r/CPS

What happens if mom tested positive for meth after delivery and had no prenatal care but is sober at hospital has diaper bag and essentials and support system . And also what happens if she is negative but they decide to test babies poop and it shows meth exposure. And the mom also had a vyvanse prescription the whole time she was prescribed. And will they make her do inpatient or outpatient. And can she refuse to talk to social worker until seeking legal counsel? And if she denies any willingly illicit drug use to her knowledge....?

For some background, my toddler is developmentally delayed and autistic, with limited vocabulary. I share long distance, interstate custody with my coparent (Dad), so this means our child spends the holidays and summers in his state, with his wife and child. Last year, our child came back from a visit with bruises on her inner upper thigh, close to her diaper. When I pointed this out, he stated it must have been from holding her wrong while carrying her in the airport. I did take photos because I found it suspicious, but unfortunately didn't think to take her to the doctor. This last Christmas, our kid was taken to the emergency room with nurse's elbow injury. (My ex didn't inform me, I just happened to see the the claim on the insurance portal.). Apparently, he told the doctors it was caused by his mother (Grandma) pulling on her arm when she was trying to get her to nap. Doctors didn't report them to CPS.

Now for some extra concerning issue: my ex is currently divorcing his wife. His attorney stated that his wife is volatile, has destroyed their property, and ripped up photos of our daughter. (His wife has always resented our child existing, and it's because my ex hid that we had a child when they initially met and dated.). Now I'm concerned that our daughter experienced domestic violence in their home. Is it too late to report the prior injuries?

(His wife has since moved out of state, but since our kids attend the same daycare, I worry that she still has access to our child during times that she flies back to do their own separate custody exchanges. She also gets information from a parent portal.).

So we had our babies at home with a certified nurse midwife, who is also an RN. She did all the initial check ups on our babies. Our oldest did start vaccines and go to a pediatrician a few times before they kicked us out because we wanted to slow the vaccine schedule and educate ourselves on each one first before deciding. We’re not antivax, just don’t think an infant needs 85 vaccines.

Our daughter was born and then the pandemic hit. So she has really never seen a doctor. We fell on really hard financial times and so yeah, just it never happened. We don’t have insurance and checkups just fell behind.

Now, to be clear, they’ve never needed to go to a doctor. The only times they’ve ever needed medical intervention was actually mouth related and we went to a dentist for those things. They’ve never been injured and they’ve never had a sickness worse than a cold that lasted 2-4 days.

Well finally I got us out of the financial hole and I really want to get my kids into regular check ups and all of that but I’m terrified when we go and we’re like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “sorry these are it for our records, sorry we were poor and could only accommodate emergencies” that they’re going to call CPS on us.

So yeah my son is 7 and stopped going for check ups at 2 and my daughter is 6 and has literally never been inside a doctors office.

Again, if they had ever needed it I would’ve broken my back to make it happen. But they’re just ridiculously healthy. They get sick very seldomly. Very robust kids. They eat lots of food and are healthy.

I have ocd so my brain is struggling with this

I’m in Ohio, I’ve been working a case plan for over a year now to get my son back. There’s been a lot of bumps in the road with stable housing and such as I’m still pretty young but I have it all figured it now. My son was taken into temporary state custody in May of last year due to my own mental health issues which have since been resolved. I found myself pregnant again, expecting the arrival of new baby this week. I have stable housing, savings for when I’m not working, I’m currently single and have nothing bad going on in my life for the past year. I was told today that my newborn will be taken from me at the hospital and when asked under what grounds, my case worker told me that it is law/rule that since my son is in temporary state custody that is mandatory my newborn be taken too. She told me outright that there are zero other concerns, that we have resolved every concern they had in the beginning but I will not be able to have my newborn due to being in a case already. Is this true? I looked it up and saw that it’s supposedly not a thing but I figured I’d get on here to ask. They say that since both children are dependent that if one isn’t in my care then the other can’t be either. Even though I get almost daily unsupervised home visits and am nearing the end of my case. They have zero other concerns. Any advise? Also my attorney sucks

I'm a social worker in a different state there's a child content creator on Instagram posting getting bitten by snakes for followers and no one is doing anything. I can't sit by and watch this child get hurt. Does anyone know the child abuse report requirements? I plan on making a report online due to being mandated.

