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CPS took your child. You are terrified, angry, confused. You want to know what happens next, how long this will last, and what you need to do to get your child back.
Here is what you need to know: California dependency law operates on strict timelines. You have rights. There is a process. The first hearing happens within 72 hours. How you show up in those first days and weeks determines whether you reunify with your child or lose parental rights permanently.
This guide walks you through the post-removal timeline: the detention hearing, the case plan, the six-month reviews, and the steps that give you the best chance of bringing your child home. If CPS removed your child within the last 72 hours, call 866-811-4255 immediately. The detention hearing is coming, and you need representation before you walk into that courtroom.
CPS does not remove a child and then disappear. California law requires specific actions within hours of removal.
Where your child goes: CPS must place your child in the least restrictive setting available. That means relatives first, then licensed foster homes, then group homes only if no other option exists. The social worker is required to ask you for names of relatives who could take your child. Provide them. A child placed with your mother or sister is easier to visit, easier to reunify with, and less traumatic than placement with strangers.
Medical and psychological evaluations: Your child will be examined within 24-48 hours. CPS looks for injuries, untreated medical conditions, signs of abuse or neglect. If your child has special needs or takes medication, tell the social worker immediately.
What CPS must do: The social worker must notify you in writing of the removal, the reasons for removal, the date and time of the detention hearing, and your right to an attorney. If you do not receive this notice, tell the judge at the detention hearing.
Your rights during this period: You have the right to know where your child is placed (unless the court orders otherwise for safety reasons). You have the right to an attorney. You have the right to speak at the detention hearing. You do not have the right to take your child back without a court order, no matter how unjust the removal feels.
The legal basis: Emergency removals happen under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300. CPS must show the child faced immediate danger. “Immediate” has a specific legal meaning. Your attorney will challenge whether that standard was actually met.
Do not wait until the detention hearing to get help. Call 866-811-4255 now. What you say to the social worker in these first 72 hours gets documented and used against you later.
The detention hearing happens fast. If CPS removed your child on Monday, you are in court by Thursday at the latest. Miss this hearing and the judge makes decisions about your child without hearing from you.
Who attends: The judge, the CPS social worker, the county counsel (the lawyer representing CPS), you, your attorney (court-appointed if you cannot afford one, or private if you hired your own), and an attorney representing your child’s interests. Your child may attend depending on age.
What the judge decides: Whether your child stays in CPS custody or returns home immediately. The judge applies a “prima facie” standard, which means CPS only needs to show there is a reasonable basis to believe the child is at risk. This is a low bar. CPS usually wins detention hearings.
What you can do: You or your attorney can argue that the child should be returned home, that there are safety measures that make removal unnecessary (removing an abusive partner from the home, enrolling in services immediately, placing the child with a relative instead of foster care), or that CPS exaggerated the danger.
The importance of having an attorney: A parent who shows up to a detention hearing without a lawyer is a parent who does not understand what is at stake. Court-appointed attorneys are overloaded. They meet you 15 minutes before the hearing. A private dependency attorney knows your case, knows the social worker’s history, and has already crafted a strategy before you walk into that courtroom.
When Mo represents parents at detention hearings, the goal is not always immediate return (that rarely happens). The goal is relative placement instead of foster care, a visitation schedule that starts immediately, and a case plan that is realistic, not punitive.
If your child stays in CPS custody after the detention hearing, the next major event is the combined jurisdictional and dispositional hearing. These are often held together but serve different purposes.
Jurisdiction hearing: The court decides whether the allegations in the Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 petition are true. Did abuse or neglect occur? CPS must prove this by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). You can contest the allegations. Your attorney can cross-examine the social worker, present witnesses, introduce evidence. If the court finds the allegations are not true, the case gets dismissed and your child comes home.
Disposition hearing: If the court finds jurisdiction (meaning abuse or neglect did occur), the judge then decides what happens next. Options include: return the child home with family maintenance services, keep the child in out-of-home care and order reunification services for the parents, or (in extreme cases) bypass reunification services entirely and move toward adoption or guardianship.
