A common core tenant of Minnesota law is that parents have rights when it comes to the care of their children. However, these rights operate in tandem with the rights of children to live with both safety and stability. If a state agency acts and takes a child into emergency protective care, this triggers many important legal processes.
The first process is the emergency protective care hearing. This is the first formal legal proceeding that determines the child’s future and evaluates the actions of parents. These hearings will take place quickly after a child’s removal and are critical to the rights of parents for the foreseeable future. The team at 29th and Law PC is ready to explain what will happen during a Minnesota emergency protective care hearing and works with parents to bring their children back into their home. Reach out to them quickly to get the help you need.
Why Might a Minnesota Emergency Protective Care Hearing Take Place?
The law presumes that parents and guardians have the right to raise their children as they see fit. However, at the same time, state law also allows government agencies like child protective services to intervene if they believe that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect. This intervention can even rise to the level that the agency removes a child from their home.
When this happens, state law concerning emergency protective care hearings automatically goes into effect. Most importantly, Minnesota Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure § 42.01 says that this emergency court session must take place no more than 72 hours after the child’s removal. While the court may grant an extension of the time for a full hearing, this first session must take place as quickly as possible.
With this quick timeframe, it is vitally important that parents and guardians be ready to present their cases in court. The team at 29th and Law PC is ready to obtain the information needed to file the proper motions and evidence at Minnesota emergency protective care hearings to restore the rights of parents and guardians.
What to Expect During a Minnesota Emergency Protective Care Hearing
The purpose of an emergency protective care hearing is for a judge to determine if it is safe for a child to return home. As a result, multiple parties have a direct interest in these hearings. The State has an interest as a means to protect a person living within its borders. Parents and guardians also have an interest as the caregivers of a child. The child also has the right to live free from abuse or neglect.
Each of these parties can have legal counsel present at the hearing. For the interests of the child, the court can appoint a guardian ad litem to argue on behalf of the child. The parties all have the ability to introduce evidence concerning the incident that led to the child being placed in temporary care. They can also cross-examine any witnesses to the alleged abuse. An attorney from 29th and Law PC could help present vital evidence at hearings.
Once a judge has heard the evidence, they have three days to issue a ruling. This ruling may order the continued placement of the child in protective care. It may also order the child to return home with a safety plan in place. Finally, it may order the child to return home with no conditions. The goal of the team at 29th and Law PC is to return children back home with as little interference in their lives as possible.
Reach Out to 29th and Law PC Now to Learn More About Minnesota Emergency Protective Care Hearings
Minnesota emergency protective care hearings are vitally important times in the lives of children, parents, and guardians. The outcome of this hearing determines where a child will live in the immediate future and how parents may continue raising their kids. These sessions must take place quickly after a child’s removal from a home, so this gives people only a short time to refute these serious allegations.
Contact the team at 29th and Law PC now. They are ready to fully explain emergency protective care hearings and obtain the evidence needed to bring your child home.