I’m trying to understand a CPS situation involving a former close friend and could use insight from people familiar with the system.

About 1-2 months ago, my friend called me panicking and said her mom and brother had called CPS on her and made false accusations. She insisted the allegations weren’t true, but honestly the story was very confusing and hard to follow.

One thing that really confused me was that her brother apparently works for CPS, and she claimed he somehow became involved in her case and safety plan. She also claimed her drug tests were being tampered with because the worker administering them knew her brother. I genuinely do not know what to believe.

We had a falling out about 2 weeks ago and have not been speaking. I also live in another state and haven’t seen her in person in many years.

This morning I received a call and text from someone at the Department of Children and Families asking questions about her. I responded that we are no longer close and I don’t have current information about her life.

A few hours later, my former friend contacted me saying her child had been removed the night before. She claimed her mother and brother refused to follow the safety plan and gave several explanations that honestly didn’t make much sense to me.

I’m struggling because I still think of her as my childhood best friend, but at the same time she’s nearing 40 and some of her recent behavior has seemed very erratic and disconnected from reality.

My questions are:

• If CPS says they are “looking for placement” for a child, does that usually mean the child has already been removed, or can it mean they are preparing for possible removal?
• If a child is removed, where are they usually taken initially?
• Is it legal/ethical for a family member who works for CPS to be directly involved in a relative’s case or safety plan?
• How common is it for parents in these situations to believe everyone is conspiring against them or tampering with drug tests?

I’m not trying to attack her. I’m just trying to understand what’s realistic versus what may be distorted.

Hey everyone, we have two beautiful babies, a 17m old and a 5 month old, and during last year before our second was born we had a case opened against us due to “failure to thrive” for our eldest. It was an open and close case, cause our eldest had a hard time packing on pounds but was reaching every single milestone, still growing in height/head circumference and was happy all the time but was stuck at a blunt 12/13lbs for around 4 months even with the assistance of supplementation and eating solids and snacks. The pediatrician had reported us for not showing up to an appointment after shoving the idea of formula down our throats and calling my breast milk worthless, she ended up telling CPS that we never fed our eldest anything and that we were starving her which was NOT the case at all, we were never against the idea of it though and she would only take the formula through the mixing of cereal and purées but clearly it didn’t do much and now our eldest is at a normal weight and height for their current age. The case worker came and told us that it was crazy that we had anything opened on us, cause we clearly were feeding her and she was given breast milk and meals everyday. It only took around the month for the whole process and all we had to do was take her to our local children’s hospital for a physical and they gave the all clear. Flash forward to now, our youngest is following the exact trend of their sibling, low on the weight scale, not dropping any weight but extremely slow at gaining, and we have now completely moved to a different state with a new Pediatrician who wants to open a case on us for malnutrition and failure to thrive, but despite us having the records as their sibling and explaining that our babies are just on the smaller end of the scale the Ped regardless wants to report us and it’s exhausting. We have scheduled a new appointment with a different Pediatric office to get a second opinion, and one that supports the usage of breast milk. But if we do not go back to the one Pediatrician who wants us to force feed him with a bottle (which he does not take,) and also expects a 5 month old to gain 3lbs in a 2 week time period that we’ll be reported and it’s so crazy cause we’ve already done this once before and it’s happening again. I love my babies, I wouldn’t ever do anything to harm them and I’ve even started solids to try to assist with his weight gain but I really am at a loss of words with what to do. We live in a safe space, our house has a ton of food, and I breastfeed my baby like clock work. Had anyone else gone through this before?

I (38f) am in a really tough spot right now and just need a safe place to vent, get advice, or hear from anyone who has survived something similar.

I have a 10-month-old baby girl and I am currently 32 weeks pregnant with my son. I have been trying to find pathways to get a reliable, safe car so I can work, but my credit is ruined from a past marriage where my ex-husband's missed payments were documented under my name.

The hardest part is that I am working through a case with CPS right now. To be clear, I have been 100% clean and sober since November 3rd, 2025. (Four days after I got clean, I found out I was pregnant with my son). CPS originally became involved because of a relapse after my daughter was born, but right now the pressure is because I am struggling to find work. It is largely because I don't have a safe vehicle to transport two babies under the age of one, and it is incredibly difficult to find anyone willing to hire a woman who is 8 months pregnant.