The WIC 300 petition: This is the formal document that lists every reason CPS believes your child is at risk. It cites specific Welfare and Institutions Code sections: 300(a) for physical abuse, 300(b) for neglect, 300(c) for emotional abuse, and so on. Every word in that petition matters. Your attorney will challenge vague language, unsupported allegations, and hearsay.
Burden of proof and outcomes: CPS has the burden of proof at jurisdiction. You do not have to prove you are a good parent. They have to prove you harmed or neglected your child. At disposition, the court must order “reasonable services” to help you reunify unless specific exceptions apply (prior termination of parental rights, severe abuse, sexual abuse of a young child).
The six-month reunification clock starts at disposition. If the court orders services, you have six months to show substantial progress. After that, the hearings get harder.
The case plan is the contract between you and CPS. Complete it and you get your child back. Ignore it and you lose parental rights.
What is included: The case plan is tailored to the reasons CPS removed your child. If the petition alleged substance abuse, the plan will require drug testing and treatment. If it alleged domestic violence, you will attend a 52-week batterer’s intervention program. If it alleged neglect due to mental health issues, you will see a therapist. Standard requirements include parenting classes, individual counseling, and supervised visitation.
Timeframe for compliance: You have six months to make “substantial progress” and 12 months to complete the plan. These are hard deadlines. California law allows 12 months of services for parents whose children were removed at age two or younger, and 18 months for older children, but courts can terminate services earlier if you fail to participate.
What “reasonable services” means: CPS must offer services that are accessible and appropriate. If you work nights, classes must be available during the day. If you do not have transportation, CPS must help arrange it. If you do not speak English, services must be provided in your language. Your attorney will argue that services are unreasonable if CPS sets you up to fail.
What “compliance” actually means: Showing up is not enough. You must engage, demonstrate changed behavior, and apply what you learn. A parent who attends every parenting class but continues to yell at the child during visits is not compliant. A parent who completes rehab but relapses two months later is not compliant. The social worker documents everything.
The case plan is not a suggestion. Treat it like the roadmap to getting your child back, because that is exactly what it is.
Visitation is the single most important part of your case. How you show up during visits determines whether the social worker recommends reunification or termination.
How often you will see your child: California law requires “frequent and regular” visitation. For parents working toward reunification, that usually means one to three supervised visits per week, each lasting one to two hours. The court order will specify the schedule.
Who supervises: Early in the case, a social worker or contracted monitor supervises visits. If you demonstrate appropriate behavior, supervision may be reduced or transferred to a relative. Unsupervised visits are a privilege you earn by proving you are safe.
Location: Visits often happen at CPS offices, visitation centers, or neutral public locations like parks. If your child is placed with a relative, you may eventually visit in their home.
How visits are documented: The supervisor writes a report after every visit. They note whether you were on time, whether you brought age-appropriate activities, how you interacted with your child, whether you asked about school or medical needs, and whether you followed the visit rules (no pumping the child for information about the foster home, no discussing the case, no bad-mouthing CPS or the other parent).
How to make the most of limited time: Show up on time. Bring activities your child enjoys. Focus entirely on your child, not your phone. Ask about school, friends, what they had for breakfast. Do not cry, do not apologize, do not tell them you are going to “get them out of there soon.” Children in foster care are scared and confused. They need you to be calm and present.
What NOT to do during visits: Do not bring unauthorized people. Do not give gifts that violate the visit plan (no sugar if the child is diabetic, no toys with small parts for toddlers). Do not ask your child to keep secrets. Do not coach them on what to tell the social worker. Any of these will end up in the report and hurt your case.
The six-month review hearing is the first major checkpoint. The judge looks at your progress and decides whether to continue reunification services, return your child home, or change course.
What the judge evaluates: Whether you made “substantial progress” on your case plan. That does not mean you finished everything. It means you engaged consistently, showed changed behavior, and reduced the risk that led to removal. The judge also evaluates whether returning the child home would create a substantial risk of harm.
Possible outcomes: The court can return your child home (with or without continued services), continue out-of-home placement and extend services, modify the case plan to add or remove requirements, increase visitation, or (rarely at six months) terminate services and set a permanency hearing.
