DHS Is Not an Unbiased Organization
Video Transcribed: Hey, grandparents. Act fast if DHS is involved. Hi, I’m Oklahoma Grandparents Rights Attorney, and I’m going to talk to you about what to do if DHS is involved in your life in any way.
The first thing and most important thing is to seek legal counsel. Most people do not, most people handle DHS on their own. And I can tell you from experience in many, many of my cases, that most will regret that decision, at the end of the day.
DHS is not an unbiased organization, they form opinions very quickly. They stick to them. And if you are able to get counsel involved at an early point, that can help in shaping DHS’s opinion of you as grandparents.
If your children are under investigation by DHS, oftentimes DHS will reach out to you as a potential placement, or as a witness to their behavior, or a character witness, if you will. That is very, very common.
In those types of situations, it is really, really important that you maintain your credibility with DHS and give yourself options in the future because DHS will play a very large role, once they’re involved, they play a very large role in deciding who has placement of the child, who might be a safety monitor for a voluntary safety plan.
All of these things are very important in determining how your grandchildren are going to end up. And most of all, we want to avoid traditional foster placement at all costs, really, because we all know that traditional foster placements can be fraught with risk for the child, especially in a shelter, or a bad foster home, they exist.
I know a lot of good foster parents, but there are some bad ones out there. If you have any more questions, feel free to seek counsel from our office to speak with a Grandparents Rights Attorney in Tulsa, OK, we’d be happy to help.