Representing Parents in Dependency Cases Involving the Alabama Department of Human Resources a Practical Approach
| Jurisdiction | Alabama,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 80 No. 3 Pg. 0189 |
| Pages | 0189 |
| Publication year | 2019 |
The general idea behind this article is a discussion about representing the parent in a case where the Department of Human Resources has removed a child from their home. The topic could be approached any number of ways, but we decided that the best use of this article would be to focus on how to best shepherd your client through the process in order to put them in a position to get their child back, rather than focusing on a particular line of cases or a particular legal issue.1 In other words, our approach is a practical one.
With that said, this article is written from the perspective of an attorney who has been retained or appointed to represent a parent at the time the child was removed-basically, you're in the case from the outset.
Know Your Local Department of Human Resources
The first piece of advice is to know your local DHR. This is not a "know your enemy" declaration. It is quite the opposite: DHR isn't the enemy-unless and until it becomes necessary to try your case (more about that below).
If your client's child has been removed through a safety plan done without court involvement, then obviously DHR can-and if you handle your case carefully, will-determine that your client's issues have been resolved and the child should be returned back home.
Even when a case has been filed, there are many jurisdictions with crowded dockets and a backlog of cases, all of which promotes the parties finding an amenable resolution to the case so that everything gets resolved without having to go to an adjudicatory hearing.
Accordingly, our suggestion of a peaceful coexistence with DHR ranks ahead of "know your judge" because in many instances, DHR will have an opportunity to return the child before the judge will.
When the department is the adverse party, rule number one for our clients is "make the DHR worker your best friend, do everything you're asked to do and do it with a smile of your face." Ok, so maybe that's three rules, but you get the idea.
Your client is in this situation because DHR saw something in your client's environment or their home that caused DHR concern for your client's child. Obviously, the most expeditious way to resolve the case is to alleviate DHR's concerns.
This is a time in the case where you need to be willing to suppress your adversarial instincts. Whether you are attending the ISP with your client, or you are negotiating with the DHR attorney about the steps that your client will have to complete to get their child back, this stage of the proceedings has little to do with whether your client actually did anything wrong and everything to do with how quickly they can reach the goals that DHR has set for them.
It's important to consider psychological evaluations, substance abuse assessments and any of the various required treatments, or, for that matter, any issue that needs to be resolved through some form of an expert opinion or treatment. You need to know what services are available in your community.
In an effort to address the problems that lead to its involvement, DHR will often refer your client to the providers that DHR uses and help get those services scheduled, but in many cases, that is going to result in a delay. The DHR worker in charge of your case probably has a long list of cases and a short list of resources to allocate to those cases. This isn't willful or intentional on the part of DHR; this is the reality of a budget that demands stretching resources to get a dollar's worth out of a dime (but that's another topic for another day). Consequently, if your client is going to depend on DHR to schedule evaluations and find treatment options, it is just going to take longer to achieve DHR's goals to allow the child to return home.
Sometimes, depending on DHR is inevitable because your client is also short on resources and can't afford to pay for a private evaluation. Look for alternatives in your community. There may be a faith-based program or a grant-funded program that can help provide some of these services at little to no cost to your client. Have your client approach DHR and see what they think about these alternatives. Not only can that speed up things, but it shows that your client is actively working to get their child back.
The bottom line is that your client is going to have goals to reach, and if they are successful in reaching those goals, they will get their child returned. Take the time to learn the landscape and know the pitfalls and the path to success so you can direct your client to the most expedient path to achieving those goals.
It is also helpful to know the local DHR attorney. Most lawyers who represent DHR are tough but fair competitors, and while they strongly advocate for their client, they also recognize and appreciate when a parent is making strong efforts to comply. Every jurisdiction is different, though, and some jurisdictions have several lawyers representing DHR, so it is important to know the lawyer in your case.
Know Your Judge
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O'Neill is credited with...
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