Juvenile Dependency/CPS

The Johnson Criminal Law Group is the only Orange County law firm that specializes in Child Protective Services/ WIC 300/ DCFS/ Social Services Agency cases. These cases apply the Welfare and Institutions Code--not the Family Code or Penal Code--so attorneys who only practice family law or criminal law are not uniquely qualified to handle these critically important cases. Unfortunately many family law and criminal defense attorneys will accept these cases only to realize they don't know how to handle this unique "collaborative" court system, the juvenile court laws, and the procedures unique to dependency. The Johnson Criminal Law Group frequently gets call from these attorneys asking for help and these attorneys' clients when the damage has already been done.

You would not hire a bankruptcy attorney to handle your criminal case. So why hire an attorney who isn't an expert in dependency cases when the custody of your precious children is at stake? Orange County juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris is one of few parent's rights attorneys in all of Southern California who specialize in child abuse and neglect cases. Child Protective Services (CPS) or "juvenile dependency" law is an extremely specialized area of the law in which few attorneys regularly practice. Orange County juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris defends parents in child abuse and neglect cases throughout all of Southern California and is one of the few experienced and widely-recognized attorney experts in this field. Juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris has obtained outstanding results for parents in serious child abuse cases in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Los Angeles counties. Ms. Johnson-Norris has handled the most serious cases in this field including broken bone/Osteogenesis Imperfecta, head injury/Subdural Hematoma, sexual abuse and false accusations, Battered Woman Syndrome, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, substance and alcohol abuse and even child death cases. Juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris is one of an even smaller group of attorneys who handle these complicated and specialized cases not only at the trial level but on appeal before various Courts of Appeal in the state of California.

Juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris knows that when the state becomes involved in a family's life, it can be a frightening and overwhelming experience. Parents who contact Ms. Johnson-Norris never imagine they could be accused of child abuse and neglect and need a powerful advocate to reunite their families. Parents often contact the Johnson Criminal Law Group in any of the following stages of their case: after an event involving the police or DCFS, after child abuse or neglect has been reported by a therapist or teacher, after being contacted by a social worker by phone or at the home, prior to allowing their child to be interviewed by a social worker, once a parent has entered a voluntary agreement with DCFS, upon the filing of a petition, at detention, after detention, for trial, during reunification, when reunification seems to have stalled, prior to the termination of parental rights and after parental rights have been terminated. We also represent aunts, uncles, grandparents, relatives, and adult siblings in these cases. We can help clients in all stages and in most circumstances.

Juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris is a fierce litigator and a skillful negotiator on behalf of parents. Having spent years counseling families and fighting on their behalf in juvenile court, juvenile dependency attorney Ms. Johnson-Norris fights even the most serious allegations of abuse and neglect with passion and skill. We are also experts at handling these cases on appeal.