ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE
Criminal Context - Adult & Juvenile

Should I allow social services to interview my children?

These situations can arise in a variety of ways. Often your children will be interviewed without your prior knowledge. This could happen at school, at the baby sitters, at school activities, etc. There is nothing you can do to prevent these interviews because you are often do not know about them in advance. The agencies have a right and often times are mandated to conduct this interview if there is an allegation of abuse. It is only in those situations where you are contacted prior to an interview of your children do you have something you can do.

If you are contacted, consult with your attorney prior to setting up any type of interview with you and/or your children. Have your attorney decide how to handle the situation and have the attorney contact the agency. Talk to your children about the interview. If you refuse to allow the agency to talk to your children, they can still seek them out at places like school, etc. and can and will interview them without your permission.

Depending on your child’s age and maturity level, you may be able to help them understand that they should not speak with these people without you being present. It is unlikely your children will have the skill to avoid the interview. That is why it is best for your attorney to contact the agency and set up this interview so that the attorney is present and can help control where the interview goes.

An experienced Ohio & Michigan criminal defense lawyer, Attorney Lorin J. Zaner serves all of Ohio and Michigan from his Toledo Law offices, including Toledo, Wauseon, Port Clinton, Bowling Green, Napoleon, Bryan, Columbus, Delaware, Newark, Marion, Bucyrus, Findlay, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Norwalk, Sandusky, Elyria, Fremont, Tiffin, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Monroe, Trenton, Westland, Livonia, Farmington Hills, Warren, Flint and Grand Rapids.

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