Location: Corvallis, OR
Yesterday a CPS worker came and removed my 5-month-old niece (she’s breastfed). The worker told us we could work something out regarding visitation, and that as long as mom’s drug test came back negative, mom would get the baby back.
Today, the worker called mom and said the baby was in the ER because “she wasn’t eating” and that they believed she might be going through drug withdrawals. This doesn’t make sense to me — the baby eats fine with me and with mom, and mom is sober. It feels more like separation distress (“mommy withdrawals”) than anything medical.
After learning the baby was hospitalized, I texted the worker to ask if I could see her and also requested the supervisor’s contact information. The worker replied: “we are done talking now.” She never gave me a number.
I’ll admit: I did send quite a few emotional maybe hostile texts out of frustration, asking her if she even went to school or studied babies, because I felt like even I (as a 17-year-old) knew better. I went to the hospital with mom to drop off breast milk. The worker was outside and told me I would no longer be allowed to contact her, and said she blocked my number.
I’m concerned because:
• She may be misrepresenting the baby’s health.
• She refused to provide her supervisor’s contact information. (I have it anyway)
• I don’t know the proper steps to advocate for my niece or get updates.
My questions are:
1. Is there a formal way for family (including me as the aunt) to request updates or visitation rights?
2. Should I be documenting these interactions, and if so, what’s the best method?
3. Is there an official complaint process for CPS/DHS workers who refuse to provide supervisor information or block communication?
Background: this is the same CPS worker who ignored me when as a child reported being in a toxic and unsafe environment multiple times through elementary and middle school. Which makes me even more worried about her judgment and handling of my niece’s case because she clearly can’t do her job correctly. I also know another family she worked with where the kids definitely should’ve been placed in care or elsewhere for their own good and they were never taken away.
Should I drop her or her supervisors contact information?
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Comments
If the baby is in the hospital, she isn’t misrepresenting baby’s health – trust that an entire team of doctors and nurses are paying attention and giving your niece the proper medical attention. In order to remove your niece, she needed a court order, so this wasn’t done for no reason. Five month olds don’t stop eating due to “mommy withdrawals”.
If your texts were abusive, then it would make sense that she stopped communicating with you. There should be an upcoming court date you can attend (you can get that information from her supervisor) and you can wait to communicate with the longer term case manager if the case gets transferred instead of this CPS worker.
It sounds like you have a history with this worker, but just because you weren’t removed doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to do her job. The bar for removal is high and it’s not a decision she’s allowed to make, it’s a court ordered decision. I’m sorry you were in a bad environment growing up, she could have been trying to get you out or support but her hands may have been tied at the time – just wanting to offer a different perspective.
You’re a minor and are not the child’s parent, so your legal right to be involved in disputes involving the child’s care and custody is extremely limited. Odds are good that the only way you’re going to be receiving any further updates is through the child’s parents, if at all. It is, if anything, probably entirely appropriate that CPS cease communication with you; I might even suggest that they should never have involved you in the first place, other than, if necessary, to interview you about the child’s safety.
I respect your care and concern here, but you’re way out of your position on this. It would not be appropriate, legally or practically, for CPS to defer to a teenager on their concerns about your niece. You are going to have to make yourself comfortable with standing aside and letting your niece’s parents drive this process.
> Is there a formal way for family (including me as the aunt) to request updates or visitation rights?
You almost certainly can’t apply because you are a minor.
Your parents – the child’s grandparents – could apply to the courts for visitation. If they’ve been acting as the child’s de facto guardians, they may also be able to apply for guardianship, though the child’s parents might object and a court might not agree to it.
Your sibling can apply to challenge CPS’ decision to remove their child from their care, or to demonstrate that they have completed the safety plan and should not be denied contact.
> Is there an official complaint process for CPS/DHS workers who refuse to provide supervisor information or block communication?
The state has a lengthy list of ombudspeople responsible for overseeing various social services. They can field complaints. I would encourage you to keep your expectations in check: even if you are correct, a teenager deciding they know better than professional social workers is an extremely non-credible starting point. Every teenager thinks that, and most of them are wrong, so that’s the assumptions you’re up against.
Focus on describing the specifics of your complaint and less on the outcomes and you’ll probably get further.
As an aunt, you have no standing in a social services matter.
> Is there a formal way for family (including me as the aunt) to request updates or visitation rights?
The mother can update you. You don’t have any legal right to visitation.
> Should I be documenting these interactions, and if so, what’s the best method?
There won’t be any interactions, since the social worker has declined to speak with you further.
> Is there an official complaint process for CPS/DHS workers who refuse to provide supervisor information or block communication?
Call the main number during business hours and ask. A complaint won’t get anywhere, however.
She is being cared for now in the hospital. If the mother can show negative drug tests, she will be allowed her rights back. The baby is likely going through drug withdrawal, not from “mommy withdrawals,” which is a common occurrence with drug-abuse as infants.