Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: faimly law

CPS is in a great deal of trouble right now for their egregious failures to protect children who need protecting.

In order to appear that they are doing their job, CPS tends to err on the side of caution - and "err" is my emphasis. You are probably correct that they have absolutely no rational basis to request a collateral relative be drug tested.

The problem is that if you DON'T cooperate, they'll say that. "The grandmother refused to be tested for drugs" is what they will write in their report, and the inference a judge will draw is that you are obviously a long term heavy drug abuser.

You need to tread carefully when the State is involved in a child's life, especially where there is a cloud of suspiction but not a lot of proof, because proof is in the eye of the fact-finder.

You need to be prepared to stand up for the child and give the appearance of total cooperation. What you THINK about this process is still completely up to you - but your conduct and your actions are under scrutiny tight now.

The parent or guardian of the child is entitled to counsel at public expense if a dependency has been filed. If not, this is a bewildering process which is designed as a full employment act for scores of state workers, and they will take the child in a heartbeat even on a flimsy basis such as your perceived refusal to take a drug test.

The attorney in WA who can best help you is Gary Preble in Olympia. You can look him up at avvo.com ( a v v o). Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell