Social services have the power to investigate claims against you for abuse of a child or adult although they don't the power to simply enter your home or take your child without a court order.
Some social workers like to threaten you with arrest if you don't allow them in or allow the child or person to talk to them but they don't have that power without a warrant.
Even if they do call the police the police cannot force entry or force your kid to talk to them without a court order or warrant.
You have the right to ask social services to leave if they have no warrant.
Social services and social workers are accountable to and are held accountable to the NASW Code of Ethics, including NASW members, many licensed social workers, employed social workers, and students.
If you disagree with social services you can and should first get an appeal made for a reconsideration and a hearing by a judge.
If the social services is accusing you of something that you know they are wrong about then you should also get an attorney to help you fight your case in court.
If someone falsely reports you to social services then you could sue them but you would have to know who the person was who reported you to social services.
If someone did falsely report you to social services though and they came out and investigated the claim of abuse or neglect etc and found nothing wrong then the social services will report that everything is okay and then you should not have to do anything further.
DCF or department of children and families has up to 60 days to complete the investigation.
Although in cases involving death of a child, missing child or when law enforcement has an open criminal investigation they can continue their investigation longer and for as long as is needed.
Social services cannot and does not take your child away without evidence unless they see the child is in danger right then when they visit.
CPS or social services does not simply take a child or children away based on a single phone call but instead they must seek contact with the child and parents and do an investigation and then if they have enough evidence they get a court order to take the child or children away.
Social services or CPS cannot take your child if you have anxiety unless the court deems your anxiety and health issue is severe enough to put the child in harms way.
Simply having anxiety does not make you an unfit parent but some people may have severe anxiety that could cause them to unintentionally harm their child or children and in those cases the CPS or social services could take your child but they need to investigate first.
Social services rarely bug someone's house although if the social services got a court order then they could legally bug your house.
However you do have the right to refuse any social service people into your home whether that be adult social services or children's social services.
Unless they have warrants or a court order to enter your home social services can be told to leave.
A social worker will usually visit a child under child protection once or twice a week depending on the social services.
Some social workers visit 2 times a week and some visit once a week and then some may visit more often or less often depending on what is going on.
A social worker can speak to a child alone.
However unless the social worker has a court order to talk to the child alone then you have the right to be in the presence of the child when social services is talking to your child.
Social workers sometimes visit once or twice per week and then as they see that things are going okay they tend to visit less often and may only visit twice a month or 3 times a month.
The visits can vary and sometimes the social workers show up unannounced.
What social services are not allowed to do are enter your home without a warrant or without your permission.
Social services cannot remove a child or force them to talk to them without a court order or warrant.
If social services have no warrant or court order then they must leave when asked to do so and you have a right to be with your child while they talk to them.
Judges don't always agree with social services and you do have a right to dispute claims against you from the social services in court.
Not everything social services says will work against you in court if you can prove otherwise.
When social services come to your house for a home visit the social services are looking for adequate food, adequate and safe living conditions, proper care, clean and tidy house and they basically want to see that the child is not being harmed or being put in harms way.
Your house does not have to be spotless but should not be a huge mess either.
Make sure anything that could be dangerous to the child or children are put away.
Ensure the fridge has plenty of food and the cupboards have plenty of food as well.
You can tell social services to go away as long as they have no court order or warrant to enter your house.
The social services cannot force themselves onto you or your kids unless they see the child or children are in immediate danger or they have a warrant.
It does not mean the social services will simply go away but you don't have to talk to them.
Social workers check bedrooms to ensure the child has proper bedding, has a clean and tidy room and to ensure there's nothing that will put the child directly or indirectly at risk.
Social workers also check to see if there's adequate food supply in the fridge and in the kitchen cupboards.
Social services can track your phone although before they can track your phone or tap your cell phone or phone they must have a court order to do so.
Child services can and do turn up unannounced and at all hours of the day.
They show up unannounced to catch you at home and off guard because they know if you knew they were coming then you may not be there for the visit.
A social worker whether a CPS worker or Adult Protective Services Worker can show up and turn up unannounced.
Social workers usually do turn up unannounced to catch people off guard.
They don't want to give you notice so that you would have time to act differently or leave the area.
One social workers get involved then you can expect them to show up without notice at anytime of the day even on Saturday and Sunday and sometimes Holidays as well.
Although if child welfare caseworkers pay you an unannounced visit, you can ask them to come back at a better time.
Caseworkers have rights and authorities that may override yours.
The DCP&P can get a court order that will grant them the legal right to enter your home and even take your child.
But without the court order you can ask them to leave and come back later.
Never allow the CPS or social worker into your home without a court order.
If they have no court order then simply ask them to leave.
Don't let them scare you with threat of arrest because even if they call the police they still can't force themself into your home unless they have the court order or warrant signed by the Judge.
That is unless the child is in danger right then and then in those cases the police and CPS can take your child without a warrant.