Ohio Child Protective Services Cases

The Three Types of Cases

• Dependent — cases involving children who are not being cared for by their parents or guardians.
• Neglect — cases involving children who are not being provided basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care.
• Abuse — cases involving children who have been physically or emotionally harmed by their parents or guardians.

How a Case Moves Through Juvenile Court

1. Shelter Care / Emergency Temporary Custody (ETC) Hearing — the initial hearing after a child is removed from the home, where the court decides whether the child stays removed pending further hearings.
2. Pre-trial Hearing — the child's attorney and the prosecutor review the evidence and try to resolve the matter.
3. Adjudication Hearing — the court determines whether a child is delinquent, unruly, dependent, neglected, or abused.
4. Dispositional Hearing — after a child has been found dependent, neglected, or abused at adjudication, the court determines who has custody of the child.
5. Review Hearing — held roughly every 90 days; parties report on how the children are doing, what services they are using, whether more services are needed, and the parents' case-plan progress.
6. Motion Hearing — can happen any time when filed by the county children services agency, the prosecutor, the CASA/GAL attorney, or a defendant's attorney; commonly to change custody, visits, placement, or to seek extensions.
7. Sunset Hearing — at the one-year point the court looks for a permanent plan. With substantial progress, a 6-month extension can be requested; after 18 months total another 6-month extension is possible with significant progress; after 24 months (two years) a permanent decision must be made.
8. Permanent Custody Trial — termination of parental rights; the county children services agency takes custody and the child is often made available for adoption.
9. Legal Custody Trial — the magistrate or judge decides who becomes the child's legal custodian (physical care and control; deciding where and with whom the child lives; the duty to protect, train, discipline, and provide food, shelter, education, and medical care). Even after legal custody is awarded, parents keep residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities.

The Case Plan

A case plan is a document listing family strengths and the objectives parents must complete to no longer be court-involved. It must be filed before the adjudicatory hearing; at the dispositional hearing it is modified if necessary and becomes a court order. After the hearings above, the juvenile court issues orders requiring the parties to work toward the goals and objectives of the case plan filed by the county children services agency. Case plans address the contributing factors that led to the abuse and/or neglect of a child and give the family a clear, specific guide toward reunification.

Key Terms to Know

Custodian

A person granted legal custody of a child, or the situation where the juvenile court grants temporary custody to the county children services agency.

Guardian ad Litem

A person appointed by the juvenile court to represent a child's best interests in the child-welfare proceedings.

Kinship Care

An arrangement where relatives or close family friends step forward to offer their home, food, and love to a child whose parents cannot care for them.

Legal Custody

A legal status giving the custodian the right and responsibility to have physical care and control of the child, subject to the parents' rights; it does not terminate parental rights.

Permanent Custody

A legal status where the county children services agency is granted all parental rights, duties, and obligations (including the right to consent to adoption), and the parents' rights, privileges, and obligations are terminated permanently.

Protective Supervision

When the court lets a child found abused, neglected, or dependent remain in the parents' custody, subject to supervision and conditions set by the court and the county children services agency.

Temporary Custody

When a child is removed from home and custody is granted to the county children services agency or another non-parent; it may be terminated at any time at the court's discretion.

How Gavvl Law Helps

We stand with parents at every hearing — from shelter care through adjudication, disposition, and any custody trial — help you understand and complete your case plan, and protect your residual parental rights, representing families in juvenile courts across all 88 Ohio counties.

What it costs — two ways to hire us

Limited scope, flat fee — Published flat fees

You hire us for a defined piece of the work — drafting and filing paperwork, a single hearing, a specific motion — at a fixed, published price. The court's filing fee is paid to the Clerk of Courts separately. Every flat fee is on our price list before you call. What each flat fee covers.

Full representation — $3,500 retainer to start

An attorney manages the whole case — strategy, filings, hearings, negotiation. The retainer is known before you sign and is a deposit against work, not the total cost; the total depends on how contested your case becomes. You watch every dollar of it in real time. How full representation is billed.

Is there financing? Yes.

On limited-scope services of $2,000 or more, Gavvl Direct — our in-house plan — takes 60% down and the balance in three monthly payments, with no interest and no credit check. Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal Pay Later are available on every limited-scope service. See every financing option.

