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Info For Me > Information > The PeopleHere to Help You. Here to Hear You. Here to Make the System Work for YOU!Many different people work or volunteer in the child welfare system. There are social workers, judges, lawyers, doctors, counselors, foster parents, relative caregivers, Court Appointed Special Advocates ("CASA's"), group home staff, and other service providers. There are also people who may not work directly in the system but who are required to report child abuse and neglect if they see the signs of it. These people are called "mandatory reporters." OF COURSE, THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
YOUYou can be protected and served by the child welfare system from the time you are born until you are 17. If you are in the system, you will "age-out" of it at age 18, but you could still be entitled to services until you are 21. To learn more about those services visit our Life Skills page.If you are Native American, a federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) may give your tribe the right to participate in legal decisions about your life. If you are a tribal member, your tribe might intervene and take your case into their tribal court system or they might become a party and give input about your case to the juvenile court. To learn more about the Indian Child Welfare Act and why it is important to Native American families, go to The Adoption History Project. To read the ICWA, go to the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Parents or Other Legal CustodiansIn the child welfare system, "parents" mean your biological or adoptive parents. But if someone other than your parent has custody of you through a court order they are responsible for you and must take care of you just as a parent would. These people are sometimes called "legal guardians."Foster parents and group home providers are also expected to care for you and protect you just like parents. Foster parents, group homes, and legal guardians can all be investigated by the child welfare system if they put you at risk of harm. They have the same duties as parents even though they may not have the same rights as parents. You have the same basic rights to food, clothing, shelter, and protection NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE! Social WorkersAlso called "caseworkers" or "case managers," many social workers work for DSHS. It is their job to work with youth and families. They are there FOR YOU! You should know who your social worker is and should maintain contact with that person. Other social workers work for private agencies.Social workers have many duties. These are just a few of them:
Your DSHS social worker will probably change at least once. The first social worker you have will probably be a CPS ("child protective services") worker. The CPS worker's job is to determine whether you are safe in your home. If you are removed from your home and there is a court case, you will probably get a new social worker. This one will be a CWS ("child welfare services") worker. Sometimes you may have several different social workers. This might be because of your age or where you live. It might be because your social worker changes jobs. Changing social workers is not the best but it happens. JudgesIf you have to go to court because you have been abused or neglected, you will see a juvenile court judge or commissioner. A "commissioner" is like a judge and makes decisions in your case like a judge. The difference is, a commissioner does not usually handle trials ("fact-finding hearings") and if a commissioner makes a decision in your case that you disagree with, you can ask a judge to change it. Your case is called a "dependency case." Juvenile court deals with dependency cases and juvenile offender (criminal) cases. Juvenile court also deals with truancy cases and special types of cases called "at-risk youth" and "child in need of services" cases.Volunteer CASAs or GALsA volunteer CASA (court appointed special advocate) or GAL (guardian ad litem) is a person who is appointed by the judge to look out for what he or she believes is in your best interest in a dependency case.These are the main responsibilities of a GAL or volunteer CASA:
A CASA or GAL will tell the judge what he or she thinks is best for you. This is different from a lawyer, who tells the judge what you want. Usually you will have a CASA/GAL OR a lawyer, not both. To read the law about CASA's and GAL's go to RCW.13.34.105. CASA's and GALs do the same thing. The difference is CASAs are trained volunteers and GALs may be trained volunteers or paid by the court. You must have a CASA, a GAL or an attorney unless a judge decides you do not need one. If you want to learn more about CASAs, visit the National CASA site. LawyersLawyers get involved in the child welfare system when a dependency petition is filed. This means that someone feels that you are a "dependent child" and you need the protection of the court. Sometimes you will be removed from your home by a court order following the filing of a dependency petition. When your case comes to juvenile court, all of the parties (your parents, the social worker and you) may be represented by a lawyer. "Lawyers", "attorneys", and sometimes even the word "counsel" are all words that mean the same thing: the person went to law school, passed an exam and is allowed to represent you and others in court.If you have a lawyer, you are called "the client." A lawyer's first job is to explain to you what is happening in your case. This Web site gives you some information about how court cases work but you should talk to your lawyer about your case. Your lawyer should explain to you how YOUR case is going. Your lawyer's job is to:
Your lawyer also must keep what you tell him or her a secret unless you give him or her your permission to tell other people. Your lawyer does not have to report child abuse or neglect to CPS like other people such as teachers, social workers and police officers ("mandatory reporters"). You should feel free to tell your lawyer everything that is going on in your life that could make a difference in your case. If you have problems with your caseworker, your parents, your foster home or group home, your lawyer can talk to your caseworker and your parent's lawyers and try to help fix the problems. If a judge can fix the problems, your lawyer can set a hearing and take your case into court. IF YOU ARE 12 OR OLDER AND YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR CASA, GAL AND/OR CASEWORKER TO HELP YOU GET ONE. If you want to know what your lawyer should be doing you can look at different "standards" for representing children, at these Web sites: The American Bar Association and the National Association of Counsel for Children. All of the other parties in your case will also have their own lawyers. Your parents will each have his or her own lawyer. The social worker will have a lawyer called an AAG or "assistant attorney general" who works for the state. Your CASA or GAL may also have a lawyer. These lawyers all will represent their clients like your lawyer represents you. Relative CaregiversIf you have to be taken from your home, the CPS worker must first give you the chance to live with a relative. The relative must be able: 1) to keep you safe; and 2) support the State's efforts to return you to your parents. Relatives include:
If you are Native American, your relatives include extended family members, as defined by the law or custom of your tribe or, if there is no law or custom, a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is your grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or a stepparent who provides care in the home on a twenty-four-hour basis to an Indian child. Foster ParentsFoster parents take care of youth who cannot live with their families. Foster parents can keep children for a short time while parents are in crisis or for a long time. Foster parents can sometimes adopt you or become your legal guardian. Foster parents must get training from DSHS and get licensed before children can be placed in their care. Foster parents are paid by the State to take care of foster children.To see what foster parents must do to get licensed, visit DSHS. To learn more about foster parents, visit DSHS's Frequently Asked Questions on Becoming a Foster Parent. Mandatory Reporters"Mandatory reporters" are professionals who are required by law to report child abuse and neglect to DSHS. These individuals are often the first ones to bring an abused or neglected child to the attention of CPS workers. If you tell any of these people that you are being harmed, they MUST report it. They include:
To learn more about who must report child abuse and what must be reported, watch the DSHS video: "A Guide for Mandatory Reporters" To learn more about how to report and what to do when you suspect that child abuse or neglect is happening, visit our Respond to Child Abuse and Neglect page on our Web site for adults, Child Advocacy Central. Service ProvidersMany different people and agencies provide services to help families and children so that they can be re-united or kept together safely, for example:
Most of these people are also mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. |
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