I am so terrified that CPS is going to use my current lack of employment and transportation hurdles as an excuse to keep my daughter away from me or give her to someone else. I just need someone to point me in the right direction of programs, non-profits, or consumer resources that can help.

I have 8 weeks left before my son gets here. I am 100% not ready, and I have absolutely nothing for him yet. This isn't my first rock bottom, and I know I have the strength to pull myself out of this because I’ve done it before. It’s just not happening fast enough, and the clock is ticking.

I just want to protect my babies. There has to be structural assistance or community programs out there for situations similar to mine. I am fully prepared to work from sunup to sundown, I just don't really know where to look. I was hoping someone on here could share some known organizational resources or advice on how to navigate this specific barrier with a caseworker. I just want the chance to give my babies the life I never had.

Location: Oklahoma

To keep things short, my husband and I were referred to CPS before we even brought our newborn home from the NICU due to allegations that were false (a nurse suspected domestic violence toward me). We had two home visits, and in the second the case worker said to us "after we're done here we'll be gone". So we assumed the case was closed.

Then we see that they referred us to a program where someone comes into your house for 2-3 hours every. single. week... and teaches you how to "bond with your kid" etc. because we have mental health issues (which we are already getting treatment for in therapy, and they know that).

And by the way this wasn't part of something we signed, they just texted us and told us they referred us. Then we get a call from the program asking us if we'd like to join it, very much making it sound optional.

So, I mean, is it actually optional or is it going to be one of those things you can technically not do but will look really really bad for your case?

It was the worst when I was little.

I remember I had an unrestricted phone when I was five. My mom, who I'd wrather call my legal guardian for the rest of this, always used screens to babysit me. I've logged over 6k hours on my PlayStations alone, and that's just being generous. 16M by the way.

Also, she always would hit me in the face when I made her mad. I remember being in the drive through of a fast food place, i said somthing she didn't like, and she backhanded me square in the face like always. Usually closer to the eyes/cheeks.

Then she turns up the radio so she doesn't have to hear me crying.

I could go on and on about horror stories like her chipping my tooth when I was probably 8, or her never ending screaming and manipulation. My childhood dog even used to bite her when we'd "play fight" it was never really fun for me, but it made me happy that he protected me. He did a good job in the real thing aswell.

The physical abuse only stopped when I finally fought back; Weird feeling to need to hit your own mother out of self defense.

Did I mention she's a raging alchoholic? And not a fun drunk either.

The emotional abuse never ended. She always yells or raises her voice. I hate it so much that part drives me insane. Now I do really anything I can to get out of the house, and be away from her.

My poor nana too. She's always had to be in the middle of us. Bio Dad was never in my life because my mom cheated on the person who actually wanted a kid with her; brave soul he is.

The main point:

I finally called CPS awhile back. Never did sooner because my legal guardian always told me they'd take me away, and the new family wouldn't let me play videogames all day at their house. Some social worker shows up, offers family counseling, and closes the case. Family counseling sucked.

Now a bit after that happened, I got into a really rough patch mentally. I mean really rough. Easily the darkest spot of my life, for about 6 months straight. I'm better now, but still rattled. And my legal guardian never makes anything better. On a recent 988 call, I said some stuff about her that crossed into "mandated reporter" category. Same dude is back, and says all he can do for us is family therapy.

What else can I do? She won't do counseling willingly. I really want her to go into an IOP program, but that's probably not much more than a hope. Or AA. Just do some work on her self. She sucks when she drinks, and that's half the time. Like goddamn Jim Lahey.

TL:DR:

Mom sucks

CPS/welfare only offers family therapy

Really looking for other options that don't require her to actually want to get better, she's gotta be forced.

Thanks for your time!!

Hi everyone. I could really use some outside perspective on something that happened recently at a large convention where I had a small wedding themed photobooth stand.

People could come by and take photos if they wanted to, mostly couples, but everyone was welcome. At one point, a man who looked to be in his 40s came over with a little girl who was probably around 10 to 12 years old. He asked if they could take some photos together.

