPS case, what does it tell you that a simple determination letter (indicated or unfounded) wouldn’t? Does it give any clue to who made the report through providing more context about why it was made?

I am 16 and have been living in severe neglect for the past 7 years. Our house is covered in deep grime, the carpet is ruined, and we have an ongoing bug problem. Both the kitchen and bathroom sinks are essentially unusable or clogged (Kitchen having no pressure wash, and the bathroom sink being clogged),and we don't even have basic hygiene supplies like hand sanitizer or soap. Because the house is so cluttered and unusable, I don't have my own room or bed and have to share a bed with my dad.
The most frustrating part is the financial situation. My dad earns approximately $80k a year and has great credit, but he chooses to spend thousands of dollars on high-end electronics, gaming PCs, and drones instead of fixing the plumbing or buying me enough clothes. I barely have any clothes to wear and usually have to rely on my grandparents to help me with laundry and basic needs when I visit them.

I am just super scared of calling them because I heard a lot of bad stories about them, I don’t want them to leave or give my dad a chance, 0 way to clean it all in the usual timespan they give.

I have 0 washer or dryer. I think my grandparents will let me stay with them if i asked.

I have a question. Our kids were removed for the state of our home. A lot of it is out of our control because it does not meet code. It is a 3 bedroom house, but 2 of the rooms are 2 inches too short to be considered a room. The house was made more then a hundred years ago, years before code was a thing.

We are trying to work woth the city the best we can.

1. I don't make enough to rent in most apartments and houses. In oregon, its fairly standard that you need to make 2.5 to 3.5 c monthly rent. Your average 3 bedroom house (which is what is need by occupancy law) here goes for around 1800-2000 a month. I dont make 2.5 times 1800.

2. I cant rent an apartment. I have a criminal record and have been turned down every single time. Not to mention, I have q special needs child i cannot just tell to be quiet. Hes uo at odd hours and can be noisy.

3. Apartments aren't much off the cost of houses here, they are fairly similarly priced.

Logically, owning a house is in the future, but not in the cards right now. Worst case scenario, they say we can't live here and get the kids back because it isn't large enough. Thre are other things too, like their not being baseboard heaters in each room. We have a fireplace that works fine and warms the house, but code enforcement have their own idea of what works.

With all of that said, we sre thinking about an RV. Something a little more modern but old enough we can afford. Max length motorhome, glide outs, etc. I know it isn't ideal for a family of 5 in total, but it would be livable until we find something else, and plenty of people do live like this.

I know CPS likes kids to have their own rooms, how would this work? They generally have enough beds to sleep 6 or 7. I would have a place to park it already.

Ideally we keep renting the house, im just trying to plan ahead.

After a police report and a forensic interview. The child made some disclosures about being shown masturbation and someone trying to insert a finger in their butthole. Then the child said is was just pretend play. The investigators said they are going to interview the alleged offender

I’m assuming the offender will just deny. So what steps are taken to protect the child even if there isn’t a criminal case. Investigators said that is CPS role. When does CPS get involved? The child is going to be in a home with the offender in a few days it’s a minor uncle

So i 16 M live in a shed with my mom 40 F, dad 38 M, and sister 15 F. I have been living in this shed for nearly a year. I was forced to move here along with my sister bc my grandmother who I lived with previously passed away. My parents have been living this way for 5-6 years. They argue most of the time over dumb shit (excuse my french). I have become very anxious and stressed because of it. I have ADHD but haven't seen a doctor to get my medication since last June shortly before I moved in. Most of the time we have food it is either because it is found in the garbage or it is given to use by a relative (same with our clothing). We have electricity because of a women who lives on the same property pays for the electricity. The property is every large and we live in the edge of it in a shed while she lives in the house. My dad moved here from another county in 2023 or 2024. We have no consolation and last winter our only heat source was a wood stove. We have no siding on the shed. Around the shed is very messy and on the shed is pretty messy. The shed has 2 floors but my mom insists on keeping her stuff on the 2nd floor. Me and my sister sleep under the steps and that is out little room area (it would barely be able to fit a twin sized bed). We are not abused just neglected. Every time I think about calling CPS on my parents it terrifies me. I am worried that I may be self centered and only be thinking about how it would impact me and my sister. Would really love to get some advice

EDIT: forgot to mention we don't have a working toilet and have to go to gas stations to use the bathroom properly (outside of urinating)

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I’m posting anonymously because this is still ongoing and I already have counsel. I’m looking more for procedural perspective and experiences from people familiar with CPS systems.

Earlier this year there was a family discipline incident involving one child. Police and CPS got involved. I was arrested and a criminal no-contact order was entered for that child only.

At the same time, CPS created a “safety plan” while I was not present. I never signed it, was never given a copy, and never had a court hearing about it. But CPS treated it as barring me from the home and from all of my children indefinitely.

Even though I disputed parts of it, I followed it anyway because I didn’t want things escalated further. I stayed out of the house for nearly 3 months.

Here’s where things get complicated:

CPS later claimed delays happened because our attorney required communication through lawyers only. But call records and meeting transcripts show we were repeatedly trying to get communication going despite CPS claiming they wouldn't meet or talk with us without their lawyer present.

