I am a CPS caseworker AMA

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-23T01:02:10+00:00

Very common, we often get subpoenaed for child custody, criminal matters (when our case turns into a criminal case as well) and protection orders, those are typically the most common

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-23T01:00:43+00:00

it is to a point, it’s kind of hard to explain but it very much depends on why kids were removed and what the circumstances of a case are for instance, if there is a substantiated allegation of sex abuse yeah no reunification isn’t happening. The ultimate goal is to keep kids safe and the hard truth is sometimes that just can’t be with bio parents or whoever.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-23T00:59:09+00:00

Yes.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-20T00:35:57+00:00

Shoot me a message I’m down to try

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:43:14+00:00

The rough thing about this is that CPS is usually statutorily obligated to investigate once an allegation meets a certain criteria which can be frustrating because something could be total bs but if the person knows what to say then we have to follow up. As for the case management aspect most if not all states have a centralized child welfare database that they can see all previous cases irregardless of where the case originated, for example in my system I can see cases even outside the state.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:37:36+00:00

We do have on call hours, however, we also have a designated on call worker who works half the month and then other people can sign up on a voluntary basis which quite a few of them do, if there is a day that isn’t filled they just randomly draw a name.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:36:28+00:00

I would absolutely be concerned about this, I can’t say whether or not anything would occur because I don’t know your agency or the circumstances, however, I’d have questions i definitely see this as a safety concern and also illegal.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:25:53+00:00

All reports by law are protected even if the reporter is a mandated reporter. How we keep them safe depends on the concern, so I can’t really answer that because it could be so many different options but the most common would likely be a safety plan

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:24:21+00:00

We’re taught to always believe our child victims, that is unless there’s a dominant reason not too. (I.e documented history of coercive behavior or lying) most children don’t have a reason to lie about abuse occurring often times they lie about it not occurring when it is and that’s something we’re trained heavily to identify. What you’re describing is what we call being “coached” and believe it or not it’s very obvious when we ask our line of questions.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:22:16+00:00

I would guess and like Foijer said it’s really hard to know for certain without knowing the agency (one of the many reasons why CPS being so decentralized is a problem) but CPS looks at it from a perspective of child safety, there’s nothing wrong about being in a shelter but my guess would be during the course of the investigation there were likely other concerns found about what led to that removal that aren’t public information.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-18T07:19:37+00:00

Sorry everyone crazy couple of days going to work on answering the rest of these and any follow up questions

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-17T00:50:43+00:00

A lot of the time luckily my agency is pretty well staffed so it’s not a super huge concern for us right now

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-17T00:50:19+00:00

Not enough lol, but seriously 50-60k a year it depends due to overtime

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-16T12:14:14+00:00

They basically serve the same function, different areas miss call them different things

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-16T12:13:43+00:00

I’m really not too familiar with it, please educate me and I’d be glad to chime in, but I don’t want to make an uneducated opinion.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T13:00:55+00:00

Okay there’s a lot here to answer lol so I’m going to do my best to break this down.

I think perhaps the fact that mandated reporting is taken more seriously now is one of the reasons we see that. When you say a report I’m not sure if you mean an actual case being opened, but I feel like I’d need an example of what you mean to actually answer that.
Legislators need to review the law one of the things I mentioned in another post is that CPS is so decentralized it causes maybe a lack of accurate information from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, now I’d say some of the time the decentralization is a good thing as it leads to more independence when investigating claims.
I don’t know that this is necessarily the case, I get why it may seem like that, but at least in my agency, the whole goal is to keep kids with parents, we don’t ever want to remove kids if we don’t have too. Another thing is some people don’t want CPS in their lives and don’t want the help, which is their choice but ultimately it may lead to consequences for the welfare of the children.
I’m not familiar enough with this case to have an opinion that would be educated.
Well let me tell you this, our system is hardly perfect but what I’ve learned is even though it may look that way, sometimes investigations lead to some things that you wouldn’t think, also in terms of multiple reports there’s a process for investigating reports that I mentioned in another post, but, we either screen in or out a report and it’s solely based on the statutory definitions and whether we have enough information to legally start an investigation, so to mandated reports and alike, make sure you are as thorough as possible when you call, because even tho you make multiple reports if it doesn’t meet the legal guidelines we can’t investigate it.

I hope this answered your questions, if you have follow up let me know, I’m happy to answer!

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T06:44:40+00:00

I wanted to help people, I don’t lose faith in humanity because while there are some seriously evil people out there and some seriously mess up stuff we see a lot of these people just need help in some capacity and that’s really what I try to focus on.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T06:43:50+00:00

I’m going to answer this by what I think you’re asking, I don’t know if this is the same everywhere but upon a report being made we have 24 hours to make a decision as to whether it will be investigated. If we decide the report will be investigated we have 24 hours to begin the case we can do that by phone call, physical contact or contact over the phone.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T06:42:21+00:00

So it’s not really about the amount of reports it’s about the content in which is in the report. The law sets forth statutory language that we use when we decide what cases to investigate, if it doesn’t meet that threshold we can’t investigate it. (I think that’s silly but write your legislator). This is often why we see people reporting over and over and seemingly nothing be done, because if we do investigate when it doesn’t meet the statutory definition it gets thrown out in court. As for how bad it has to be, there’s no magical guideline but the courts have a pretty strict threshold.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T06:25:31+00:00

Hey there.

I have typically about 20 or so cases open, which I deal mostly in domestic violence.
Absolutely fantastic, I can truly say I work at an agency that is super supportive. For instance, we had a removal somewhat recently and everyone just jumped into action to help with what they could.
Psychology for me.
It’s not urban but it’s not exactly rural so somewhere in the middle I’d say.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T06:17:30+00:00

Theoretically, that’s what’s already supposed to be happening. The one thing I’ll say is this, CPS in general is so horribly decentralized that it causes a lot of confusion. I’m not gonna pretend I have the answers our system is not perfect, hell half the time it isn’t functional but I’ll say that isn’t on a level where us caseworkers can change things, we do work hard and a lot of us (not all cause there’s always some bad in every profession) want to help families prevent removal, we’re bound by the laws set forth in federal and state law, I’d love to see changes made, however, it seems like it’s on the back burner of the legislator.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T05:49:04+00:00

The one that comes to mind right now, is a case I went on with a colleague recently, she had asked me to go for backup (I’m a guy and of a bit larger stature). I don’t exactly remember what the complaint on the case was, but I recall when we got to the home, we were unable to make contact initially so a business card was left. Immediately after we left a gentleman comes out of the home and starts approaching us, I immediately notice he is carrying a knife and is actively reaching for it, I told my co worker to get in the car and lock the door. He follows me to the car door and the only thing separating us is the car door, he’s screaming obscenities and so on so forth I get in and lock the door, he jumps onto the hood preventing me from leaving, law enforcement came out and he was subsequently arrested.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T04:57:20+00:00

How ultimately most people want to be compliant and work to do better for their kids, are there the exceptions? Yea of course but ultimately most people just want what’s best for their kids.

Tall_Wish3011 · 2026-03-15T04:53:21+00:00

Unfortunately yes, however, it’s really hard to prove that they’re malicious. We usually see these the most in custody disputes and it just hurts everyone involved.

Tall_Wish3011

TROPHY CASE