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Relative Placement

Enforce the statutory priority of family placement to secure a superior environment for your child

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Preserve Family Integrity

Through Decisive Relative Placement Interventions

When children are removed from the home, the state often defaults to foster care, bypassing your family’s structural integrity.

Johnson Criminal Law Group executes decisive legal interventions under WIC 361.3 to prioritize relative placement. We override administrative indifference to secure family-based environments, preserving the child’s cultural connections and strengthening your position within the court-ordered reunification plan.

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Override Foster Care Defaults
and Maintain Family Sanctity

Enforce the Relative Preference Mandate

Invoke California’s WIC 361.3 requirement and compel the court to prioritize family over foster care

Confirm Relative Eligibility to Void Bias

Proactively vet relatives to ensure they meet “Safety and Stability” criteria so the state can’t object

Support Reunification Goals

Secure placements that include access to support services so the child stays in your family sphere

Fierce Representation for Urgent Situations

Preserve the structural integrity of your household and protect your child’s long-term well-being
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Relative Placement Case Results

Secured a favorable resolution by negotiating a case plan that allowed the parents to address concerns raised by CPS while keeping the family intact.
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Hear From Our Clients

Refreshing & Life-Changing Experience

Thank you, Ms. Johnson-Norris, for your help and support in a very scary, bad time in my life! You were a ray of sunshine in a very dark place. I didn’t have to step foot in a courtroom once; Ms. Johnson-Norris was there for me. Always kept me up to date and informed of the progress of my case, was able to work out a very good deal with the courts. If you need a great attorney that will work for you and with you, then I would highly recommend you hire Lauren Johnson-Norris!

J.B., a criminal client

Ms. Johnson-Norris was very effective in dealing with a juvenile criminal charge, getting it routed to a diversion program, minimizing court appearances, and being supportive to both my son and me.

Keith, a Juvenile client

Lauren Johnson-Norris changed my life and my family’s in September 2014. I was a troubled young girl with some convictions on my record from my early adult life. I have grown older and changed my life but my past kept rearing its ugly head. I started researching expungement and found Ms. Johnson-Norris, and I am so glad I did. She treated me like a person and as I told her about myself she really engaged in my situation and I felt I was not some number to her but a real person. She expunged two felonies I had. One of them the courts did not want to expunge, but Ms. Johnson-Norris would not take no for an answer and fought for me! She always kept me posted on what was going on. I believe God led me to her. She is very talented and knows what she is doing. She is extremely professional and is not only after your money. She has a heart under her tough Lawyer position that she does so well. She cleared my record and gave me hope for my future, my husband’s and my son! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER. If you had a rough past and are trying to change your life. Go see Ms. Johnson-Norris; she knows what she is doing.

A.M., a criminal client

I want to thank Ms. Johnson-Norris, especially, for all her help during this difficult time. When we could not see the end of the tunnel, she helped us and guided us through the exit. Thank her not only for her professional help but for her emotional and sympathetic support. God bless her.

Parent of a juvenile crime client

I really appreciate everything she has done for me; I cannot thank her enough! Ms. Johnson-Norris did an absolutely thorough job by answering any and all questions that I had. She called me with updates and preferences on how I should be handling the case, which made the whole process very reassuring. The staff was very up to date with all of the follow-up information that was involved with my case that was also extremely beneficial. Ms. Johnson-Norris had a very reassuring aspect about her that made it very easy to let her handle the case. If anything were to go wrong with anyone I am associated with, she will be the lawyer of choice. I really appreciate everything that she has done for me, I can not thank her enough!

Mr. D., a criminal defense client

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Relative Placement FAQs

What do I need to know about Orange County’s CPS relative placement requirements?
Our firm conducts a proactive audit of these criteria to ensure the relative is positioned as the superior placement option before the state defaults to foster care.
Relative placement is a critical component of a successful court-ordered reunification plan. When a child is placed with family, it facilitates more frequent visitation and cooperation with family maintenance services. This proximity is often the determining factor in preventing the “drift” that leads to the state seeking a permanent alternative to parental care.
The law prioritizes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and adult siblings. However, the state’s investigative momentum often overlooks these family resources. We execute a Placement Motion to force the court to evaluate these family-based options, ensuring that your child remains within the family’s cultural and structural ecosystem rather than the state system.
Yes. Securing a stable relative placement is a sophisticated tactical move in a terminating parental rights defense. By keeping the child within the extended family, we create a legal environment that favors long-term guardianship over adoption by strangers. This preserves the legal “standing” of the family unit even during litigation.
We advocate for the relative’s placement as a superior alternative to foster care, addressing any “Safety and Stability” concerns the state may raise to block the family’s intervention.

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