If your child is taken away from you and out of your home because of abuse or neglect or you are being faced with a juvenile dependency case, a juvenile dependency lawyer can represent you in court. Juvenile dependency lawyers represent parents and help them get their children back from protective custody.
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Juvenile Dependency Lawyers. Juvenile dependency lawyers can represent parents that may be facing the harsh possibility of losing their children. If you are accused of neglect, abuse or abandonment, and have had your child taken away from you and put into protective custody, a juvenile dependency lawyer can help you. An experienced attorney can represent you in court …
One of the most important things that you can do is to retain an experienced juvenile dependency attorney early on in the process. This way your attorney has all of the relevant information and can fight zealously to have your child returned to your care. All available resources should be investigated when it comes to a juvenile dependency matter.
Top Ten Things You Should Know About Your Juvenile Dependency Case. 1. Yes They Can Do That! 2. How To Talk To Social Workers. 3. Get Help From Your Family And Friends. 4. …
· One of the best ways to handle the difficult client is to anticipate the problems and attempt to deal with them at the beginning of the relationship, according to Robert W. Denney, a law-firm management consultant and the president of Wayne-based Robert Denney Associates, Inc. He says, for instance, that a lawyer should ask a client what the ...
This is one of the reasons why you need an attorney. An attorney can help you get your own evidence and experts in place instead of relying on the social workers. {C} c. Sometimes, as part of the trial strategy, attorney will ask you to attend classes.
CPS agents are not above lying to you to prove your guilt. Instead, work with your private CPS defense attorney to find the professional help you might need (make sure that such program is court-approved). If you do not admit guilt, you can then later present issues to the court to keep your kids under your roof or to get your kids returned to you when appropriate.
Instead of telling the social worker that you are not going to speak to them at all, tell them that you want to have your attorney be present while you talk to them. The social workers are going to try to manipulate you into talking with them without the benefit of an experience juvenile dependency attorney.
Remember, by allowing the social worker in your house, you are waiving your constitutional protection. If the social worker wants to take your kids from you, he or she will find something in your home to support the removal of your child. The social worker may try to trick or threaten you to get an access to your home.
The lawyer will take care of that. If the social worker asks you about the allegations against me, don’t try to defend me – tell the truth.”. The truth is that unless your family member or a friend were right there when the alleged abuse happened they do not have any personal knowledge about the allegations.
It is more complicated with juvenile dependency because juvenile dependency is not a criminal matter! That’s right. They can take your kids away permanently, but they do not have to give you the same rights they give you if they try to put you away in jail or prison. {C} b.
You cannot avoid communicating with the social workers completely, but you should limit your communications in writing. Let me give you just one example of why you cannot avoid talking to the social workers completely – visitation. The social workers know where your child is and you probably do not.
The lawyer may be able to cure a misunderstanding and staff the case as proposed. If necessary, the lawyer might be able to tell the client that the client’s view is unfortunate but that there is someone else at the firm who can handle the matter. If that will not work, the lawyer can refer the client to some other law firm.
What if a lawyer takes none of these steps and simply sends a bill, to which the client objects? The lawyer should not fight with the client, but should speak with him or her and offer to look at the bill again. After doing so, the lawyer can contact the client again and say that it looks fine, but ask what the client thinks is right. At that point, the lawyer can negotiate the bill or take other appropriate action.
A discussion of billing at the intake stage can also help avoid bill problems later. At the beginning of the relationship, Denney says, a lawyer should tell the client what the lawyer’s fee, or estimated fee, will be. The lawyer also should explain how often the client will be billed and when the lawyer expects those bills to be paid.
Lawyers should focus on the issue of dealing with a difficult client at the intake stage of the relationship. They should analyze the risks they may be running by agreeing to represent a difficult client - if the client has had four different lawyers on the same matter over the preceding eight months, the new lawyer may want to refuse to represent the client.
Difficult clients, in other words, are the clients who not only put themselves first (from a practice-development perspective, lawyers probably should put clients first, too), but who think only of themselves (which is an unpleasant extreme).
Of course, it is not easy for lawyers to turn away business, especially when their cash flow is suffering and clients are not exactly knocking down the office door.
In certain cases, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to resign from representation, at least without court approval. Addis says lawyers should carefully think about staffing issues for a difficult client.
If you are facing an Orange County child dependency case, it is important to retain the services of an experienced family law attorney rather than let the court appoint a lawyer for you.
When your children are taken from you, this will likely be one of the most stressful periods in your life. You should immediately consult with a private law firm that has experience in handing juvenile dependency matters. An experienced child dependency lawyer can go over all of the facts of your case with you.
Paul Wallin is the senior managing partner at Wallin & Klarich. With over thirty years of experience handling many types of criminal defense cases, Paul Wallin has a tremendous amount of knowledge when advocating for his client´s rights.
If you have an emergency Juvenile Dependency hearing with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), or your County’s Child Protective Services (CPS) agency, attorney Vincent W. Davis & Associates will prepare the necessary legal paperwork and be ready to help you on very short notice. Vincent or one of his associate attorneys are in multiple Juvenile Dependency Courts from san Diego to Santa Barbara on a daily basis. Remember, there are very strict time limits that you must meet in order to take advantage of all legal opportunities for regaining custody of your child/children.