Real people — with direct lines

• Stephanie Green — Managing Partner
• Elizabeth Warren — Managing Partner
• Niva Elgin — Director of Attorney Relations · Licensed New Mexico Attorney
• Richard Furnish — Of Counsel Attorney

Your consultation

Stephanie Green or Elizabeth Warren, our managing partners — Niva Elgin, our Director of Attorney Relations and a licensed New Mexico attorney — or Richard Furnish, an Of Counsel Ohio family-law attorney. They've heard hundreds of situations like yours and will tell you plainly what you need, and what you don't. Meet the firm.

Your attorney

One of our Of Counsel Ohio family-law attorneys is your attorney for the case — from the first strategy call to the final order in Ohio. You have their name and a direct line the day your file opens. Our attorneys.

Your case team

Niva Elgin keeps your case moving as Director of Attorney Relations. Madeline Wampler, Certified Paralegal, handles documents and scheduling. Erin Schultz, Finance Manager, handles billing and payment plans. Real people who answer when you call.

• 95+ five-star Google reviews
• 60+ years of combined Ohio family-law experience
• Super Lawyers Rising Stars honorees on the team: Elizabeth Warren (2021–2023) and Samantha Berkhofer (2019–2021)
• Every flat fee published before you call

From first call to retained — and every step after

1. Consultation — A 30-minute phone call, $25. You talk with Stephanie Green, Elizabeth Warren, Niva Elgin, or Richard Furnish about what's happening and what Ohio law actually does with it. Before you hang up you'll know whether you need a lawyer at all — and if you do, you leave with a written quote: the service we recommend, the price, your financing options, and your next steps.
2. Choose — Pick the level of help. Pay, or set up financing. Limited-scope flat fee or full representation — you choose, with real numbers in front of you. Pay online, or secure a Gavvl Direct payment plan or third-party financing in a few minutes. Nothing is billed until you decide.
3. Sign — Your agreement arrives by email. Review the client agreement and sign it electronically — from your phone if you like. While you do, your attorney reviews your intake.
4. Get started — Your first attorney call goes on the calendar. Limited scope: your attorney's first call is scheduled from your intake. Full representation: a paralegal reaches out the same or next business day to open your file and gather what's needed, then schedules your first attorney call — and if something is urgent, you speak with the attorney first.

It's easier than ever to retain an excellent attorney.

How you'll stay updated — you never have to wonder

Every client gets GavvLink™, our client portal, on day one. Your whole case — messages, calendar, billing, status — lives in one place, and your team is a message away.

• Reach your attorney directly. Message, text, email, or call. Request a callback or book time on their calendar yourself — no waiting to hear back.
• Case calendar with reminders. Every hearing, deadline, and milestone, with a reminder before each one.
• Case status updates. See where your case stands and what happens next, updated as it moves.
• Payments and billing in real time. Every entry on your account as it posts, plus links to make a payment or add funds.
• Your case team, one message away. Full-representation clients message their paralegal and case manager the same way — and they answer.
• 24/7 receptionists and direct lines. Something urgent after hours? A live receptionist answers around the clock and reaches your team. You also have your attorney's direct line — and a way to reach the managing partners. We return calls and messages promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a child protective services case in Ohio?

It is a case in juvenile court — also called a dependency, neglect, or abuse case — that begins when a public children services agency (PCSA) becomes involved with a family over concerns about a child's safety or care. The court works through a series of hearings to decide whether the child can stay home, what services the family needs, and what permanent plan is in the child's best interest.

What is the difference between dependent, neglect, and abuse cases?

Dependent cases involve children who are not being cared for by their parents or guardians. Neglect cases involve children who are not being provided basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care. Abuse cases involve children who have been physically or emotionally harmed by their parents or guardians.

What is a case plan and do I have to follow it?

A case plan is a document listing your family's strengths and the objectives you must complete to no longer be court-involved. It must be filed before the adjudicatory hearing and, once adopted at the dispositional hearing, becomes a court order. Following the case plan is the clearest path toward reunification with your child.

How long can a child protective services case last?

At the one-year mark the court looks for a permanent plan. With substantial progress, a 6-month extension can be requested; after 18 months total, another 6-month extension is possible with significant progress; and after 24 months (two years) the court must make a permanent decision about the child's future.

Does temporary or permanent custody end my parental rights?

Temporary custody does not end your rights — it places the child with the agency or another non-parent and can be terminated at any time at the court's discretion. Permanent custody terminates parental rights permanently and grants the agency all parental rights and duties, including the right to consent to adoption.