Category Archives: FAQ
Should I comply with DYFS (DCPP)?
Being in compliance with DYFS (DCPP) is a tricky subject. DYFS will often ask you to sign a safety protection plan and then afterward use that to hold your feet to the fire. However, safety plan or not, DYFS wants you to be in compliance. In other words, they want you to do whatever they want you to do. By complying with DYFS, you are likely helping them build a case against you. Of course, if you don’t comply, they can bring you to court for your lack of compliance. Thus, this is a big catch-22. There is a way to avoid this. Instead of dealing with DYFS on your own, have a lawyer handle the DYFS investigation for you. Our track record has proven that a quality team of lawyers can help you fight DYFS and get your life back.
Can eating a poppy seed bagel make you fail a drug test?
It sounds crazy but its one of those things that you never really know is true. It turns out that the answer is “it depends”. Using a crude drug test, MythBusters proved that eating a poppy seed bagel or just poppy seeds in general can cause you to come up positive. See the mini-clip here. Not only did the test come up positive, but it came up so fast. Of course, MythBusters is more entertainment than science so looking at a 1998 study published in the Forensic Science International journal is better. The study found that eating two poppy-seed rolls with an average of about .76 grams of seeds each caused positive test results for up to six hours in one person, ranging from 47.9 ng/ml to 832 ng/ml, depending on a variety of factors. The same study found that eating a poppy-seed cake (which contained an average of 4.69 grams of seeds) caused all four people to screen positive for up to 24 hours—four times as long as the rolls—with one person’s results ranging between 83.8 ng/ml and 302.1 ng/ml.
Now I said it depends because most tests have cut off levels to account for this problem. Eating a bagel will not give you the same level as doing heroin. Unfortunately, DYFS of course may use tests that have no cut off levels! A friend of mine just failed a drug test because he ate a poppy seed bagel because there was no cut off level. As a result, eh was looking a having his parenting time suspended. The judge had issued a tentative decision doing just that. However, we were able to prove to the court that this positive drug test was bogus and as a result, his parenting time was not suspended. Don’t let a DYFS drug test ruin your life. Let our team of tough, smart DYFS Defense Attorneys help you.
Is DYFS allowed to interview my child at school?
Today’s public schools have DYFS on speed dial. DYFS knows that they can depend on the school to drop the dime on you at all times. Its one of the reasons that I believe that DYFS has a big problem with homeschooling your child. If you home school your child, there is no one to call DYFS on you. Another reason that DYFS loves schools is that it gives them unfettered access to your child. They can interview your child at just about anytime without any prior notice to you.
Because of this, I’ve actually had to suggest that some client’s keep their child out of school for a few days. That is because the answer to the above question is yes, they can and they often do. You need to keep this in mind when you are dealing with a DYFS case. Of course, you shouldn’t take any action without first consulting with a lawyer.
FAQ – do I need a lawyer to help me with my DYFS / DCPP case or investigation?
FAQ – do I need a lawyer to help me with my DYFS / DCPP case or investigation?
This is another question that gets asked all the time when people call me. My answer is always yes. I make it a point to emphasize that I’m not trying to twist their arm and tell them that they need to hire us but I always say they need to hire someone. Dealing with any legal situation on your own is crazy. Of course, many people have handled a wide variety of situations on their own and everything turned out great. Thus, some people think that they can handle everything without an attorney. This is like a game of Russian roulette. While some people may win, some people will lose and they will lose big. There is no reason to risk it. If all you have is an out of court DYFS investigation, the cost for the attorney will be minimal. Call us anytime, day or night to speak with one of our NJ DYFS defense lawyers.
FAQ – what are my rights with DYFS / DCPP?
FAQ – what are my rights with DYFS / DCPP?
One of the most asked questions I get is what are my rights when dealing with DYFS / DCPP? This is a tough question to answer since I don’t think that is the exact question the people are actually asking. If I answer the question directly, the answer is basically that you have the right to hire a lawyer or not hire a lawyer. I really don’t see any other “rights” that you have. Again, I think the actually question here is what are my options or how do I handle this case? The answer though is really the same. That is because it is crazy to handle a DYFS situation on your own, at least in my opinion. Anything you say can be used against you in a DYFS / DCPP complaint. Even if you don’t actually say something, the fact that you are talking to them allows the case worker to twist your words or put words in your mouth. In almost every DYFS case we have handled, we’ve had a client complain that DYFS is lying. I find it impossible to believe that every single client is making that up.
When you deal with DYFS by yourself, you are really in a catch-22 situation. If you don’t comply, DYFS could bring you to court for non-compliance. If you do comply, you may be giving DYFS all the information they need to build a case against you. Its a really tough position to be in. A tough and aggressive DYFS lawyer can come in and resolve the case for you. The lawyer is there to get information and give information without exposing you to danger. Our team of tough, smart lawyers can help you do that. We can work with DYFS’ lawyer to shut the case down and stop them from bullying you.