How to demonstrate progress: Bring documentation. Completion certificates from classes. Clean drug tests. Letters from therapists or program directors. Proof of stable housing and income. Your attorney will present this evidence and call witnesses if needed.
The social worker submits a report before the hearing that recommends an outcome. Your attorney gets a copy. If the report misrepresents your progress or ignores evidence of change, your attorney will challenge it in court.
Most children do not return home at the six-month hearing, even when parents are compliant. The court wants to see sustained progress, not a short-term fix. If you are making progress, the goal is to keep services in place and prepare for the 12-month hearing.
The stakes increase at 12 months. California law limits how long parents can receive reunification services. If you have not made sufficient progress by the 12-month hearing, the court can terminate services and move toward a permanent plan that does not include you.
What is different at 12 months: The question shifts from “is the parent making progress?” to “can the child safely return home now or in the near future?” The burden is on you to show that reunification is likely within a reasonable time.
Possible outcomes: Return home, extend services for another six months (if the child was under three at removal and the court finds a substantial probability of return), or terminate services and set a WIC 366.26 hearing (the hearing where parental rights can be terminated and adoption becomes the plan).
The 18-month deadline: For most cases, 18 months is the absolute limit for reunification services. If your child is not home by then, the court moves toward permanency, adoption, or guardianship.
How to show substantial progress: By 12 months, you should have completed most case plan requirements, maintained consistent visitation, demonstrated stable housing and income, and shown that the issues that led to removal are resolved. “I am almost done with my program” is not enough. The court needs proof that you are a different parent than you were 12 months ago.
If services are terminated, you still have the right to challenge the termination of parental rights at the 366.26 hearing, but your options narrow significantly.
Reunification is not automatic. You do not get your child back because you love them or because the system is unfair. You get your child back by proving you are safe.
Complete all case plan requirements. Not most of them. All of them. If the plan requires 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, do not stop at week 48. If it requires random drug testing, take every test. CPS looks for reasons to say you failed. Do not give them one.
Maintain consistent visitation. Miss a visit and the social worker writes that you are not prioritizing your child. Cancel visits repeatedly and the report will say you are not committed to reunification. If you are sick or have a work conflict, notify the social worker immediately and reschedule.
Document everything. Keep copies of every certificate, every test result, every communication with the social worker. If CPS loses your paperwork (it happens), you have proof. If the social worker claims you missed a class, you have the sign-in sheet.
Stay in contact with your social worker. Return calls and emails promptly. Provide updates on your progress. If you move, change your phone number, or lose your job, notify the social worker immediately. A parent who disappears is a parent who loses services.
Improve your home environment. If CPS removed your child because of unsafe housing, fix it. If the issue was your partner, remove that person from your life (and prove it). If the issue was your mental health, stay in treatment and take your medication.
Address the underlying issues. A parent who completes anger management but still screams at the child during visits has not changed. A parent who finishes rehab but hangs out with the same people in the same places is not safe. Real change is behavioral, not just paperwork.
Work with your attorney. Your attorney is your advocate, your strategist, and the person who knows how to present your progress in the best light. Listen to their advice. Show up to court prepared.
Consider relative placement if needed. If you are not ready to have your child return home but a relative is willing and able to care for them, support that placement. A child with your mother is still in your family. You can visit more freely. Reunification is still possible. Relative placement is not defeat. It is a bridge.
You need a dependency attorney the moment CPS removes your child. Not after the detention hearing. Not after you see what the case plan looks like. Now.
Court-appointed vs. private attorney: If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for free. Court-appointed attorneys are real lawyers doing real work, but they carry 200+ cases at a time. They meet you 15 minutes before the hearing. They do not have time to investigate, negotiate, or build a relationship with the social worker before decisions are made.
A private dependency attorney represents only you. They meet with you before the detention hearing, review the CPS reports, contact the social worker, gather evidence, and prepare a strategy. When Mo is retained during the removal phase, the goal is to shape the case before the court makes its first ruling.
What an attorney can do: Challenge the removal at the detention hearing. Negotiate for relative placement instead of foster care. Push back on unreasonable case plan requirements. Argue for unsupervised visitation when you are ready. Subpoena records that CPS does not want to disclose. Prepare you to testify. Cross-examine social workers who exaggerate or fabricate. Present evidence of your progress at every hearing.
