Understanding Child Welfare & Dependency Cases
Child welfare and dependency cases arise when the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) intervenes due to concerns about a child's safety or well-being. These cases involve complex legal proceedings in juvenile court where parental rights, custody arrangements, and children's futures are at stake.
Unlike typical family law matters, dependency and neglect cases operate under strict timelines, heightened standards of proof, and involve multiple parties including caseworkers, guardians ad litem, and sometimes law enforcement. Whether you're a parent facing allegations, a family member seeking custody, or a foster parent pursuing adoption, you need an attorney who understands both the child welfare system and the intricacies of juvenile court.
Child welfare cases can address allegations of abuse or neglect, removal of children from the home, reunification services, kinship placements, termination of parental rights, guardianships, and adoption. The process is particularly challenging because it balances parental rights with child safety, often under compressed timelines that can permanently alter family relationships.
Benefits of Experienced Child Welfare Representation
Protects Your Rights
Child welfare proceedings threaten fundamental parental rights and family relationships. Experienced representation ensures your constitutional rights are protected, procedural requirements are met, and your voice is heard throughout the process. Whether defending against allegations or asserting custody rights, skilled advocacy makes the critical difference.
Navigates Complex Systems
Child welfare cases involve multiple agencies, court systems, and legal standards that differ from traditional family law. An attorney experienced in dependency proceedings understands DHS protocols, juvenile court procedures, Interstate Compact requirements, and how to coordinate between criminal investigations and civil child welfare matters when both are present.
Achieves Permanency for Children
Children in the child welfare system need stability and permanency. Whether reunifying with parents, establishing kinship custody, or finalizing adoption, experienced representation helps achieve timely resolutions that serve children's best interests while protecting family bonds whenever possible.
Handles High-Conflict Dynamics
Child welfare cases often involve domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues, and parental alienation. An attorney skilled in high-conflict litigation can navigate these sensitive dynamics while building compelling cases based on facts and evidence rather than emotions.
Provides Appellate Protection
With precedent-setting appellate experience, we identify and preserve issues for appeal throughout the trial court process. This strategic approach protects your rights not just at the trial level but ensures proper legal standards are applied, with the ability to challenge erroneous rulings if necessary.
Offers Multidisciplinary Coordination
When criminal investigations accompany child welfare cases, coordinated legal representation is essential. Reputation Law Group attorneys Kristi Erickson and Kelsey Berkley work collaboratively to help clients navigate DHS assessments and law enforcement investigations simultaneously, protecting your interests across both child welfare and criminal proceedings.
Our Child Welfare Representation Approach
Initial Case Assessment
We begin with a comprehensive review of your situation, including any DHS reports, court orders, treatment plans, or allegations. We assess the legal issues, identify potential defenses or claims, and develop a strategic approach tailored to your specific circumstances and goals.
Investigation & Evidence Gathering
Child welfare cases require thorough evidence development. We gather medical records, school reports, witness statements, expert evaluations, and other documentation that supports your case. When needed, we retain experts in child development, substance abuse, mental health, or other relevant fields.
Court Representation
We provide skilled advocacy at all court hearings including shelter hearings, adjudication trials, dispositional hearings, review hearings, permanency planning hearings, and termination trials. Our extensive trial experience and commanding courtroom presence ensures your case is presented persuasively before judges and juries.
Treatment Plan Compliance
For parents working toward reunification, we help ensure treatment plans are appropriate, achievable, and properly documented. We advocate for modifications when plans are unrealistic and demonstrate compliance when parents meet expectations, building records that support reunification goals.
Permanency Planning
We represent clients seeking various forms of permanency including kinship custody, guardianship, foster parent adoption, and step-parent adoption. We handle Interstate Compact requirements, home studies, termination proceedings, and all legal steps necessary to establish permanent, secure placements.
Appellate Advocacy
With published opinions in Colorado's highest courts, we provide sophisticated appellate representation when trial court errors occur. We identify appellable issues, preserve the record, and craft persuasive appellate briefs that shape Colorado child welfare law.
Issues Addressed in Child Welfare Cases
Dependency & Neglect Allegations
We defend parents against allegations of abuse, neglect, or providing injurious environments. We challenge insufficient evidence, present alternative explanations, and demonstrate parents' capacity to provide safe care. We also help parents understand allegations and work effectively with DHS to address legitimate concerns.
Reunification Services
For parents separated from children, we ensure treatment plans are reasonable and achievable. We advocate for appropriate services, document compliance, and build records supporting reunification. We also challenge unnecessary delays and push for timely return of children when parents meet expectations.
Kinship & Relative Custody
Family members seeking to care for children in DHS custody need experienced representation to navigate intervention procedures, placement preferences, and custody establishment. We help grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives assert their rights and obtain legal custody or guardianship.
Foster Parent Rights & Adoption
Foster parents who have bonded with children and wish to adopt need representation in termination proceedings and adoption finalization. We help foster families assert their standing, demonstrate their commitment, and successfully navigate the path from foster care to permanent adoption.
Grandparent Visitation
When grandparents are denied contact with grandchildren involved in child welfare cases, we advocate for visitation rights. We demonstrate existing relationships, the benefits of grandparent involvement, and help establish enforceable visitation orders.
Parents Without Appointed Counsel
Not all parents in dependency cases qualify for court-appointed counsel. We represent parents who don't meet indigency requirements but still need skilled legal representation to protect their parental rights and navigate complex child welfare proceedings.
Parental Alienation Cases
When one parent manipulates children against the other during or after dependency proceedings, we provide litigation strategies to address parental alienation. We work with mental health professionals, document alienating behaviors, and seek court intervention to protect parent-child relationships.
