You have my prayers for a quick resolution to all this.
Your lawyer does not impress me, from your account. It sounds like CPS had you on a back burner - dealing with real cases of abuse - until this lawyer calls and wakes them up again. And volunteering to take parenting classes is like an admission of guilt (”I AM a neglectful parent”) - don’t do it unless they make you. A psych eval for an independent little girl? Huh?
I lost track of my three year old once - he went outside and got in the car while I was in the bathroom - I called the police and called them off when I found him - and the people across the street had a full search going for their little girl - turned out she was sound asleep under the blankets. No CPS involvement.
Point being, good parents do lose track of their kids, and 8 year olds do go on adventures. Yes, an 8 y.o. is big enough to have open door privileges and go in the yard, and yes, if you don’t know where your 8 y.o. is for 40 minutes because she got ambitious, you’re not being neglectful.
So once again, you have my prayers. Hopefully CPS realizes quickly they have much better things to do.
Thank you for your reply and prayers.