You are in the kitchen, cleaning up spilled apple juice and trying to make sure the macaroni does not boil over when your doorbell rings. ãMrs. James? My name is Edie Williams and Iâm from DCFS . Iâd like to ask you some questions.ä As you try to gather your thoughts, your head is filled with visions of your children being forcibly dragged away, and your hopes of adopting another child begin to evaporate.

Relax! You might not even be the subject of the investigation, so this is no time to get defensive and begin making excuses. In case you are the subject of the investigation, however, there are some things that you should know. First of all, the majority of reports to the hotline are ãunfounded, ã which means that DCFS concludes that there is no credible evidence of abuse or neglect, so the odds are on your side. Now is the time to gather your wits about you, because the way you respond to the investigator may tip the scales in your favor. Remember, this is the investigatorâs job, and the investigator is human. Making his or her job more difficult will not incline the investigator to be favorably disposed toward you.

Does this mean you should ãsing like a birdä? No. It means that you should try to respond in a calm and mature manner. Remember, if you overreact to the stress of an investigator at your door, it may create the impression that you have a short fuse and may overreact to the stresses of parenting, too.

The investigator should be prepared to tell you what accusations have been made against you. After this question is answered, you will immediately want to know, ãWho said that? Who did this to me?ä Itâs only normal to want to know. Go ahead and ask if you wish, but understand that under no circumstances will the investigator tell you. Hotline calls are confidential, so take ãnoä for an answer gracefully and move on. (Before this is over youâll probably have a good idea, anyway.) Remember, most of the people your children come into contact with (caseworkers, day care providers, medical personnel, school personnel, etc.) are mandated by law to report any suspected abuse, and failure to do so may cost them their jobs. Remember also that there are many stereotypes that attach to adoptive families, and even well-intentioned individuals may be more likely to express concern about adopted children than about biological children. This may be insulting, but getting angry about it wonât help you here.

The investigator will want to discuss the specific allegation with you (e.g., Where were your children at 8 p.m. last night? Why does your daughter have a bruise on her backside? ) and will also want to go through some family screening questionnaires with you. The purpose of these questionnaires is to find out generally if there is a drug or alcohol problem in your family, and to find out if your children are safe in your home. Throughout this part of the interview, the investigator will be sizing you up both in terms of what you say and how you say it.

If you conclude that you are not comfortable answering the questions, you may wish to tell the investigator that you would like to speak with an attorney first, or just have a friend present for support, before you answer questions.

The investigator will probably ask to speak with your children ö or may have already interviewed your children elsewhere. As upsetting as this is, DCFS is allowed by law to do it , and any action you take to thwart the investigation may well backfire. If the allegations involve any type of sexual abuse, the investigator will probably want to schedule a ãVSIä (Victim Sensitive Interview) at a Child Advocacy Center in your county. If the allegations involve any type of sexual abuse you would be well advised to seek counsel immediately, before anyone is interviewed. In most other cases, however, the investigator will probably just want to speak to your child out of your presence. In that case, you are absolutely entitled to have someone else, be it your attorney or just a friend, sit in on the interview to observe. That way, if thereâs ever a dispute about what was said, you have a potential witness.

As far as the specific allegation which has been made against you or your child the investigatorâs task is threefold:

Did the occurrence take place?

If so, who did it?

Was it child abuse or neglect?

Many times they will find that the occurrence took place, but it did not rise to the level of abuse or neglect.

Your willingness to learn from the experience may have a big impact on that result. For example, a teacher may have noticed that your child had a bruise and called the hotline. If the investigator concludes that the bruise was accidental, the first two questions will have been answered in your favor, and there will be no need to ask the third question. If, however, the investigator concludes that the bruise was as a result of a spanking, she will need to delve further into your use of corporal punishment as a parenting tool.

If alternate discipline techniques, or even parenting classes, are suggested to you, you may wish to accept them gracefully. This would not, for example, be a good time to suggest that your parents beat you regularly and you turned out OK, or to begin making speeches on your philosophy about your right to be free from governmental intrusion ö your attitude and acceptance of the investigatorâs professional guidance may make all the difference here.

At the conclusion of the investigation, you will receive a letter from DCFS in Springfield with the result. If the case has been ãunfoundedä and you wish to receive a copy of the report (it will have the names of the interviewees blacked out, of course) you must immediately write and request it. Follow that request up with a phone call if you havenât received it in two to three weeks.

Of course, some cases are ãindicatedä and if you find yourself in this situation, you have a right to appeal that finding. Instructions for filing your appeal appear on the letter from the Department. Follow them ö especially the time limits ö carefully. An appeal filed even one day late will be dismissed and the indicated report will remain on the State Central Register for a period between five and fifty years, depending on the nature of the allegation.

If you appeal, a hearing will be set before an Administrative Law Judge. The hearing is really a trial, although it appears more informal than a courtroom, and the process is full of procedural pitfalls, so, while you have every right to represent yourself, this is the time, if you have not done so already, that you would be well advised to consult an attorney ö before you file for your appeal, not the day before the hearing! At the hearing, DCFS must produce evidence showing that its finding is supported by the ãpreponderanceä of the evidence, and the appellant is given an opportunity to respond by producing witnesses, documentary evidence, etc. After the conclusion of the hearing, the Administrative Law Judge prepares a ãrecommendationä which goes to the Director of DCFS, who can then uphold, reverse or modify the indicated finding. The most important evidence at the hearing, however, is often the investigatorâs report, so remember that what you do when you first answer the door may have a great deal to do with the outcome of any allegation made against you.

The foregoing is provided as general information only, and not as legal advice in any particular case or situation. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Individuals who face this situation are strongly advised to seek counsel.

Mary Kennedy is the former Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Adoption Laws Committee. She is co-drafter of the Illinois ãBaby Richard Lawä and a frequent speaker on child welfare issues, and is the mother of three children by adoption. She is presently engaged in private practice in the areas of adoption, child welfare and education law from her office at 906 Bridle Lane, Cary, Illinois. She can be reached at 847-462-0806.