I explained that the photos would later be uploaded to a private online gallery that only visitors with an access card could enter, and that I generally do not post pictures of children on social media. He said that was fine.

I then casually asked the girl if he was her dad. Both of them hesitated and seemed visibly uncomfortable with the question before he answered that she was the daughter of a friend. That was the first moment where the situation started to feel genuinely strange to me.

They sat down together for the photos, but the girl seemed extremely shy and withdrawn. I often work with children and usually try to make them laugh and feel comfortable, so I handed her a soft foam prop shaped like a club as a joke and told her with a smile that if he had ever annoyed her, now was her chance to get revenge. Usually that kind of thing gets funny reactions and relaxed photos.

She started laughing and clearly enjoyed that moment, but she only pretended to bop him lightly with the foam prop. He joined in, but he seemed oddly uncomfortable with it. What stood out to me most was that whenever the camera was up, she smiled. But the moment the camera went down, her entire expression changed and she looked sad again.

They left, but I immediately had a strange feeling about the whole interaction.

I mentioned it to the other people at our booth, and even they independently said that something about the situation felt off. Before we could really discuss it further, the man suddenly came back and asked if they could take one more picture together, specifically one where he held her in his arms.

I looked directly at the girl and asked if she wanted that too. She avoided eye contact and gave a very unconvincing “yes.” Before I could really process anything, he had already pulled her close and placed his arm around her waist. Not her shoulders. Her waist.

Again, she smiled for the camera, but outside of the photo she still seemed distant and uncomfortable around him.

At that point, my gut feeling became much stronger. I know this is a serious thing to suspect, and I fully understand that men should not automatically be viewed suspiciously around children. But it was not just one thing. It was the combination of her body language, how withdrawn she seemed, the way he posed with her, and the overall atmosphere of the interaction.

One of my friends who works in childcare later told me he personally would never hold a child like that for a photo either. Even one coworker who had only seen the situation from a distance said it felt strange to her, even before she knew he was apparently not related to the girl.

After discussing it for a while, I decided to call the number that the convention had specifically provided for reporting harassment or possible sexual misconduct concerns.

Security arrived fairly quickly. They looked through the photos I had taken and documented them. One guard said the situation did seem concerning to her, while another reminded me that this was obviously a very serious suspicion and that they had to be careful.

In the end, they decided to forward the information and send someone to discreetly observe the pair around the convention. They told us that if they noticed additional concerning behavior, they would take further action.

Honestly, the response from security reassured me somewhat, because they also felt the situation was serious enough to at least monitor further. However, we never heard anything afterward, so I have no idea whether anything else came of it.

I will not upload the photos to the gallery. Part of me almost hopes he contacts me asking for them, because if he does, I plan to explain that since he is not the child’s parent, I would need direct parental permission before sharing any images of her.

What I keep struggling with is this:

If I do end up speaking with her parents, would it be appropriate to explain why the interaction concerned me and why I contacted security? Or would that be crossing a line based only on instinct and observation?

Was contacting security based mostly on instinct and body language an overreaction?

I genuinely do not want to falsely accuse anyone of something this serious based only on a gut feeling. At the same time, ignoring the situation entirely also felt irresponsible.

Did I handle this situation appropriately?

Would you have contacted security in this situation?

And if something similar ever happens again, what would be the best and most appropriate way to handle it professionally without making unfair assumptions?

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. I truly appreciate any honest insight or advice.

