Getting A Copy Of Your CPS File
You can get your CPS records. You have a right to them.
Often I hear that CPS agents tell parents to have their attorneys make the request but lots of court appointed attorneys drop the ball - they just don't bother getting the evidence their clients need. The attorney may request or receive only a small portion of the records contained in the CPS file.
You have a tool you can use to request your records on your own without your deadbeat court appointed attorney's intervention. Anyone can use the Privacy Act to request a copy of their own CPS file. I suggest you use the request letter generator to write your own letter to the CPS agency that holds your files.
I would request a copy of everything in the file: case narratives, all evidence, letters, documents, financial documents, and anything else therein. You have a legal right to this information with very few exceptions.
One thing you won't be given is the name of the person who reported you to CPS. That's something you would have to request by filing a court motion for access to the name. This might be allowed in a case where you believe one person is harrassing you with multiple false reports to CPS.
If for some reason the agency wants to be obnoxious and refuses to release the records, you may have to go to court to ask that your rights be honored.
You can find more information about this process in A Citizen's Guide On Using The Freedom Of Information Act And The Privacy Act of 1974 To Request Government Records.
Freedom of Information Act - read it online at the Department of Justice website.
Privacy Act - read it online at the Department of Justice website. This protects your right to any information about you that a government agency may have in its records.
FOIA Advocates - find your state's privacy records act.
FBI Freedom of Information Website - learn more about it here.
The Black Vault - a community of people using the Freedom of Information Act to get government information.
FOIA Request Letter Sample - on the Black Vault website.
Privacy Act Request Letter Generator - excellent letter generator. You may have to make a few minor changes, but this will help get you what you want using the Privacy Act of 1974.
National Institutes of Health FOIA Website - lots of good information here!
FOIA and Privacy Act Explained - an excellent step-by-step process for requests, appeals, and (if nothing else works) filing a lawsuit to get the information you need.
Sample FOIA/Privacy Act Letter - this is on the Hope4Kidz website.
Dept. of Justice FOIA/PA Information - they provide a person you can complain to if CPS doesn't honor your requests.
