Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Washington

Re: Background Check

This question is probably miscategorized, but I also do Family Law and Paternity so I will address the general concepts of this situation.

I always feel uncomfortable with questions such as this one, because so much information is not available to me, e.g. what was the juvenile crime charged, what was the disposition, how long ago was it, where did it happen, how old were you when it happened, what does the release that CPS wants you to sign ask for in terms of information, what are you authorizing them to look at, etc. With all that and more that I don't know, I will discuss some general concepts, but I cannot address your specific situation.

In general a person doesn't have to sign anything without a court order that says they have to sign. Consequences of not signing may include problems for another person (the person who has custody of a child or children that CPS is monitoring). The State if it does not think that a child is safe or if it believes it cannot reasonably ensure the safety of child in a residence may change arrangements, including that certain persons are not be allowed in the house or removal of a child. No real consequences for the person who refuses to sign the release beyond possible exclusion from the location where a protected child is resides.

If a person does sign a release, and if they are asked for a disclosure of information, they should read the disclosure requirement carefully and respond accurately, and they should not presume that because a prior arrest was juvenile that it will not be accessible by the State, and it is better to honestly disclose than to have the State discover it. The next big variable is that how aggressively CPS will handles some matters is difficult to predict. There is some degree of variability from county to county and even from caseworker to caseworker.