What happens if you cannot attend a CHIPS PETITION hearing and ?

Question

what exactly is the purpose of one ?

my ex hub won in court 6 yrs ago because he knew the guardian at litem and got sole custody of our 4 kids and married a woman in the court field who helped him do so.

he is in wis.. i live in ny.. he didnt let me see my kids or talk to them for 6 yrs. Now he is in jail on 22 counts of sexual assault and the step mom has temp custody and cps filed a chips. my kids are all teens and want to stay there and he brainwashed them against me and i cant afford a lawyer and am not financially able to go there for court. i have been trying to arrange each one over the phone but if you don't attend are you arrested or is it found default against you. this is not criminal against me.

i have tried and tried to have a lawyer help me but have no success.

Answer 1

CHIPS in your state is like CHINS in my state. They will not have you arrested because it is not a criminal charge, but you won't have a chance at custody if you don't go.

In my state, the stepmother would have a CHINS petition against her for not protecting the kids against abuse, and the blood mother would have  great chance at getting custody.