Sending love to all of you, and please take care. 🤍

This is a rant/question ! Uhm the Swiss cps was onto me since I was really young(8yo) starting with me telling my teachers that my parents can’t afford a table to eat at and that we have to eat on like those little tables that are the same height as chair seats idrk how to describe it but I hope someone gets what I mean! They bought a new table so I was grateful ab that but then 2 years later there was the corona virus and after the quarantine I stopped going to school and they put me into therapy, threatened me with sending me to the ward, literally requested for me to get put in a closed group home at 10-11yo but thank god they only exist for people 12+ and then in 2023 I got put into a psych ward involuntarily for school absence, latent suicidality and social anxiety nothing really happened there n they said that my problems weren’t as bad as the cps made it seem and let me out after the normal 4months but made me go to a boarding school which I skipped or ran away from almost all the time till they ultimately kicked me out, after that we went to turkey n my parents put me into a private school my dad stayed in Switzerland while me n my mom went to turkey to live with her mom and I couldn’t get my life in check there ultimately because of myself but my grandmother would also threaten to kill herself alot whenever something happened doesn’t matter how little and my mom would take her madness out on me (she’s also a gambling addict btw but she didn’t go in turkey so maybe that also has smth to do w it) and my school was fully in Turkish and I cannot speak Turkish.. so I again stopped going and everyone in the family was on my ass about it my brother came from Switzerland just so he can discipline me?(hes a NEET btw 26yo) with that I mean he beat me up so I went at the time he was there and then stopped and we went back to Switzerland and then they sent me to a closed ward/group home(we call it massnahmenvollzug here ) for a year and I ran away every single opportunity even if they didn’t give me my phone if there was a door slightly open that could lead to the front door id always take my chances so they again gave up n kicked me out till then I always believed when I could just live at home and go to school I could do it and the cps will leave me alone, I live at home and go to a job coaching school thing near the city 2 days a week to get my diploma in the summer and I need to know if they’ll leave me alone after I get my diploma or will they still stay till im 18? (im 15 rn) and my case workers pregnant so they’re gonna get someone else in her place in a month ? sorry if it’s a dumb question!!

Trigger Warning

My best friend is currently to dealing with CPS in Minnesota regarding child welfare after a big fight with her abusive boyfriend. He posted pics on Facebook showing scratch marks which were defensive wounds from my friend getting physically abused one night. A week later, he gets arrested for a DWI and CPS showed up the day after he was released. I know who called it in, he has her convinced it’s regarding his safety but I’ve tried explaining it to her without letting her know I was involved. She initially said CPS barred her bf from coming to the house or she could get in trouble for child endangerment (she has 3 kids from a previous marriage and an eleven month old with new bf). She said they had a plan to change the locks (never happened) and were going to get a no contact order but that also has not happened.

I’m an RN and told her I was a mandated reported and I would not risk losing my license over him. After this, the story changed and he was allowed to watch the baby as long as CPS knew the times before hand and now it’s changed to “they don’t care as long as he’s sober (bad alcoholic). I don’t know how truthful she’s being about any of it and she told me she’s been honest with him but made a weird comment the other night about how she’s “still protecting him and for what”. I have since moved in to help her with the baby and bills since he moved to a month to month hotel but she’s still staying the night with him and I’m concerned about her and that baby (ex husband threatened full custody if he were to come back home).

She had told me about an incident regarding her bf spanking their then 7 month old hard enough he bruised her bottom for simply “peeing too much in her diaper and getting her clothes wet”. He’s also attempted to restrict the babies food intake because he has a history with anorexia but he’s rarely with the baby alone and hasn’t had much say in her diet as far as I know and their daughter is definitely well fed.

At this point, I’m wondering if I can and should contact her specific case worker directly and ask about the bf restrictions to her property and inform them of the information I received. She said they already know about everything and she thinks the baby is safe as long as he’s sober but it’s obvious it was never about the alcohol at this point but I think she may still be trying to protect him. I can’t imagine a world where CPS would allow him to be around the kids and especially the baby. She apparently has a picture on her phone. What should I do in this situation?

I had a cps investigation open due to my.past but they are closing it because they didn't find any thing to take my son for but I got into a fight with my sister in law and because the kids were there in the house the cops gave us tickets and said they had to report it to CPS will that be a reason to take away my kid even though I wasn't the aggressor

so ill just cut right to the chase, (and its very long.) I’m 16 and the past couple years my family has been struggling with financial issues (since 2024) causing my us to lose our house car etc. i had to split from my mom, i went to a different city with my auntie, which was fine until she caught me with a weed pen, resulting her leaving my 14 year old self stranded in a McDonalds with everything I own in a foreign city.

I had taken a charger of hers on accident which caused her to lash out and attempt to fight me, tl;dr i got detained by the police and sent to a mental health facility for a day, which landed me at my grandmothers until a few days after my birthday in which we had a fight, and she kicked me out too. now im back with my mom, and we have a temporary house which by the end of this summer we will be kicked out and moved to the projects—so heres where my question comes into play, if I kill myself will CPS take my brother?

