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CPS Investigations and Findings
Introduction
Child Protective Services (CPS) is a
statewide government agency. It is part of
the Department of Social and Health
Services (DSHS). The people who work at
CPS are called case workers or social
workers.
 If the CPS worker believes
the conduct s/he is
investigating is serious
enough to be criminal, the
police might conduct their
own investigation. If the
police contact you, you
should contact a criminal
defense attorney before you
speak with them.
CPS findings of abuse or neglect can keep
you from working or volunteering with
children, developmentally delayed adults,
or the elderly for the rest of your life. This
publication gives you information about
your rights and responsibilities when CPS
makes a finding against you.
If CPS is investigating you for abuse or
neglect of a child, CPS must send you a
letter when the investigation is complete.
The letter will either inform you that CPS
believes the allegation is
 For general information
about the Role of CPS and its
involvement with your
family, or if a Dependency
action has been filed in
court, see Legal Voice’s
publication called Child
Protective Services (CPS) and
Dependency Action.
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Founded (more likely than not that
the abuse or neglect occurred) OR
•
Unfounded (more likely than not
that the abuse or neglect did not
occur)
 Make sure CPS has an
address where you will get
notices. CPS must notify you
by sending a letter by
certified mail. You have a
short time to challenge a
finding. It is critical that you
receive this notice.
Why is CPS investigating? How long
will the investigation take?
If someone reports child abuse or neglect to
CPS, CPS is required to investigate. CPS
must finish its investigation within 90 days
after the complaint. They can take longer
only if law enforcement is investigating
possible sexual abuse.
How will a CPS finding affect me?
A CPS finding is not a criminal conviction. It
is not available to the general public. It is an
administrative finding. However, it will
show up on your DSHS background check,
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even if you are appealing it. If you have a
CPS finding, you are permanently barred
from any work or volunteer position that
gives you unsupervised access to children
or vulnerable adults. This includes
volunteering at a child’s school,
housekeeping for a long-term care facility,
or caregiver jobs, among many others.
•
If you do not request review within 30
days, it is very hard or impossible to get
the finding off your record, even if it is
wrong or you did not receive the notice.
This is why it is so important to give CPS a
good address until you are certain the
investigation is done. Although it is CPS’s
duty to notify you, if your request is late,
you will have to convince the judge that you
should still get a hearing.
A CPS finding will be reported to the DSHS
Background Check Central Unit (BCCU). If
you apply to volunteer or work with
children, elderly, or developmentally
delayed individuals, you will be asked to
allow the employer to request a report
from BCCU. The CPS finding will appear as
an adverse action of abuse/neglect of a
child. At this time, the law does not provide
a way to remove an adverse action from the
BCCU report.
A CPS supervisor must complete the review
of your request within 30 days of the day
CPS received it.
CPS’ review affirmed the finding.
Now what?
I got a “founded” letter from CPS.
What should I do?
If the supervisor at CPS does not change the
finding that you abused or neglected a
child, CPS must send you a letter telling you
that they will not change the finding (that
they “affirmed” the finding). You have 30
days from receiving the decision to request
a hearing with the Office of Administrative
Hearings (OAH).
If you get a letter from CPS telling you that
they decided the allegation of abuse or
neglect is FOUNDED, you have 30 days from
the date CPS sent you the letter to ask CPS
to review the decision. CPS must receive
your request within 30 days of the date you
received the letter.
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You must ask CPS to review the
decision in writing. You may include
more information for CPS to
consider, such as your explanation
or declarations from witnesses.
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You should write the date on your
letter to CPS.
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You may mail it or take it to the CPS
office that sent you the CPS finding
notice.
Keep a copy for your records with a
note about how and when you sent
or delivered it to CPS.
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You must request the hearing in
writing within 30 days.
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Date your letter and keep a copy of
it.
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Mail your letter requesting a hearing
to:
Office of Administrative Hearings
P.O. Box 42488
Olympia WA 98504-2488
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You have the right to ask for an
interpreter at no cost to you.
