My sister is neglecting her children but DCFS/OCS won't investigate since it does not meet their criteria

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anita007

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I apologize if this is the wrong sub and if someone has a better suggestion please let me know. I was wondering if anyone has any advice of where I can go from here. I made the awful decision of filing a neglect report on my sister through DCFS and OCS. They sent me a letter stating they will not pursue an investigation because it does not meet their criteria. I don't know if I can appeal this or report it to someone else or something.

My sister is neglecting her children. They are not in school at ages 7 and 5 and have never been enrolled. Supposedly they are being homeschooled but I doubt it. My sister split with her fiance, the father of two children, over six months ago and still is not working. They are living in filthy conditions as can be seen in the pictures. Two of the pictures are bedrooms, one a living room and the fourth is the garage. She discontinued trash service so everything is going in the garage now. I am not really familiar with imgur but I think it worked. They didn't even have shoes until our mother bought them some in November. My sister has a third child who chooses to live with his dad because of how disgusting it is.

As far as I know there is no drug use or abuse and this is why I think DCFS didn't act. However, my sister is definitely an alcoholic.

I think my sister is severely depressed and needs a lot of help. Her life has not gone great for her. But she has cut everyone off. She doesn't talk to anyone and she told her immediate family that she was going to take the kids and leave and no one would be able to find her.

Is there anything I can do here? Anyone else I can report this to?

https://imgur.com/EF8tn42
https://imgur.com/gRVw4wx
https://imgur.com/nHv6m8x
https://imgur.com/rhzPxkU
 
@anita007 Can you see a lawyer? Maybe one who specializes in family matters. You could possibly get a court to force an evaluation or prove the kids are in school. Unsanitary conditions should be a reason for CPS to investigate. Happened to a coworker once.
 
@anita007 Try the local school system they may be able to direct who monitors kids that may not be enrolled. Local code enforcement, usually hoarding, especially garbage will violate some code. If another agency gets involved their report to CPS might carry some weight.
 
@butterflyja So that's what OCS told me. That it should help since I filed a report with both OCS first and then DCFS second. But apparently not.

And interestingly, the school system says since the children were never enrolled within their system, or have never been enrolled since birth, my mother called, they can't be considered truant and it is not the school system's responsibility.
 
@anita007 Did they give a reason in the letter why?

I used to be a CPS investigator. Sometimes a report is not accepted simply because of how it was worded to the hotline person. I looked at the photos and those are enough for a report to be accepted. It appears there is rotting garbage throughout the house which poses health risks to the children. There is also so much clutter that a child could be easily injured because we don't really know what's in those piles on the floor. Is there glass? Nails? Etc. I would try again to make a report or have someone else try and really emphasize the piles of garbage which likely have rotting food, the fact that the children cannot even walk on the floors, the risk to their health, etc.

This should have been screened in for investigation. I'm so sorry.

I worked a case very similar to this and there were 6 small children in the home. We found the family a safe place to stay for a few days and a local church helped them clean the home up so they could go back. Not every case has to include removing the kids, just making their home safe.
 
@ptrchunt "We are unable to initiate an investigation because the information provided either does not meet the legal definition of abuse/neglect, or the alleged perpetrator is not an individual whom DCFS is authorized to investigate."

That's what they told us that investigations rarely result in children being removed but instead plans with goals are put in place. And we were hoping since she wasn't willing to listen to us or allow us in to help that maybe some legal strong arming would help.
 
You can also call the police and ask for a welfare check, which would typically then prompt a CPS investigation.
 
@anita007 Can other people report as well? May hit a different desk or use a key word you didn’t use? Anyone else aware of the situation?
 
@anita007 We had something similar CPS was called and they would not even go to the house to see how bad the conditions were. They just had a phone call with the parent and believed them. They are so busy they just want to close cases as fast a possible. Over this experience I learned that Doctors, Teachers, and others have power to fix things extended family members are met with skeptism.

CPS only cares really about immediate danger of children. They need multiple neglect issues to do something.
 
@zarif I assumed it was a staffing issue as well. Low pay and little reward doesn't encourage a lot of staffing.

I am going to look into both a welfare check and look further into the school board issue. Luckily they are not being abused but that doesn't seem to be that helpful right now.
 
@anita007 I got taken away by CPS due to neglect when I was a kid. It really didn't fix much. I was taken the first time they visited, too. Granted, this house looks less bad than mine did. This looks like clutter. My house was falling apart from neglect, and there was grime everywhere, so there was no denying. The only reason CPS got involved was because the police did, so that might have also contributed.

See what family resources your city has. The schools in the area can help with that because they need those resources to get their students the help they need. I can't give good recommendations because the ones I know are specific to my area.

I will preface this recommendation with the disclaimer that I hate religion with my entire being. That being said, a religious organization might be able to get her a sense of purpose and structure. Plus, churches love vulnerable people and will never let them go, so she can't just dip and not have someone come looking. I hate how religion preys on the vulnerable, but it really can make a huge difference to be a part of a community. Also, they tend to have resources to help their followers. Just make sure to find at least a semi-respectable one and avoid cults like the plague. I hate religion because I have seen it at some of its worst by living cult-adjacent. However, I have seen what religion can do when used correctly, and this sounds like a situation where it can be used correctly.
 
@anita007 You need to call the police the non emergency line and request a wellness check for her. When they see the living conditions and see there are children in the home they will handle getting CPS involved. It always blows my mind how CPS can come out for a ridiculous reason and when there is a valid one it doesn't meet the criteria. I have a high functioning son who had a favorite shirt he loved to wear and I would wash that thing on repeat he wore it two days in a row being washed in between to school and when asked about it he told them he didn't have anything else to wear but actually meant he didn't want to wear anything else. Even though he had worn many other outfits to school in the many years he went there they sent CPS to my door. It was quickly dismissed. Which brings me to this suggestion if you tell anyone who is a doctor or a teacher or any other mandated reporter if you tell them about the situation they will have to report it and will probably not be told no to an investigation. The fact that you already brought it up and a second reporting of the same person tends to flag them for a visit.
 
@anita007 They are more likely to look into it with more reports. I sad that another person also reported her, but I would ask your parents to individually report, along with anyone else who is willing to. Reach out to your sister without judgement to help, though I know you said she’s shutting everyone out. Be there for her when she is ready to accept help from you. Let her kids know you care about them even if you’re not in their lives.
 
@katrina2017 This is good advice and I appreciate it. It has always been a tenuous relationship. She stopped responding to me years ago. Everything I am finding out is secondhand from my father whom is now shut out also.
 
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