Mr. Davis acted as both trial and appellate counsel in the published cases of: Marriage of David and Martha M., (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 96 and Papakosmas v. Papakosmas, (2007) 483 F.3d 617.
Managed the daily functioning of the law firm.
2011-2013 Created and implemented a legal training program for probation officers with a juvenile delinquency assignment.
In 2009, Ms. Iankoulova received her Juris Doctorate from Western State University, College of Law in Fullerton, California. Ms. Iankoulova was admitted to the California State Bar in December, 2009 and has practiced in the areas of criminal law, civil litigation, and family law since then.
Defeat? Sorry, but yes, that is the truth of being nothing more than a number in the bureaucracy of the very specialized Juvenile Dependency Courts! Unfortunately, once taken, you might not see your kids returned in a full year — or ever .
Dependency lawyers are helpful in cases that involve minors that have been abused, neglected, or abused. In cases such as these, Child Protective Services (CPS) could allege that a child is being abused or mishandled by the parents, ...
Common sense things such as abusing your child, willingly being neglectful towards the child to the point where they are harmed, or forcing emotional harm. Some less known reasons are if a child has been abused by another person while the parent had known about it, or allowing the child to be sexually abused. Any one of these reasons could have the child being collected by CPS and being placed as a dependent of the court.
The first step would involve CPS taking the children away from the home they have deemed inadequate. The court could request that the children are sent to relatives, foster homes, or have child custody and visitation rights cut in half. This would happen immediately after the court and CPS have deemed that the child fits the criteria of being abused and must be removed from the property. A CPS worker could come into the home and give the parents 48 hours to fight with the courts. To regain custody of the children, the parts must go thru a long and complex court process. This is when a parent would need to hire a dependency lawyer.
Some less known reasons are if a child has been abused by another person while the parent had known about it, or allowing the child to be sexually abused . Any one of these reasons could have the child being collected by CPS and being placed as a dependent of the court.
A: If a parent decides that their child would be better off with a relative, they would need to discuss this with their social worker. The social workers would look into the relatives that would be taking care of the children and deem whether or not the children would be safe there.
A: Sadly, there is a chance a parent could lose full custody of their child if the court has decided that the parent cannot provide a safe environment. This would be a difficult decision to come to, as the court process is long and complex, a parent would have ample opportunities to fight the court system to at least gain some custody.
The law does require some professions to be mandated reporters. These people include teachers, doctors, and other people who work directly with children. These people are mandated to report child abuse even if they just suspect that there is child abuse taking place.
Attorneys charged with the duty of representing foster children in the juvenile court system have a tremendous responsibility. It is important for all child advocates to be familiar with Welfare and Institutions Code Section 317 (e), which lays out the roles and responsibilities of attorneys charged with the representation of a child in foster care:
If you would like to contact the presiding judge of your juvenile court and report a problem that you are having with your lawyer, download and fill out the “ Request for Assistance with Court Appointed Attorney ” form and send it to the juvenile court presiding judge in your county. You may also download instructions for completing the form and a directory of mailing addresses for all juvenile court presiding judges in California.
If the court finds that a nonminor dependent is not competent to direct counsel, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the nonminor dependent. (2) If the child is four years of age or older, counsel shall interview the child to determine the child's wishes and assess the child's well-being, and shall advise the court of the child's wishes.
Another recourse if you encounter problems with your attorney is you can contact the State Bar of California' Chief Trial Counsel and file a complaint for any unethical professional conduct. For more information, please click here.
Attorneys or their agents are expected to meet regularly with clients, including clients who are children, regardless of the age of the child or the child's ability to communicate verbally, to contact social workers and other professionals associated with the client's case, to work with other counsel and the court to resolve disputed aspects of a case without contested hearing, and to adhere to the mandated timelines . The attorney for the child must have sufficient contact with the child to establish and maintain an adequate and professional attorney-client relationship. The attorney for the child is not required to assume the responsibilities of a social worker and is not expected to perform services for the child that are unrelated to the child's legal representation.#N#Calfornia Rule of Court 5.660 (d) (4)
As soon as the county case worker (or the agency) makes a decision with respect to a placement or a change in placement of a dependent child, there is an obligation for that case worker/agency to notify the child's attorney PRIOR to the change . The minor's counsel shall be provided with the child's new address, telephone number and name of the caregiver. If the requisite notice cannot be provided to minor's counsel prior to the placement change, the notification shall be provided no later than the close of the following business day. Welfare and Institutions Code §16010.6 (a)
If there is going to be a placement change that results in separation of a sibling group that is currently placed together, the child's attorney and the child's siblings' attorney (if they attorney is not the same for the siblings) must be notified of the separation no less than 10 calendar days prior to the planned change of placement so that the attorney (s) may investigate the circumstances of the proposed separation. If the intended separation is due to seven days notice given by a foster family agency, group home, or other foster care provider, the case worker/agency must provide notice to the attorney (s) by the end of the next business day after receipt of seven days notice from the provider. If exigent circumstances exist, the case worker/agency shall provide notice as soon as possible, but no later than the close of the first business day following the change of placement. Welfare and Institutions Code §16010.6 (c)