OAH will send you and the CPS
representative a letter about your case. Be
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sure to note any dates listed in the letter
and to appear (in person or by phone) on
those dates.
appeal to a Review Judge who works for
DSHS' Board of Appeals (BOA). The appeal is
called a Petition for Review. Instructions on
how to petition for review and the deadline
will be attached to the ALJ's Initial Decision.
A Petition for BOA Review is necessary
before you can appeal to Superior Court.
What happens at the hearing?
Before your hearing, OAH will set a prehearing conference with an Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ). The conference will most
likely be on the phone.
The appeal to the BOA is in writing only.
Neither you nor CPS appear before the
Review Judge. The Review Judge considers
only the documents and testimony from
your hearing with the ALJ. You cannot add
any new facts or documents on appeal. This
is why you must present all your evidence
(documents and testimony) at your hearing
with the ALJ. If you send the BOA a written
appeal, you must also send the CPS
representative a copy. CPS will have a
chance to respond in writing to your appeal,
and vice versa.
The pre-hearing conference is your chance
to understand the issues better and to help
you get ready for your hearing. At the prehearing conference, ask the ALJ to require
the CPS representative to send you a copy
of your entire CPS file if they have not
already given it to you. You can ask for the
copy to be on paper or electronically
(example: on a thumb drive).
After the prehearing conference, the judge
will send another letter with important
dates. These dates are the deadlines for
you and the CPS representative to file
evidence (such as documents, pictures, and
other papers that help show why the
finding is incorrect) and to provide a list of
witnesses. You will need to send an exact
copy of anything you send the ALJ to the
CPS representative by the date in the letter.
If the ALJ does not send you a deadline,
your evidence is due to the ALJ and CPS
representative five days before the hearing.
The Review Judge will send you and CPS a
written decision. This is called a Review
Decision. If you disagree with the Review
Decision, you have the right to file a
Petition for Review of Administrative
Decision to the Superior Court of your
county or to the Superior Court of Thurston
County. If you decide to do this, you must
do so within 30 days of the date of the
Review Decision. If you cannot find a lawyer
to help you file your appeal to Superior
Court, use our do-it-yourself packet How to
Petition for Superior Court Review.
If there are dates or times you cannot go to
the hearing, tell the ALJ so at the prehearing conference, or send OAH and the
CPS representative a letter. Otherwise, OAH
just sets a date, and changing it can be
hard.
Will the investigation end when my
“case” closes?
It depends. CPS might have more than one
“case” involving you. One part of CPS might
offer you services to help fix issues with you
and your children. Another part investigates
abuse and neglect. CPS might close your
case involving “services,” but continue the
What happens after the hearing?
The ALJ will send you and CPS a written
decision. If you or CPS disagree with the
ALJ's Initial Decision, you have the right to
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investigation of abuse or neglect even after
they stop contacting you. The investigation
is not over until you get a notice saying the
allegation is Founded or Unfounded (even
if more than 90 days have passed). If you
are not sure whether CPS has an open
investigation, contact them and ask. Protect
yourself against misinformation by
following up in writing and saving a copy for
your records.
Washington, or ‘RCW’) and regulation
(Washington Administrative Code or
‘WAC’). The key laws are:
Where can I read the law about CPS
investigations and findings?
State laws about CPS investigations and
findings are in statute (Revised Code of
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Investigation: RCW 26.44.010
through 26.44.030 and WAC 388-15021
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Notice: RCW 26.44.100, WAC 38815-069
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Review and Appeal: RCW 26.44.125,
WAC 388-15-085 through - 141
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Background Check: RCW 43.43.830
and .832, WAC 388-06
This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended
as a substitute for specific legal advice.
This information is current as of April 2014.
© 2014 Northwest Justice Project — 1-888-201-1014
(Permission for copying and distribution granted to the Alliance for Equal Justice and to individuals for noncommercial purposes only.)
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