Dependency FAQ

Pasadena | Glendale | Burbank | Los Angeles CA

Dependency Matters Handled in the Counties of:
San Bernardino I Ventura I Riverside I Los Angeles CA

Most dependency cases start with a call to the DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) hotline or a report by a mandated reporter (teachers, therapists, doctors, police and social service providers.)

DCFS has the option to call a TDM (Team Decision Meeting), held in their offices, with all the involved parties. At this meeting a safety plan is determined, which can include required classes or drug testing for the parents or other requirements and is signed by all the parties (remember, this is all voluntary and is NOT court ordered.) DCFS will then monitor the situation for approximately 3-6 months. However, if DCFS and the assigned CSW (Child Service Worker) determine the plan is not being adhered to, they may detain the children at any time. Also, you have the right to seek counsel and ask to have counsel present with you when you meet with the CSW or attend the TDM.

Detention

If a DCFS social worker determines there is an imminent danger to the emotional or physical health of the children, they will detain the children and place them in foster care. DCFS then must file a WIC 300 (Welfare and Institutions Code) Petition, alleging the grounds for detaining the children. They must notify the parents of the Detention hearing date and location, which must take place within 72 hours of detaining the children. Notice to the parent may be by phone or telegram. You must then appear at the appropriate court on the day of the detention hearing (All cases in Los Angeles are heard in Monterey Park or Lancaster.)

On the day of the hearing you will wait outside the courtroom until you are called by the bailiff or by an attorney appointed to represent you. All parents are entitled to representation by an appointed attorney from the LADL (Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers.) Once your attorney is appointed it is their job to find you, review the allegations and evidence against you and discuss it with you, and to have you fill out necessary paperwork prior to the hearing.

When your case is called you enter the courtroom and sit next to your attorney. The Judge will go over your rights and consequences of finding the allegations true. Your attorney will then respond that you deny all allegations and ask to set the matter for adjudication.

At this time you may also have your attorney argue for your visitation and for placement of your children with a relative or close friend. However, you must be sure that whomever you are asking to have your children placed with must have a clean criminal record and have no one else living in the home who may have a criminal record. To insure placement with a relative or friend, your attorney may request a PRI (Pretrial Release Investigation) and a hearing will be set to determine if placement is appropriate with the requested relative or friend (usually within 2 weeks.)

Also, at the detention hearing the Judge will set one or more of the following dates:

  • ROR (Receipt of Report) to receive the Jurisdiction / Disposition Report
  • PRC (Pretrial Resolution Conference), an opportunity to settle the case without trial
  • Mediation
  • ADJ (Adjudication), trial

PRC (Pretrial Resolution Conference)

The PRC is an opportunity to determine if there is a way to resolve your matter without trial, which usually means you must admit to one or more allegations as written or revised by counsel. If the CC (County Counsel who represents the social worker and DCFS) believes an opportunity exists for resolution, you may also have your case referred to Mediation.

Mediation is an opportunity to meet with a court appointed mediator who will try to resolve your matter in a way that you can agree to it and CC can agree. However, more often than not this means you must admit to one or more of the allegations as written or modified by the mediator. This is also an opportunity to explore other options, such as WIC 301 or 364. These are options that allow your children to be released to you while DCFS will continue to monitor the situation for 3-6 months. Consult with your attorney about the implications and consequences of either option.

Whether by PRC or Mediation, if your case resolves, then there will be no need for trial and you will move on to the disposition of the case, which will be the orders for visitation and any other classes, therapy or testing that will be ordered by the court.

If your case does not settle, then the matter moves to Adjudication or Trial.

ADJ (Adjudication)

Trial in dependency court is really only as good or thorough as your attorney makes it. As in any trial, you are entitled to discovery and may subpoena witnesses or other evidence. However, there are some very important differences to keep in mind:

The trial is heard by the Judge as the assessor of fact and will be decided by the Judge.

The rules of evidence are superseded by the WIC, which allows for the admission of social worker reports that are hearsay and contain more hearsay.

There are appropriate objections to make to all reports, but your attorney must file them in a timely manner.

