When children are removed from a parent, the entire family enters a bewildering world of state agencies and court proceedings. This legal guides walks you through the major parts of a dependency case in Washington State.
1
Grounds for Dependency
Anyone can file a dependency petition. However, the petitioner will also have the responsibility of ensuring that court-ordered services are made available to the parents. Thus the State (Child Protective Services, Division of Social and Health Services) is almost always the petitioner.
The dependency petition has to allege the factual basis for seeking dependency. The legal grounds are: 1. Abandonment, 2. Abuse or neglect by a person legally responsible for the care of the child, or 3. The child has no parent, guardian or custodian capable of adequately caring for the child such that the child is in circumstances which constitute a danger of substantial damage to the child's psychological or physical development.
2
Shelter Care
The first court appearance is at Shelter Care. A shelter care hearing must be held within 72 hours of removal (except for weekends and holidays). The legal standard is "reasonable cause" to keep the children out of the home. The issue at shelter care is whether the children can be returned home immediately. If paternity has not been established, then that parent has no chance of placement until paternity is established. Hearsay is allowed at shelter care, the Rules of Evidence do not apply, and parents will be under oath when testifying. Parents can waive shelter care, which can be advantageous if there's a lot of evidence or there's efforts parents are making to get their children back. Waiving shelter care does not mean that the parent agrees with the allegations. Often it is the parent waiting for fact-finding to put on a stronger case. If a parent wants a contested case, the hearing may be on a different day. The case only has to be addressed in 72 hours.
3
Case Conference
A meeting must be held within 30 days of removal of children. This meeting, called a case conference, is an opportunity for the parents, DSHS, the guardian ad litem, and others to meet and discuss what services DSHS wants to see in place. Parents can agree to do services if they wish. However, until the dependency petition is granted or denied by a court, everything the parent says and does can be used by DSHS in the dependency trial.
4
First-Set Fact-Finding
Many jurisdictions have a court appearance called a "first-set fact-finding." It is a requirement from the court that all the players come together at court to determine if the case is going to go to trial. The court does not address the underlying issues or services. In many cases, the parties are able to reach an agreement at this stage and strike the trial. At any point, the parents may agree to dependency. Often a parent will enter into an agreed order if they are allowed to comment on the underlying allegations. For many parents, this chance to set the record straight is all they wanted in the first place. Doing classes and assessments is acceptable to them, they simply resisted being mischaracterized by DSHS.
Whether by agreement or after a trial, a child can be placed in foster care, with relatives, or in-home with the parents under a dependency order.
5
Fact-Finding Trial
If the parties haven't reached an agreement, then the matter goes to trial. The trial is only before a judge, there's no jury trials in dependency. The legal standard is "preponderance of the evidence." The Rules of Evidence apply. This is the opportunity for the parents to contest the actual allegations against them. Experts may testify as well as any other person involved in caring for the child to this point. The court may grant the petition as is, grant the petition but limit the legal basis (i.e., deny the "abuse/neglect" ground, but allow the "no suitable parent" ground), or dismiss the petition altogether.
If the court grants the dependency petition, there must be a dispositional hearing within 14 days. Usually it is done immediately following the trial. The services ordered by the court must be made available to the parent and be designed to help correct the parental deficiencies that brought the child into care in the first place.
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