CPS also claimed they made “reasonable efforts,” but there was very little forward movement for months. No clear reunification path, no visitation or even phone calls, inconsistent communication, no contact with the assigned safety monitor, not one check-in with the kids, and no additional investigation or assessments were made in those nearly 3 months.

The medical follow-up at a mobile clinic a few days later after the original incident was by a registered nurse and showed no injury requiring further workup, but CPS first discounted it as a "nurse visit" the later denied being provided the report at all.

Eventually the criminal no-contact issue was first modified then resolved through court. I returned home on a Friday and saw my children for the first time in months. I told CPS this during a phone call that day to set up a time to discuss a prevention case the next Friday. Later that night an officer and CPS worker made an unexpected but overall very positive visit where she had no safety concerns and recommended to keep working with the prevention team the next week.

The Monday after CPS/police removed the children through shelter care despite no new allegations, and a positive visit days earlier.

What I’m trying to understand from people who know this system:

How common is it for unsigned “voluntary” safety plans to function like de facto removal orders?

Is it normal for safety plans to go months without meaningful review/modification?

What documentation tends to matter most when disputing CPS timelines or communication claims?

How do courts typically view “reasonable efforts” arguments when there was little actual progress for weeks/months?

I’m trying very hard to stay factual and document-based because I know emotions can muddy these discussions.

I’m not saying CPS should never investigate. My concern is that the process became increasingly punitive after I asserted rights and involved attorneys.

Yesterday I got a call from Cps out of Texas asking me about my brother in law.

They were trying to talk to him regarding a baby that was born in March of this year.

From what I got is that the cps working is going off a name?

How does this make sense? Can they call anyone with same name and or people connected to that person to try to get a hold of him?

Wouldn’t this cause a lot of trouble for people who are innocent and have no idea why cps is calling relatives and or trying to locate the person?

My son is 2 months, almost 3, and in the past month he has had a short fall after throwing himself back from my husband's arms. We rushed him to his pediatrician, he was fine. Then just last week he was sleeping next to me while I was watching TV and I had to get up to go to the restroom. I went to move the blanket that was tucked under him so I could put him in his bassinet and it was stuck. I gave it a tug and he lifted slightly and landed on his foot in the bed.

We took him to his pediatrician first thing in the morning and the pediatrician was acting weird towards us. They required another pediatrician to look at him and said that we should go to the ER to do a skeletal survey "just to make sure he's alright", he was fine.

We may have been overly cautious being first time parents. A friend that is an x ray tech said the only times he's ever done skeletal surveys are when they expect child abuse. Then another friend says it sounds like they expected us of abuse since he's been seen twice in a month. Did us being overly cautious, nervous first time parents make them think we're abusing our baby? The last thing I want is for him to need to be seen but we're too afraid to go because they'll think we're hurting him.

TL:DR

Have we been flagged by CPS for being cautious and inexperienced first time parents?

Hi, I’m an addict.

So I told my prescriber that I was over dosing on my prescription meds. There was an instance were I was driving impaired with the meds. It was because my partner asked to drive and I didn’t want to disappoint her, avoid the shame and just “buckled up” so to say.

Anyways I wasn’t good at “buckling up” and she noticed I wasn’t driving good. I then pulled over and we switched.

My prescriber had the legal obligation to report the incident.

Anyway, any parents go through similar situations who may provide some insight on what potential consequences I might be facing in the near future?

Thanks

So back in November 2025 cps came knocking. Substance abuse claim. I have been doing everything that has been asked of me. Enrolled in a substance abuse program. Random drug test that have been negative. Therapy once a week. Got a mental health and substance abuse evaluation. My daughter was and is currently mad at her father for using and no desire to stop. They had hinted at domestic violence. I left the house and stayed at a friends. He said some awful things to our daughter and she got a new med (Prozac) and was suicidal so I put her in the children’s hospital for a few days. On her treatment plan it states no contact with dad. He is a trigger. I asked my worker what to do. She suggested a protection order. After 2 weeks I finally got one. It was supposed to just be on her. It was not. He stayed a couple nights at our apartment while my daughter was here. My ongoing social worker knew this. A week later I had her stay with my neighbor for the night while I went out with friends. I came home the next morning and the neighbor called the police. Apparently there was some misunderstanding. Police called cps and they came out in an alternative response. She said the claims she received were unsubstantiated. But the fact he stayed here a few nights she would have to call her supervisor. Supervisor wanted to consult a specialist. Got a call in Monday from alternative response worker and her supervisor that said they didn’t want to remove my child just wanted court to look at this. Then on Wednesday of same week had court where they filed a petition to remove child. That was yesterday. They have been lying and placing blame on the guardian at litem. A dvo was granted on daughter and father on Monday of this week. I go speak to my attorney on Monday morning. Have a new case plan scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. What questions should I be asking my attorney? Im so nervous and angry. I can admit to what I did but my ongoing worker and the supervisor both knew about that incident. They had me sign a prevention plan and said there was no reason for removal, yet here we are.