The caseworker has sixty days to investigate the charges against you. Whatever happens later-whether the kids come back the next week, or in six months, or don’t come back at all-that moment can never be undone. And, after your children see that you are powerless to protect them, this will permanently change things between you. Your children may hear accusations against you-you’re using drugs, your apartment is filthy, you fail to get them to school, you hit them-and even if they don’t believe these things they will remember. It is terrifying for them to be taken from their home by a stranger, but this experience has repercussions far beyond the terror of that night. If the caseworker believes your kids are in imminent danger, she may take them. People know that a call to the hotline is an easy way to blow up your life. But it could also have been a neighbor who heard yelling, or an ex-boyfriend who wants to get back at you, or someone who thinks you drink too much or simply doesn’t like you. If your child has been hurt, his teacher or doctor may have called the state child-abuse hotline, not wanting to assume, as she might in a richer neighborhood, that it was an accident. She has to consider the possibility that you may be hurting your kids, that you may even kill one of them.
If you get angry, your anger may be taken as a sign of mental instability, especially if the caseworker herself feels threatened. You can tell her the charges are not true, but she’s required to investigate them anyway. However disrespectful and invasive she is, whatever awful things she accuses you of, you must remember that child protection has the power to remove your kids at any time if it believes them to be in danger. You must be as calm and deferential as possible. She looks around for unsafe conditions, for dirt, for mess, for bugs or rats. She opens your fridge and your cabinets, checking to see if you have food, and what kind of food. She will interview you and your kids separately, so you can’t hear what she’s asking them or what they’re saying. She will tell you to wake them up and tell them to take clothes off so she can check their bodies for bruises and marks. The caseworker will tell you you’re being investigated for abusing or neglecting your children. You don’t have to open it, but if you don’t the caseworker outside may come back with the police. You will hear a knock on the door, often late at night. What should you do if child-protective services comes to your house?
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