Trials in dependency often are rushed, as they are squeezed into an already overloaded calendar. This means you may have to come back several days in a row or over a period of weeks.

Finally, the burden of evidence is only by a preponderance or more likely than not. It is not much of a burden and is one of the many obstacles a parent must overcome in dependency proceedings.

If the allegations are not sustained, your matter will most likely be dismissed and your children returned to you.

If the allegations are sustained, your matter will then proceed to a dispositional hearing.

If the allegations are sustained, you also have the right to appeal the decision with the California Court of Appeal, but must do so in a timely manner (usually 10 days or less.) Consult with your attorney as to how to file an appeal. If your appeal goes forward you will be assigned an appeals attorney at no cost to you.

Disposition Hearing

The purpose of the disposition hearing is to make orders for you to reunite with your children. The court will order the frequency of your visits and whether they will be monitored or not. The court will also order programs for you to complete, such as:

  • Drug testing
  • Entry into and completion of a drug or alcohol treatment program
  • Attendance at AA or NA, with a sponsor
  • Individual Counseling
  • Joint counseling
  • Anger management
  • Domestic violence classes for batterers
  • Domestic violence classes for victims

If your child, or any of your children are under 3 years old at the time of detention, then you will only have 6 months to reunify or at the outside, 12 months.

If your child or your children are all over 3 years old at the time of detention, then you will have 18 months to reunify.

If you fail to reunify in the statutory time, then the court can move to have the children placed in a PPLA (Planned Permanent Living Arrangement), which includes foster care or group home, legal guardianship or adoption. If your case proceeds to a PPLA for adoption, then you will be given notice that your parental rights may be terminated. Adoption is the only permanent plan for which your parental rights can be terminated.

WIC 366 Hearings

WIC 366.21e hearing - At the 6 month date, your matter will be reviewed and the court may dismiss your case based on your progress towards reunification or continue to the next 6 month hearing date. If your child is under 3 years old, the court may move to a PPLA at this time and set a WIC 366.26 hearing to terminate your parental rights or consider the other permanent options.

WIC 366.21f hearing - At the 12 month date, your matter will be reviewed and the court may dismiss your case based on your progress towards reunification or continue to the next 6 month hearing date. If your child is under 3 years old, the court is now statutorily required to move to a PPLA and set a WIC 366.26 hearing to terminate your parental rights or consider the other permanent options.

WIC 366.22 hearing - At the 18 month date, your matter will be reviewed and the court may dismiss your case based on your progress towards reunification or the court will now move to a PPLA and set a WIC 366.26 hearing to terminate your parental rights or consider the other permanent options.

WIC 366.26 hearing-The court will review your matter and may dismiss your case based on your progress towards reunification or take evidence as to whether you fall under any statutory exception that would prevent the court from terminating your parental rights (again, this is only if PPLA in your case is for adoption of your child(ren).) If your parental rights are terminated, you will have 60 days to appeal. Consult your attorney for further options.

Dependency Cases

Each case is very different and the information provided here is simply to allow a parent to be aware of some of their rights and the process by which the dependency court operates. Nothing in this information is intended as legal advice. Discuss these matters thoroughly with your attorney and make sure you understand the implications and consequences of each step in the process.

Finally, if you are able to afford private counsel, you have the right to substitute out your LADL attorney at any point in the proceedings (see, Why You Want a Dependency Law Attorney.)

Contact an Experienced Dependency Law Attorney

If you have an issue involving the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and would like to discuss your case and your options with an experienced dependency lawyer, please schedule a consultation at the Law Offices of Howell & Howell by calling us at (626) 568-1900, or if you prefer, fill out our intake form and we will contact you.

Helping families...one client at a time.

Located in Pasadena, California, the Law Offices of Howell & Howell represents men and women in family law and divorce matters throughout the San Fernando Valley - San Gabriel Valley - Inland Empire area, including clients throughout the communities in and around Pasadena, La Canada, San Marino, Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Glendora, Covina, West Covina, El Monte, San Bernardino and Riverside, CA.