Abuse Substantiated 1.5 years ago in CA. Can it be dropped?
In 2009, CPS substantiated abuse in a case against me, so now I'm in a database of abusers. Here are the circumstances:
In 2009, I slapped my teenage son in the mouth with an open hand. The circumstances are that he was using drugs (marijuana), and my wife (at the time) called 911 because he was incoherent, going crazy, and banging his head against the ground. I was on a business trip when it occurred, and when I returned, I confronted my son about it, and he basically told me to F off. I slapped him in the mouth 3 times, and his lips were red. He ran away to a friend's house, and his mom called CPS, which started an investigation.
I was visited by 2 Sheriff's deputies (two different times). I was not arrested, and they assured me that I did the right thing and that more parents need to do the same, especially when it comes to drugs. When I spoke to the CPS person, she told me that she can tell that my son was in no danger but that I admitted to slapping him, so the 'abuse was substantiated.' I then received a letter stating the same and that I would be in some California database.
My son's mother and I have since divorced, and the court awarded me with full physical custody and shared legal custody of both our children. This CPS case DID come up in my custody trial, but apparently did not carry much weight since I am now the custodial parent of both my children (17 & 9). My questions are:
How long will I be in this database for?
Is it possible to be removed from this database and this record expunged?
What do I need to do to move forward?
I live in California. Thank you.
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