Working on a CPS case while you are incarcerated: Communicating with the caseworker

1. Working on a CPS case while you are incarcerated: Communicating with the caseworker If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Working on a CPS case while you are incarcerated: Communicating with the caseworker with the great process! Divorce Attorneys in Houston: If you are incarcerated as Child Protective Services (CPS) is investigating an allegation of abuse or neglect of your child, it is likely to be one of the most frustrating experiences of your life. Every fiber of your being is crying out to help your child but you are behind bars. You have all the time in the world to think about what is happening to your child. That thinking will without a doubt turn into one thing: worry. I can tell you from experience that your worrying about the CPS case will not accomplish anything of value for you. The only thing you can do is take advantage of the opportunities that you have to have a meaningful impact on your child’s case. Just because you are

2. incarcerated doesn’t mean that you are going to lose your voice as far as communicating what you believe your child needs to succeed in life. Your partner in ensuring that your child goes where he or she needs to will be your family law attorney. Your attorney should have experience working with CPS and in working with folks that are incarcerated. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan meet both qualifications. If you are going to prison soon or will be getting out of prison stop by our office or give us a call to talk to us about your situation and about how we can help. Or, we can meet with your family while you are incarcerated so you can find out how we can be of service to you. The other person that will be working closely with you on your child’s CPS case is the CPS caseworker. The CPS caseworker oversees the contact that you have with the agency and helps all parties develop plans that will go towards furthering whatever goals are developed in your case. Most of the time, the overarching goal of a CPS case will be to return your child to their home. Other times the goal is to place your child with a relative. Regardless, you are in a position to be able to assist the investigation. This is what we are going to be talking about in today’s blog post. Your role in a CPS case does not change just because you are incarcerated. Your input and involvement is critical to helping your child find stability in their life. It will be more difficult for you to fulfill your responsibility in jail or prison, but it is your job to meet that challenge. It’s my hope that our blog post will contain some information that will help you to achieve whatever goals you have for the case, your child and yourself. The CPS caseworker in your case will…. -The CPS caseworker is going to ask you what you want to see happen with your child. If you are going to be incarcerated for the foreseeable future, you won’t be able to have your child live with you. Even if you are going to be released from prison soon it is improbable that your transition back into the real world will allow you to take on the massive responsibility of caring for a child. With that said, the CPS caseworker will want to hear from you as far as what you see as the best opportunity for your child. Houston Divorce Attorneys: Do you have relatives who are ready and willing to care for your child? Have you provided that information to the caseworker? You ought to do so as soon as the case begins because it takes time for CPS to investigate potential homes for your child. Even if CPS’ stated goal is to reunite your child with their other parent, it won’t hurt to provide the name and contact information for a relative of yours who you believe would be a suitable caretaker for your child- just in case that goal changes. -The CPS caseworker will tell you what kind of contact you can have with your child. You are obviously in a unique situation being that you are incarcerated, so it isn’t as if you can call your child whenever you want and go over to see him or her. An adult has to facilitate visitation for you, so you should speak to the caseworker in order to learn what is allowed and what is not allowed as far as visitation is concerned. You should have a copy of your court orders (if the facility where you are staying allows you to keep papers in your cell) handy and you can refer to those if you have questions.

3. Sometimes court orders can be difficult to understand, and that is where having an attorney to represent you comes in handy. That attorney will be at every planning meeting with CPS, every hearing with the judge and can advocate for you even when you are not able to be in the room. -The CPS caseworker can tell you why you are only able to have limited contact with your child. It can be incredibly frustrating to learn that you cannot see your child as much as would like to. Those visits with your child may be what makes your time in prison tolerable to some extent. However, the judge in your child’s case may have a completely different viewpoint on what is appropriate and in your child’s best interests. The caseworker from CPS will have seen situations like yours before and can help you to better understand why you are allowed the visitation that you are, and what you can do to get more time with your child. For instance, it may be that CPS has made recommendations about minimizing contact with you until it can be shown that your child can handle visits to prison. Your facility may have limits as to how much contact is allowed, as well. Rely on the caseworker and your attorney to help guide you in this area. -The CPS caseworker will help you by providing you with information so long as you are detailed and direct with him or her. You should ask him or her point blank what you need to do in order to increase the amount of contact you have with your child. To be unclear is to be unkind. This is a saying that I tell people in my own life all the time. If you can do anything while you are in prison to increase your chances at getting more time with your child, or more time when you are out of prison with him or her, you should ask your CPS caseworker about that -The CPS caseworker will help you with your child. If you have an attorney he or she should be the primary person in your corner assisting you with doing this. However, if you do not have an attorney then the caseworker can step in and help you to answer the questions that your child has. Odds are high that your child will ask you about how much longer you will be staying in prison, how much longer the CPS case will be going on and who your child will be living with primarily after the case concludes itself. You may not know how to answer those questions but the CPS caseworker will help you find the right words. -The CPS caseworker will help you to deal with your own emotions surrounding your incarceration during a CPS case. Again, it will not be easy having to watch a lot of the things that go on in your case happen without your being able to do much about it. Your CPS caseworker, along with your attorney, support system and other people, will be able to help you to work on those emotions and use them to better the life of your child however you can. What services are available to you as an incarcerated parent? You can have your attorney or family members contact the facility where you are incarcerated in order to find out what services are available to you through the jail or prison. There may be educational programs that will allow you to better find work after you get out of prison. That alone will decrease your chances of every ending up back in prison in the

4. future. Religious services through a prison chaplain can also help you if you are a person of faith. What are the basic rules associated with a child visiting you in prison? Divorce Attorneys Houston: When it is possible and deemed to be in your child’s best interests, your child should be able to have face to face contact with you. The individual circumstances of your case will determine how much face to face contact you will be able to have with your child. Your facility where you are staying will have their own set of guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to taking advantage of all the visitation time that you are awarded in your court orders. The court will determine how much visitation time you are allowed. Of course, you may not be able to be at every hearing in your child’s case. In fact, it is unlikely that you will be able to attend any hearing. For this reason, it is important that you have an attorney there on your behalf, advocating for you and your rights. Your attorney and the caseworker will contact the officials at your facility and work to get visitation set up so that the sessions can occur without a hitch. Both parties need to know what the specific visitation policies of your facility are and what restrictions are in place so that your child and their foster family doesn’t show up and have to go home because they are not on your list of approved visitors, for example. Many facilities in Texas have programs that help mothers and fathers who are incarcerated become better parents. These programs will screen inmates like yourself who apply to be in the program. Once you are accepted, you will need to attend classes during the week. If you display good behavior you will be able to see your child once per week for one hour and can continue to remain in the program …Continue Reading