Your Rights When CPS Petitions for Custody in West Virginia

Attorney Answer

You have a right to a lawyer in this case, and if you cannot afford one the court must appoint one. Ask for it at or before the first hearing — not after the case has already moved.

An abuse and neglect petition is governed by W. Va. Code § 49-4-601, which sets the procedure and timelines: where the petition is filed, the notice that must go to the parents, the right to counsel — including counsel appointed for a parent who is unable to pay — and the preliminary hearing that follows a petition seeking custody. That preliminary hearing comes quickly, and it is where the initial custody decision is made. Going to it without a lawyer is the most common and most costly mistake in these cases.

The second provision to know is W. Va. Code § 49-4-610, which allows for improvement periods — pre-adjudicatory, post-adjudicatory, or dispositional. An improvement period is a defined stretch of time in which you work a plan toward reunification before the court reaches a permanent disposition. It is not automatic. You have to move for it, and you have to satisfy the court that you are likely to participate fully. The parents who get them are the ones who have already started doing the things the plan will require.

Be clear-eyed about the stakes. This proceeding can end in a disposition affecting your parental rights permanently. It is not a meeting with a caseworker; it is litigation, and the State is represented.

What you can do

1. Read the petition line by line and write down what each specific allegation says. You cannot answer allegations you have not read, and what CPS told you verbally is often not what the petition alleges. 2. At or before the first hearing, tell the judge on the record that you want an attorney and cannot afford one, and ask for appointed counsel under W. Va. Code § 49-4-601. Bring proof of your income. 3. Attend every hearing, on time, every time. Nothing damages a parent's position faster than an empty chair. 4. Get the case plan or safety plan in writing, and start doing what it requires immediately — before anyone orders you to. 5. Ask your lawyer about moving for an improvement period under W. Va. Code § 49-4-610, and ask what specifically the court will want to see from you. 6. Do not discuss the allegations with the caseworker without your lawyer present. The caseworker's notes go to the judge. 7. Keep one folder with everything: appointments attended, classes completed, screens passed, school records, housing and employment documents, and a dated log of every visit with your children.

⏱ Time limits apply. Abuse and neglect proceedings run on the hearing schedule and statutory timelines set by W. Va. Code § 49-4-601, and improvement periods under W. Va. Code § 49-4-610 carry their own time limits and conditions for extension. The dates that apply to you depend on when the petition was filed and how your case is postured, so confirm them with counsel immediately.