Sorry total curveball but why this question matters is because my mom just got him back this recent winter, and things have been okay, fights here and there but i genuinely cannot handle this anymore, and i dont wanna be selfish and jeopardize his situation just because of my own desire. his aunt currently has us on child support and my mom got him back legally which is why I‘m anxious if they take him, because if she loses him and if I die then she’ll most certainly spiral and I wouldnt want my death to be the possible cause of hers. sorry this was a dump, and very incoherrant.

My girlfriend had a drunk mental breakdown about how her grandma talked her out of college and she wants to help kids but it’s too late,she obviously wasn’t in the brightest mental state but I told her she should consider looking into community college and I would support her through it,are you able to be a cps worker through community college?

tldr: My bf’s son told people he was being abused, his mom has been taken away and now they’re investigating my bf. He is not being abused, but they believe so because of a messy house. It’s been 2 weeks of DHS after 1.5 months of CPS. What could be the possible issue?

Sorry if this is all over the place. I’m just really worried what’s gonna happen now. Also we’re currently doing long distance and I didn’t wanna stress him out even more so there are some details that I’m not sure of.

So my bf has a child from his previous relationship. He’s 8 years old and mostly stays with my bf. 2 months ago he told the school that his mom abuses him and asked if they could arrest her. (she has two more children from different relationships. I have never met the mom so i have no idea how she keeps her children, but I know the fact that she was an opioid addict, she’s done drugs when she had her children, and wasn’t allowed to see them for a while because of ongoing drug issues.) CPS was called and opened a case about her. They visited both houses and took the mom away from the child after a few weeks and multiple visits.

During the visits, they noticed that my bf’s house is messy and started to make it a big issue. Yes the house is messy, but it’s just random stuff all over the place. There is no food waste, dirt, trash, animal waste etc that you would see in a hoarder’s house. It is messy but not unsanitary. My bf lives with two sick elderly family members who cannot get up and clean. He works 12+ hours a day including the weekends so he can pay rent and bills and take care of everyone. The child’s room is clean. He has access to enough food, has clean clothes, and most importantly is loved and cared for.

Shortly after the mom was taken away, the child told people that my bf “makes him wanna die” because he told him to tidy his room. This is NOT true. My bf is afraid to even slightly raise his voice at him since last time the mom did that to him he told people he was being abused. CPS workers believed that my bf is abusing him. He did multiple clean outs ever since this whole thing has started, so the initial problem(a messy house) is gone. But they kept visiting his house and questioned him for hours almost every day for like a month.

While all this has been going on, the child keeps misbehaving in school and the school keeps calling my bf in. Apparently he fell asleep in class one day, and the other day the teacher told him to focus on his work and he called her “rude”. I don’t understand but the school thinks it’s some kind of evidence that my bf is abusing him.

Now DHS has been called and been questioning my bf. Cops are escorting him in and out of the house. He told me he’s on the verge of getting charged. WITH WHAT?? I’m so frustrated because they won’t listen to him at all and try so hard to catch one bad thing to make it a huge issue. We were planning to move to a close state in July and live there for a short while. This cannot be cancelled.

I understand that teachers are mandatory reporters and they’re responsible for protecting children. But can’t CPS/DHS workers separate exaggerated or false claims from real abuse cases? This has been going on for 2 whole months and doesn’t seem to stop. My bf does everything for that child and is still getting framed as an abuser. He’s having serious GI issues and been puking blood daily due to extreme stress it’s causing. I’m worried to death. He gets questioned for hours every day with DHS and cops present and has to work 12 hours afterwards. This seems very unfair. What do we do?

Case worker stated it was due to “past history” and case dynamics. The accused has 3 prior CPS cases but all ruled out.

What does moderate risk or level 3 mean? Like is there any actual effect on future cases?

I never thought I'd be making this post after all I work with CPS agents everyday. I recently started a new job and with my son being 11 years old I decided to let him stay home alone. He lost his key and was locked out .Well he told an adult "mom works all the time (I do) and it feels like I live alone." This woman called CPS an agent came to my son's school to question him and their doing a walk through of my home on Monday while my son is on school. Am I losing my son on Monday? Btw my home is 100% safe