Marie Joanna Taraska

My wife and I are parents to a special needs child. We have a long history of partnering with the administrators in the school district and the special education teachers at the school. Despite this an inexperienced teacher, with little knowledge of the history, filed a DCFS report on us over a sto...ry our child told. Although the school district and the experienced teachers supported my wife and I, as required by law, we would have to go through a full DCFS investigation. A friend with knowledge of the DCFS pointed us in the direction of Marie Taraska, whom we hired after an initial consultation. Maire walked us through the entire DCFS process and was there for us from start to finish. Marie’s knowledge of the DCFS law and her experience working in the system not only gave confidence that our case would be resolved positively but also reaffirmed our belief in ourselves as parents. With Marie’s help our case was unfounded in short order. If you find yourself in our situation and facing a DCFS investigation, I highly recommend Marie Taraska. Do not have a friend who happens to be lawyer represent you and do not hire someone who doesn’t specialize in DCFS law. The DCFS is its own entity with its own rules and only a lawyer who knows this system like Marie can work fast and effectively to clear your name and put the matter behind you.

Last April I worked for a school district in the south suburbs and was assigned as a monitor for a special needs child. To no fault of her own, the child was combative and had a flight response and would stop at nothing to get out of her seat belts while the bus was moving. While trying to keep her i...n her safety restraints, I was falsely accused of slapping the child. Naturally, I was terrified and felt helpless. I hired Marie to represent me through the criminal investigation. She was outstanding in her handling of the situation. Her instincts as a former prosecutor helped her to understand the minds of the people who were trying to form a case against me. She used her former experience to guide me every step of the way. After 4 long months I have been 100% exhonerated from any wrong doing. I can not say enough how much Marie's expertise got me through this nightmare.

Imagine my surprise when I get a call from DCFS saying they have just interviewed my children while they are at camp/school on false charges that I didn't supervise my daughter at the park one day a few weeks prior! We all have room to improve but I consider myself a very dedicated Mom who always wo...rks hard to keep her kids safe, happy, and healthy. So this claim came as a huge shock to me and resulted in one of the hardest 9 months of my life. I was in the middle of a divorce and my divorce lawyer recommended Marie. I am forever grateful that she did! Marie took charge immediately and helped take the load off my shoulders. She is caring, dedicated, knowledgeable, and experienced- about DCFS procedures in particular. That helped me calm down (because I was beyond hysterical) and focus on the task at hand - clearing my name and helping my kids understand the situation (they were and still are frightened by the thought that any random stranger can call DCFS and made false claims). Marie always let me have input in the process at every step along the way. She believed in my innocence. In court, it was immediately clear how much more prepared and skillful Marie was than the DCFS lawyer. When Marie’s cross-examined the one witness (the accuser didn't even show up to testify!), she just destroyed their testimony and proved that they were jumping to conclusions. In the end, my expungement was granted! I can never say enough praise about Marie!