Working Together
When working with child welfare caseworkers, it is important to know and understand their expectations for you. While they are there to help you and your family, their main concern is your child’s safety. That being said, caseworkers expect parents to be concerned with their child’s safety as well and expect them to cooperate with the child welfare case process.
But what does that mean? Your caseworkers might not have the time to give you personal guidance throughout the entire process, so here is some information that can help you better understand what caseworkers will expect from you during the case:
The biggest expectation caseworkers will have of you will be cooperation and engagement. The role of the child welfare caseworker is to make sure the child has a permanent and safe place to live. In the vast majority of cases, that means the child returns home to his or her parents once it is safe to do so. Starting with that assumption, your caseworker will expect you to have the same goal in mind: for your child to return home. Listen to your caseworker and work with him or her on developing a reasonable safety plan.
Your caseworker will expect you to be committed to bringing your child back home. Unfortunately, this sometimes means caseworkers will make unreasonable requests. You may be expected to complete certain steps, which may or may not be required of you. Some parents feel like they have to jump through arbitrary hoops to get their child back. Working with an experienced New Jersey child custody and welfare attorney can help ensure this doesn’t happen to you. An attorney can make sure you fulfill any requirements and complete any court-ordered steps while challenging unnecessary or unreasonable requests.
Your caseworkers will also expect you to want to make changes in your life and your home to strengthen your family, increase the safety of your home, and ensure your child will be safe with you long-term. Knowing what changes you need to make can be difficult, however, so you should speak with an attorney if you have any questions about what you should be doing. Without personal, step by step guidance, it can be hard to navigate the child welfare case process as a parent. An experienced child welfare attorney can help you through the process with confidence.
If you have questions about the child welfare case process, the Williams Law Group, LLC can help you. Our skilled child welfare and child custody attorneys can advise you of your rights and help you navigate the child welfare case process with confidence. 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.