CPS Court Hearings
What Happens at a CPS Review or Reunification Hearing?
If you have a CPS court hearing coming up, organizing your records beforehand can help you understand what has happened in your case and what questions to ask.
Court terminology and procedure vary by state
Why CPS Cases Have Review Hearings
CPS cases are often monitored by the court over time. Review hearings let the court check on the progress of the case, see whether services are being completed, hear about visitation, and make decisions about placement, services, and next steps.
Reunification hearings may focus specifically on whether a child can return home. The court considers the evidence presented, the recommendations of CPS, and the positions of the parents before making decisions.
Read the Hearing Notice
The notice you received from the court should tell you the date, time, location (or video link), and purpose of the hearing. Read it carefully and share it with your attorney.
The notice may also tell you what to bring, whether to file anything in advance, and whether the other parent will be present. Do not assume the hearing will follow the same format as a previous one.
Review the Current Court Order
Bring the most recent signed court order to the hearing. The order tells you what the court previously required, what the court found, and what was scheduled. If you do not have a copy, ask your attorney or caseworker.
Review the Current Case Plan
Bring the most recent case plan or service plan. Compare it to your completion records to see what has been finished and what is still listed as outstanding.
What Services Have Been Completed?
Organize proof of completion for every service you have finished — certificates, letters, attendance records, and lab results. Bring copies to the hearing if your attorney advises it.
What Does the Latest CPS Report Recommend?
Obtain the most recent CPS or caseworker report. Read it carefully and identify what the caseworker is recommending — continued services, increased visitation, reunification, or something else.
If the report says something different from what your completion records show, flag it as an issue to discuss with your attorney.
What Does the Visitation Record Show?
Organize your visitation records — scheduled visits, attended visits, cancellations, supervisor notes, and any changes in visitation level. A pattern of consistent, positive visits may be relevant to the court’s decision.
Have Any New Concerns Been Raised?
Check whether any new concerns or allegations have appeared in recent reports that were not in earlier ones. If so, identify when they first appeared and what record supports them.
A new concern raised after you completed services may be relevant to why reunification has not moved forward. Do not assume the new concern is accurate — flag it as an issue requiring review.
Child Placement and Permanency Information
Know where your child is currently placed — foster care, kinship placement, or another arrangement. Understand what the current permanency plan is — reunification, adoption, guardianship, or another goal.
If the permanency plan has changed, ask your attorney when it changed and why.
Before Court Checklist
Use this checklist to make sure you have the key items organized before your hearing. Not every item will apply to every case — ask your attorney which are relevant to yours.
- Latest court order
- Hearing notice
- Current case plan
- Completion certificates
- Drug-testing records if applicable
- Counseling / treatment records
- Evaluations
- Visitation records
- CPS reports
- Caseworker communications
- Important dates
- Questions for attorney
Questions for Your Attorney
Meet with your attorney before the hearing and bring your organized materials. Consider asking:
- What is the purpose of this hearing?
- What does the court need to see to consider reunification?
- Are my completed services accurately reflected in the court record?
- Has CPS raised any new concerns since the last hearing?
- What should I be prepared to address?
- What evidence should I bring?
What Parents Should Not Assume About the Hearing
Do not assume the hearing will result in reunification. Do not assume the judge has read every document in your case. Do not assume the caseworker’s recommendation will be followed automatically.
Do not assume that completing services means the court will change the placement. The court makes decisions based on the evidence, the law, and the child’s best interests — not on services alone.
Important
HAVE A CPS HEARING COMING UP?
Walking into a hearing without organized records can make it harder to address what the court needs to see. The Case Advocates can help organize court orders, case plans, completion records, visitation history, CPS reports and important dates so you arrive prepared.
If this is your situation, don’t wait.
NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING HOW THIS RELATES TO YOUR CASE?
Every case is different. Court orders, agency records, allegations, evidence, services, communications and procedural history can change the significance of what you are reading.
The Case Advocates provides case organization and document-review support for parents dealing with complicated CPS, custody, parenting-time, child-support, guardianship and related family-court matters.
Services may include:
- Organizing case records
- Building case timelines
- Identifying missing documents
- Organizing allegations and supporting/disputing evidence
- Documenting case-plan or service compliance
- Organizing visitation or parenting-time records
- Identifying inconsistencies and issues requiring review
- Preparing questions for attorneys, caseworkers or other professionals
- Preparing an organized case picture for upcoming case activity
The Case Advocates is a case advocacy service. We do not provide legal representation or legal advice and cannot guarantee any court or agency outcome.