People often contact me right after they have been accused of abuse. In most cases their children have been detained by the their county’s child protective service. They ask many questions. Some are in denial. Some freely admit. I always describe to them the process of how the dependency court system works. 

I also tell them that the Dependency court will not formally order them to sign up for classes or programs until after their case has come to a resolution. This can be many months later.

There are two important reasons why a parent should sign up for classes or programs right away.

One reason is that there are time limits for a parent to reunify with their child. The exact time varies with the age of the child involved. The trial or resolution can take a while to take place. This delay does not extend the time limits I mentioned. If a parent waits, it could be too short of a time period for a parent to reunify with their child.

Lastly, to find neglectful conduct, the court must find that a parent must have caused the child the harm to their child. However, the court needs to also find that the child is at substantial risk of future harm at the time of the trial. That is the court must find that the past physical harm will reoccur in he future. Although evidence of past harm can be some evidence but the court needs present evidence.

In fact, a parent who recognizes the inappropriateness of their actions and who takes voluntary positive steps to correct them can be evidence that there is no risk of harm at the time of the trial. This could then result in the court not finding abuse and he return of the child.

The moral is that a parent should enroll in classes and programs as soon as possible for these reasons and more.

If you have been accused of abuse by your local child protective services department and would like to discuss your rights and options feel free to contact Attorney Bradley Hochberg at the Law Offices of Bradley Hochberg with Offices of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills at www.bradleyhochberglaw.com or bdhesq@pacbell.net or (323) 722-8007