Cost vs. stakes: Private dependency representation costs thousands of dollars. Losing your parental rights is permanent. There is no price you can put on your child. If you can afford private counsel, hire it. If you cannot, apply for court-appointed counsel immediately and work with them as closely as their caseload allows.
When it is too late: It is never too late to hire a lawyer, but the earlier you do, the better your outcome. A lawyer hired after the 12-month hearing has fewer options than a lawyer hired before the detention hearing.
If CPS removed your child, call 866-811-4255. We represent parents in dependency cases throughout California. We know the social workers, the judges, and the system. We show up.
Can I get my child back at the detention hearing?
It is possible but rare. The detention hearing uses a low standard of proof. CPS only needs to show there was a reasonable basis for removal. Most children stay in out-of-home care after detention. Your attorney’s goal at detention is often relative placement, immediate visitation, and a fair case plan, not immediate return.
What if I disagree with the case plan?
You can challenge case plan requirements at the dispositional hearing. Your attorney will argue that certain requirements are unnecessary, duplicative, or not related to the reasons for removal. The court can modify the plan. However, refusing to participate in a court-ordered case plan while you appeal it is a fast way to lose services.
What happens if I do not complete services?
If you fail to make substantial progress by the 12-month hearing, the court can terminate reunification services and set a permanency hearing. At that hearing, the court decides whether to terminate your parental rights and free your child for adoption. Failing to complete services does not mean automatic termination, but it significantly increases the risk.
Can CPS terminate my rights?
CPS does not terminate your rights. A judge does, and only after a WIC 366.26 hearing where the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that your child is adoptable and that termination is in the child’s best interest. You have the right to contest this. Certain exceptions (the parent-child bond exception, the relative placement exception) can prevent termination even when adoption is the plan.
How long does a dependency case last?
It depends on the outcome. If your child returns home at the six-month or 12-month hearing, the case may close shortly after (with or without a period of family maintenance services). If services are terminated and the case moves toward adoption, the process can take 18 to 24 months or longer. Cases involving contested termination of parental rights, appeals, or relative guardianship can last years.
What if I am pregnant or have other children?
If you are pregnant when CPS removes your older child, or if you have other children in the home, CPS will likely monitor those children closely. In some cases, CPS will remove newborns at the hospital or file petitions on your other children based on the same allegations. Your dependency attorney can argue that removal of additional children is not warranted, especially if you are making progress on your case plan. California law does not allow automatic removal of future children, but it happens more often than it should.
What happens when the case is closed?
If your child returns home and the court closes the case, CPS no longer has jurisdiction. You regain full parental rights. In some cases, the court closes with family maintenance services, meaning you remain under CPS supervision for six to 12 months but your child is home. In other cases, the court dismisses the petition entirely. Once the case is closed, CPS cannot take your child again without a new investigation and new petition.
Can I move out of state during a dependency case?
You can request permission to move, but the court must approve it. If you move without court approval, you risk losing services and having a warrant issued for your arrest. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) governs out-of-state placements and can delay reunification significantly.
CPS removed your child. That does not mean the case is over. Parents reunify every day in California. Parents who show up, who do the work, who prove they have changed.
The detention hearing is coming. The case plan is coming. The six-month review is coming. Every hearing is an opportunity to show the court you are safe. Every visit is a chance to rebuild trust with your child.
You do not do this alone. Call 866-811-4255. ALL Trial Lawyers represents parents in CPS dependency cases throughout California. We appear at detention hearings, challenge unreasonable case plans, fight for relative placement, and prepare you for every stage of the reunification process.
Your family is on the line. The first 72 hours decide your case. Call now.
ALL Trial Lawyers
Phone: 866-811-4255
Available 24/7 for dependency emergencies
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We do not get paid unless we help you reunify with your child or achieve the best possible outcome in your case. When your child has been removed, waiting is not an option.
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Mohammad Abuershaid, professionally known as Mo Abuershaid, is the founding partner of ALL Trial Lawyers and one of California’s most trusted authorities in dependency law, juvenile dependency cases, CPS defense, and high stakes CPS cases.