Dear Parents in Juvenile CINA (Child in Need of Assistance) cases: Here are some things you might like to know before heading into court. Iowa practices a “one family, one judge” That means that barring any unforeseen circumstances, your hearings…
Hearings
Some of the questions a lot of people have are about the hearings. Although your case may be different, here is some general information about Child in Need of Assistance (“CINA”) case hearings. The hearings are listed in order, and…
How to Work with DHS Towards a Positive Outcome
As most people know, DHS has been in the news a lot lately—and not for good reasons. Following the starvation deaths of Natalie Finn last fall and Sabrina Ray more recently, Iowans—and their representatives—have been outraged (against the parents, DHS,…
To Social Media or Not; That is the Question
Some attorneys advise their clients to completely avoid social media when they are involved in juvenile court (or even family law court sometimes). While there are good reasons for that, I don’t take that position with my clients, for the…
Leaving Kids Alone
Last night, one of my neighbor boys came by to ask if he could use my phone. I don’t know his name, but I’ll call him Billy. The boys are, I would guess, upper elementary age. I agreed, but asked,…
Problem Solving
One of the most well-known pieces of general business advice is that to be a problem solver; if you can solve a problem someone has, you will make money. But this isn’t only true in business, or in the narrow…
What Did I Do Well Today?
Many of us use task lists to keep track of all the things we need to do. But while that’s a good thing as far as it goes, I’ve started asking myself a different question at the beginning of each…
Monthly Task List
Introduction The Monthly Task List (“MTL”) is one of the most important things that can help you stay on track. Both the court and DHS will require that you do certain things in order to reunify with your kids. There…