A Safe Home for a Happy Child
Children need a stable home environment to thrive. Part of a stable environment is safety. A child who feels safe at home can cope with stressors better, overcome adversity, and develop healthily. But safety is more than just child-proofing and adult supervision. For those involved in child welfare cases, safety can mean much more.
If the Division of Child Protection and Permanency has involved you in a case, you may have been given a safety plan to follow. Typically, safety plans include a set of requirements or steps a parent must follow to provide their child a home the Division considers safe. If your child is still in your custody, you will be expected to follow the plan, and the Division will be checking to make sure you do. If your child has been removed from your home, you may have been given some steps to complete to improve the safety of your home so you can be reunited with your child. Whether or not they are involved in your safety plan, here are a few things you may be expected to do to make sure your child feels safe in your home.
Protect your child from abuse, neglect, or mistreatment from others. Make sure those who live with you or spend time in your home do not harm your child. Don’t leave anyone in your home until you are sure they will not harm your child. Along those same lines, make sure you protect your child from parental kidnapping. Obtain a custody order to put legally enforceable protections in place.
Ensure your child has his or her needs met. A child might not feel safe if he or she is hungry, in need of medical care, or has other unmet needs.
Make sure your child knows how to get help when needed. Make sure you have a phone and contacts your child can call if he or she needs help when you are not there. You can’t be with your child 100% of the time, but you can make sure your child can reach you or another adult when they need help.
Speak with an experienced New Jersey child welfare attorney if you are involved in a child welfare case with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. It is very important to meet all the requirements the Division gives you. An attorney can make sure those requirements are reasonable, feasible, and are based on facts. An attorney can also help you access the resources you might need to follow your safety plan.
If you have questions about a child welfare case, the Williams Law Group, LLC is here to help. The experienced attorneys at Williams Law Group, LLC can help you understand the requirements of your safety plan and help you meet them. Located in Union, New Jersey, Williams Law Group, LLC provides compassionate and dedicated legal services to Union, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties, and the surrounding areas. Our knowledgeable attorneys handle divorce and family law, child custody, and child abuse/neglect cases. Call our office at (908) 810-1083, email us at info@awilliamslawgroup.com, or contact us through our confidential online form to schedule a consultation and ultimately get you connected with an experienced New Jersey divorce and child custody attorney.
