Child removed or detention hearing within 72 hours? Call now: 949-209-5033
Child removed or detention hearing within 72 hours? Call now: 949-209-5033
The largest child welfare agency in the United States. Four courthouses. More than 25 judges. And the court where our founder's own family once fought to exist as a family, long before she became the attorney fighting it.
The decisions you make at the beginning of a CPS investigation can have a lasting impact on your family. Before you speak with DCFS, speak with an attorney.
Knowing which one your case is in, and having an attorney who has appeared there, matters from the first hearing.
Nearly every LA County juvenile dependency case is heard here. Edelman is the largest juvenile dependency courthouse in the United States, with multiple courtrooms dedicated exclusively to dependency cases and more than 25 judges, each with their own approach, history, and expectations. Understanding how a specific judge runs their courtroom is not a minor detail. It shapes every motion, every hearing, and every piece of strategy from the moment your case is assigned.
Edelman Children's Court is where Keshia's own family once fought to exist together. She knows this courthouse as an attorney. She also knows it as someone who was once a child with a case inside it. When she walks in on your behalf, she carries both of those things, and both inform how she fights.
Handles dependency cases for families in the Antelope Valley and surrounding areas of northern LA County.
Handles dependency cases for families in South Los Angeles and the South Bay. One courtroom, a pilot court with a very different feel from the rest of the system.
Compton is a pilot court, and it was built deliberately around a different idea of what a dependency courtroom should feel like. The approach here is trauma-informed, and the building reflects it. The waiting area has been redesigned with children in mind, with books, toys, a nursing chair, a rocking chair, and artwork reflecting Compton's community.
In practice, the court places real emphasis on keeping families together wherever it is safe to do so, with particular attention to cases involving children under three. Placement with relatives is sought before foster care. Reunification is treated as a genuine goal rather than a formality.
If your case is assigned to Compton, that pilot-court approach works in your favor. It does not decide your case for you. Preparation still does.
Handles dependency cases for families in the San Gabriel Valley and eastern Los Angeles County.
Our firm appears at all four LA County dependency courthouses.
LA County is among the most attorney-friendly counties in the state for CPS investigations.
Los Angeles County opens more CPS investigations and files more dependency petitions than any other county agency in California, and in the country. And because DCFS has faced significant legal accountability over the years for how it conducts those investigations, the agency has learned to behave differently when an attorney is present. They know the rules are being watched. They tend to comply more carefully, push less hard on what they cannot legally require, and conduct themselves more professionally when a parent has representation.
That does not mean they will not try. When parents are unrepresented, the dynamic shifts, and not in the parent's favor. The same agency that moves carefully when an attorney is on the case will test boundaries when no one is watching. Having an attorney present in LA County is not just a strategic advantage. It is protection.
Los Angeles County is our home court. Not because we drive here for hearings. Because it shaped us before we ever became attorneys.
For Keshia, Edelman is the courthouse where her own family once fought to exist as a family. Long before she was the attorney walking in to defend somebody else's parent, she was the child whose own case was decided inside these walls. Full circle does not begin to describe it.
For Janve, Edelman is the same courthouse where her own family's case was heard. Two attorneys at this firm. One county. The same court that shaped both of them before either of them became the lawyer sitting in the chair next to a parent.
That history matters. So does the practice we have built on top of it. We have appeared in this courthouse extensively. We know the judges, their styles, their pet peeves, and what each one is likely to do at every stage of a case. We know which judges close cases faster than others. We know which are more empathetic on domestic violence and which take a harder line. We know LA Dependency Court attorneys, minors' counsel, and the county counsel offices, some of whom were our colleagues before they switched sides. We know how DCFS operates in this courthouse like the back of our hands.
If your DCFS case is anywhere in Los Angeles County, you are not getting outside counsel. You are getting attorneys who know this court because they lived it, and who now practice in it every week.
MY BABIES WERE RETURNED HOME, thanks to K. Adeniyi Law! Absolutely the best. This was my 3rd CPS case. I didn't know my rights, I was heartbroken, and didn't know where to go for REAL help. Once I spoke with Keshia, I knew I needed her help to bring my babies home. She made sure I understood everything that was happening step by step. She fought for me and my babies at every court date. Always there when I need her. Forever grateful.
From day one, this team treated my family with compassion, urgency, and respect during one of the hardest times of our lives. Keshia is amazing, she advocates for the family unit while still being brutally honest when needed. Janve was incredible: concise, attentive, and made sure we felt heard. Romel's responsiveness is unmatched. And Tam, their legal doula, helps you emotionally survive the process. This team worked together seamlessly to help get my case closed in record time. If CPS comes knocking, call them on day one.
My wife and I got into trouble with a CPS case. For me, it was an experience I will never forget. You have my gratitude, attorney Keshia. We received very dedicated help and guidance from you and your team of professionals. Her dedication, passion, and relentless struggle, always by our side, consistently delivers results. You helped our child return home to his family. I feel relieved knowing that everything will be okay with Keshia by my side.
These reviews reflect the experience of individual clients. Every CPS and juvenile dependency case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.
If your question is not here, call us at 949-209-5033.
In California, social workers can only remove a child without a prior court order in narrow emergency circumstances where they believe there is an immediate threat to the child's safety. DCFS in LA County must then file a petition and appear in court within 48 court hours (Welfare and Institutions Code § 313). If your child has been removed, contact an attorney immediately.
You are not legally required to answer a DCFS social worker's questions without an attorney present. You have the right to have legal representation before any formal interview. Anything you say to a social worker can be documented and used in a juvenile dependency petition.
A detention hearing is the first court hearing after DCFS removes a child or files a WIC § 300 petition. It must occur within 48 court hours of removal. At the hearing, the judge decides whether the child stays in DCFS custody or returns home pending further proceedings. In LA County, detention hearings are heard at Edelman Children's Court, Lancaster, Compton, or Pomona depending on where the family lives.
LA County has four juvenile dependency courthouses: Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park, Lancaster Courthouse, Compton Courthouse, and Pomona Courthouse. Edelman is the largest and handles the majority of LA County dependency cases. Which courthouse handles your case depends on where the family lives. KALI CPS Lawyer appears at all four.
Yes. KALI CPS Lawyer appears at the Lancaster Courthouse, which handles dependency cases for families in the Antelope Valley and surrounding areas of northern LA County.
Yes. KALI CPS Lawyer appears at the Compton Courthouse, which handles dependency cases for families in South Los Angeles and the South Bay. Compton is a pilot court with a family-centered, trauma-informed approach.
Yes. KALI CPS Lawyer appears at the Pomona Courthouse, which handles dependency cases for families in the San Gabriel Valley and eastern Los Angeles County.
Schedule a CPS Investigation Strategy Session to discuss your situation and develop a plan for moving forward. When you call, we answer.
949-209-5033A California family defense practice for parents in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.
K. Adeniyi Law, APC
Orange County Office18650 MacArthur Blvd, Suite 300
Irvine, CA 92612
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Commerce, CA 90040