Interstate & ICPC Matters
When children or potential placements are in different states, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requirements apply. We handle the complex procedural requirements, coordinate with multiple state agencies, and advocate for timely approvals that serve children's best interests.
Special Considerations in Child Welfare Cases
Concurrent Criminal Investigations
When child welfare allegations involve potential criminal charges, parents face parallel proceedings with different standards and consequences. Reputation Law Group attorneys Kristi Erickson and Kelsey Berkley coordinate representation to develop strategies that protect your interests in both the child welfare and criminal justice systems simultaneously.
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Issues
Many child welfare cases involve parental substance abuse or mental health conditions. We help clients access appropriate treatment, document progress, and demonstrate capacity for safe parenting. We also challenge overly broad restrictions based on diagnoses rather than actual parenting capacity.
Domestic Violence Dynamics
Child welfare cases involving domestic violence require careful handling to protect victims while addressing children's needs. We help protective parents demonstrate their capacity for safe parenting and advocate for children's safety when violence is present.
Special Needs Children
Children with developmental, medical, or behavioral special needs require additional consideration in placement and permanency decisions. We help families demonstrate their ability to meet these unique needs and advocate for appropriate services and support.
The Child Welfare Legal Process
Shelter Hearing (Emergency Removal)
When DHS removes children on an emergency basis, shelter hearings occur within days to determine whether removal was necessary. We provide immediate representation to challenge improper removals or, when removal was necessary, advocate for appropriate temporary placements and services.
Adjudication (Dependency & Neglect Trial)
At adjudication, the court determines whether children are dependent or neglected. We defend against allegations through cross-examination, presentation of defense evidence, and legal arguments. We also help parents understand their options including admissions with treatment plans versus proceeding to trial.
Disposition & Treatment Planning
Following adjudication, the court determines custody arrangements and approves treatment plans. We advocate for reasonable plans, appropriate services, and custody arrangements that protect children while preserving family relationships whenever safely possible.
Review Hearings
Periodic review hearings monitor case progress. We demonstrate compliance with treatment plans, advocate for increased parenting time, and push for timely reunification or other permanency options when appropriate.
Permanency Planning Hearings
When reunification isn't achievable, the court identifies alternative permanent placements. We represent clients seeking various permanency outcomes including kinship custody, guardianship, or termination with adoption.
Termination of Parental Rights
Termination proceedings permanently sever the legal parent-child relationship. Whether defending parents' rights or seeking termination to facilitate adoption, we provide skilled advocacy in these high-stakes proceedings with lasting consequences.
Choosing the Right Child Welfare Attorney
Trial Experience
Child welfare cases require extensive courtroom experience. Our attorneys have litigated hundreds of dependency cases including jury trials and complex evidentiary hearings. This experience provides the skills needed to effectively present your case before judges and juries.
Appellate Expertise
With published opinions from the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court, we bring sophisticated legal analysis to trial proceedings. We identify appealable issues, preserve the record, and when necessary, pursue appellate remedies that protect your rights.
Child Welfare System Knowledge
Understanding DHS procedures, foster care regulations, ICPC requirements, and juvenile court practices is essential. Our deep knowledge of the child welfare system allows us to navigate these complex proceedings effectively and identify opportunities others might miss.
Sensitivity to Family Dynamics
Child welfare cases involve trauma, loss, and high emotions. We balance aggressive advocacy with empathy and understanding, recognizing that these cases involve real families facing genuine challenges, not just legal issues to resolve.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Welfare Cases
Contact an attorney immediately, before speaking extensively with caseworkers or allowing home visits beyond what's legally required. While cooperation is important, understanding your rights before making statements or decisions is critical. Early representation can prevent problems from escalating.
Can I get my children back if they've been removed?
Many parents successfully reunify with children after removal. Success depends on addressing the concerns that led to removal, complying with treatment plans, and demonstrating capacity for safe parenting. Early, skilled representation significantly improves reunification chances.
What if I don't qualify for a court-appointed attorney?
Not qualifying for free appointed counsel doesn't mean you should proceed without representation. Child welfare cases involve fundamental parental rights and require skilled advocacy. We work with clients to make quality representation accessible even when they don't meet indigency requirements.
How long do child welfare cases take?
Colorado law requires permanency decisions within 12 months, though cases often extend longer due to treatment progress, appeals, or other factors. Timelines vary based on case complexity, compliance with treatment plans, and the permanency goal being pursued.
Can grandparents or relatives get custody?
Family members can intervene in dependency cases and seek custody through kinship placements. Relatives often receive placement preference, but establishing legal custody or guardianship requires meeting specific legal standards and, typically, legal representation.
What happens if parental rights are terminated?
Termination permanently severs the legal parent-child relationship, ending all rights and responsibilities. The child becomes eligible for adoption. Termination decisions are made using the highest standard of proof in civil law (clear and convincing evidence) and can be appealed.
If you're involved in a child welfare or dependency case—whether as a parent, family member, foster parent, or kinship caregiver—contact our experienced legal team for a consultation. We understand the urgency and sensitivity these cases require.
Our goal is to protect your rights, preserve family relationships when possible, and achieve permanency and stability for the children involved. With extensive trial experience, appellate expertise, and deep knowledge of Colorado's child welfare system, we provide the skilled representation these high-stakes cases demand.
When child welfare cases involve criminal investigations, our team provides coordinated representation with Kristi Erickson handling dependency proceedings and Kelsey Berkley addressing criminal defense matters.
