Have An Attorney Present When DHS Is Involved

Video Transcribed: My name is Brian L. Jackson and I’m a Tulsa father’s rights attorney. And I want to talk a little bit about DHS. I’ve been on the Tulsa Father’s Rights group recently on Facebook, and I’ve seen some posts complaining about DHS, and specifically dealing with things like DHS workers giving advanced notice on a home visit, or suspicion of them being dishonest. And I want to talk a little bit about that and about dealing with them.

So how about an advanced warning? Well, it’s unfortunate. I mean, it can be a problem in certain types of allegations. Like for example, if somebody is accused of having a filthy house and neglecting the kids, advanced notices can be a problem because it gives them a chance to clean.

But it’s kind of a double-edged sword because the other side of it is, guys if you’re the one that’s accused, you may want to have a lawyer present before you talk to any DHS worker about anything. Especially if you’re talking about a real serious allegation.

Like for example, if you’ve been accused of sexual impropriety, or beating your kids. And forgive my bluntness about that, but if you talk about something serious like that, you definitely want a lawyer present. Because you’re talking about something that not only can it end in a deprived case where the state may step in and try to take your children away.

But a lot of that stuff is also criminal, and it can come in under title 21 as a felony. So you definitely want a lawyer present. And for you to have a lawyer present means that there needs to be some notice about when they’re going to come around. So it is kind of a double-edged sword.

As to dishonesty, I’ve unfortunately seen situations where DHS workers were not 100% honest. That happens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they exaggerate.

Sometimes they misinterpret. Sometimes they’re pretty convinced that somebody is a bad person, or they’re a bad parent and it causes them to believe the ends justify the means, and they may stretch the truth. I’m careful about saying outright lying, because I mean sometimes people will tell things that are provably false, that they really do believe, and I’m not sure I’d call that a lie.

It’s evidence of the problems with witness testimony, and eye witness testimonies. Witnesses are not infallible, and they may genuinely believe what they’re telling you, and it could still be genuinely false.

So what do you do about that? Well, if you’re on the receiving end of an investigation, I think it goes without saying, get a lawyer, get them involved early. And if you’re talking about any kind of a serious allegation, then you want to have your lawyer present before you talk with DHS. And we’ve talked about that in the past.

On the other side of it, if a DHS worker is investigated like you were the one that filed the report and the DHS worker does a crappy job of investigating, and you still believe there’s a problem, well once again, get a lawyer. You don’t have to wait for DHS to intervene in order to take action on your own. You can get a lawyer, have your lawyer file an appropriate pleading with the court.

If you’re talking about an immediate threat, then you’re maybe looking at seeking an emergency temporary order. The standard of that’s pretty high because you’re talking about an immediate threat to the health, safety, or welfare of your child or children.

And things that generally courts will consider under that standard are things like serious drug abuse, serious alcohol abuse, any kind of physical child abuse. Sexual abuse is obvious, serious neglect, medical neglect. Actually dental neglect, I’ve had judges sign orders on that basis. But it has to be an immediate threat to their health, welfare, or safety.

If you have somebody unsafe in the household, that’s another example, particularly if they have a history of violent crime or domestic abuse. In those types of situations, you can get an emergency ex parte order. You don’t have to wait around for DHS to do whatever it is they’re going to do or not do.

And if it’s a real emergency, you shouldn’t, because DHS is a state bureaucracy. I mean no disrespect to the department, they do their job. They have a very difficult job. But they are a state bureaucracy, and because of that, the wheels can sometimes turn slowly. That’s where you want to be the proactive dad, get your lawyer involved. Take care of it. Don’t wait for DHS.

My name is Brian L. Jackson, I’m a dads’ rights attorney in Tulsa and we’ve been talking about DHS and some of the problems that fathers will find dealing with DHS.