Call the Department of Human Services
Video Transcribed: My name is Jason Lile, and I am a Tulsa Men’s Rights Attorney. I wanted to talk to you today about a particular situation that many of my clients deal with. And that is what I should do if I suspect the other parent is threatening my child. That’s a very serious situation. You need to consult an attorney, but overall, if you think that your child is in some kind of danger with the other parent and either there’s an ongoing case, or there’s no case, or there’s an existing order, a good attorney should be able to advise you.
Often the first right thing to do is to call the Department of Human Services. And the Department of Human Services is different than a court in many ways. The primary relevant way is that they’re an investigative agency.
An accusation like that, if it’s just your word against the other parent’s word, it’s hard for the court to determine, but if there’s an investigation where DHS goes out, speaks to the other parent, sees the home, speaks to the child, speaks to the complaining party, they can make a factual determination through investigation that the court simply can’t make.
The second possibility is you might need to inform law enforcement. If there’s physical or sexual abuse, law enforcement should be informed, and they should do their investigation.
Now, whether you’re on the complaining side of that, or you’re on the being complained against side of that, you need legal representation. You need an attorney to tell you, let’s say you’re on the complaining side, how to get that investigation underway, how to get the records after DHS is done because they’re sealed, and you can’t just pick them up and ask for a copy.
It’s a misdemeanor even to have a copy of them without a court order. And what to do with that information in court to be most effective. If you are the subject of an investigation, now you’re on the defense, and you need an experienced family law lawyer to help you defend against the claim.
What do you do if the claim is unsubstantiated, meaning they didn’t find sufficient evidence to say it happened? What do you do if the claim is substantiated? How do you deal with DHS when they come at you with what they call a voluntary safety plan, et cetera?
So it is very serious if there is an accusation of danger from the other parent, whether you’re making the accusation or the subject. And I recommend that you consult an experienced family law lawyer. If you have any questions about family law matters or ever need an Oklahoma Child Custody Attorney for Men or an Oklahoma Child Support Attorney For Dads, please contact dads.law.
