When CPS steps in, the clock starts ticking. Understanding CPS case timelines and the sequence of dependency court hearings can be the difference between a short disruption and a long separation. Here’s the truth: courts move on strict deadlines, and your consistent action—treatment, testing, and safe parenting time—has to keep pace. This hub explains what happens next and how to use every hearing to move closer to reunification.
Navigating This Guide
This hub page serves as the entry point for deeper exploration. Use the links below to dive into specific areas of CPS Basics & Parent Guide:
- CPS and Addiction
- Treatment & Recovery
- Outcomes & Appeals
- CPS Basics & Parent Guide
- Family Roles
- Stories, Media & Community
- Legal Guides
- Practical Tools
- Court-ordered
Sub-Menu
- What Happens When CPS Is Called for Substance Use?
- Drug Testing in CPS Cases: Types, Timelines, and What Results Mean
- Case Timelines & Hearings: From Petition to Permanency
- CPS Parental Rights: Your Case Plan, Visitation, and Due Process
- How Entering Treatment Helps Your Custody Case
- Safety Plans vs. Removal: What Parents Should Know
- Kinship Care & Relative Placement: Keeping Kids with Family
Why Timelines Matter: Fast Facts That Should Focus You
- Parental substance use is linked to a large share of foster care entries nationwide; babies face the highest risk.
- Many jurisdictions expect visible progress within 6–12 months, with regular reviews along the way.
- Roughly half of children exiting foster care reunify with their parents when safety is restored.
- Courts look for patterns, not perfection: steady treatment participation, negative tests over time, reliable visits, and safer routines at home.
Bottom line: time matters. The sooner you engage in treatment and document progress, the stronger your case becomes.
CPS Case Timelines: From Petition to Permanency
Here’s a plain-English map of the usual path. Local procedures vary, but the rhythm is similar across most systems.
1) Report & Investigation (Days to Weeks).
CPS screens a report and, if concerns meet criteria, investigates. You may be asked to test, meet with a caseworker, and agree to a safety plan.
2) Petition & Initial/Preliminary Hearing (Within Days of Removal, if any).
If CPS believes court oversight is needed, the agency files a petition. At the initial hearing a judge reviews safety, appoints counsel if eligible, and decides temporary placement (home with conditions, kinship care, or foster care). Ask for written expectations immediately.
3) Adjudication (Fact-Finding) Hearing (Usually 30–60 Days).
The court decides whether the allegations are legally proven. If sustained, the case remains under court oversight. If not, the case can be dismissed. Bring your attorney, evidence of treatment enrollment, and early negative tests.
4) Disposition & Case Plan (Often Same Day or Soon After Adjudication).
The judge orders services: substance use assessment, level-of-care treatment (detox, residential, IOP, MAT), therapy, parenting in recovery classes, testing, and visitation. This is your roadmap. Get it in writing; calendar every task.
5) Review Hearings (Every 3–6 Months).
The court evaluates progress: attendance, test results, visitation quality, housing stability, and barriers. Consistent improvement can mean more parenting time or trial home visits.
6) Permanency Hearing (Around 12 Months; Sometimes Sooner).
The judge decides a long-term plan: reunification, guardianship, placement with relatives, or another option. Demonstrated safety and stability position you for reunification. Delays or non-compliance can trigger a shift in plan.
7) Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) or Reunification (Case End).
If safety can’t be restored within timelines, the agency may seek TPR. If safety is restored, the court moves toward reunification and case closure, often with short-term monitoring or services to support stability.
Pro tip: Ask about concurrent planning—working toward reunification while identifying safe relatives. It keeps children connected to family and can shorten time in care.
Dependency Court Hearings: What Each One Means (and How to Win Them)
Use each hearing to show a pattern of safety.
Initial/Preliminary Hearing
- Goal: Stabilize safety, set expectations, appoint counsel.
- What helps: Proof you scheduled your assessment, first test completed, housing plan, and names of supportive relatives.
Adjudication
- Goal: Decide if allegations are legally proven.
- What helps: Documentation that you engaged in treatment quickly, early negative tests, counseling intake, and visitation attendance.
Disposition/Case Plan
- Goal: Lock in a tailored plan that targets substance use and any mental health needs.
- What helps: Advocate for services that fit your schedule (evening IOP, MAT-friendly providers, transportation help). Put requests in writing.
Review Hearings (3–6 Months)
- Goal: Measure progress; adjust services and visitation.
- What helps: A thick folder (or phone folder) of proof—lab reports, attendance logs, parenting-class certificates, safe housing verification, and feedback from providers.
Permanency Hearing (≈12 Months)
- Goal: Decide the long-term plan.
- What helps: Months of consistent negatives, completed or near-completed services, strong visitation, and a stable home routine for your child (school, meals, bedtime, childcare).
If relapse happens: Own it, step up care (e.g., move from IOP to residential or add MAT/trauma therapy), and document the change. Courts favor honesty plus quick course correction over silence.
True Stories of Addiction: Watch & Find Hope
Having a history of drug abuse and trauma, he began to act out and experiment with drugs. To fit in, he tried heroin and he began using drug regularly. After years of abuse he tries rehab and puts his hands in a higher power. After 45 days of treatment, he decided to stay the full 90 days. With years of sobriety, he is finally happy with his life.
Take the Next Step (Today)
- Engage in treatment now. Book your assessment this week and follow the recommended level of care (detox, residential, IOP, MAT).
- Show up and document. Keep every lab report, class certificate, and visit log in one place—organized parents tell stronger stories.
- Communicate through counsel. Send updates before each hearing so your progress is in the record.
- Ask for reasonable supports. Transportation, childcare, language access, and kinship options can remove barriers and speed reunification.
You are more than a case file. With a clear plan, steady action, and smart use of the court calendar, you can move from petition to permanency—and bring your family back together. For referrals to programs experienced with CPS cases, call our helpline at (866) 578-7471. Compassionate help starts here.
