An inquiry by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) can be a highly stressful process, even if the length of a Darien DCF investigation is relatively short. If the process is not well-managed, however, DCF’s involvement in your life could extend long after the investigation closes.
The attorneys at Mark Sherman Law understand how to protect your rights throughout a DCF investigation and shut it down as quickly as possible. If DCF contacts you, call us immediately.
Connecticut General Statutes § 17a-101g govern DCF investigations. When DCF receives a credible report of suspected abuse or neglect, it will initiate an investigation within 72 hours. The investigators then have 45 days to complete their investigation. If the investigation involves a teacher, DCF has 33 days to complete its investigation.
The process starts with a home inspection and interview, which greatly impacts how the case proceeds. If the investigators decide that the child’s or children’s safety is not at immediate risk, the full-blown DCF investigation could be downgraded to a Family Assessment Response (FAR). However, if the investigators decide to continue with a full investigation, they may interview extended family members, teachers, neighbors, and medical professionals.
Engaging the help of a Darien DCF defense attorney when first contacted about a DCF investigation improves the chances that DCF will downgrade the investigation to a FAR, which can reduce the duration of the inquiry process. A legal professional can also determine the reason for the DCF investigation, provide the investigators with any information they need, and negotiate an early close to their investigation.
Early in the DCF investigation or FAR, the investigators may ask you to sign a services agreement, sometimes called a safety plan. The plan proposes that DCF will refer you and other family members to services such as counseling, drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs, anger management classes, and parenting education. The investigators may decide to refer your children to therapy as well.
DCF will likely present the safety plan as an opportunity for you or your family members to deal with the problems that impact you and your children. However, a safety plan is a legally binding contract that gives DCF the legal right to remain involved in your life until you have completed the tasks described in the plan.
As such, if DCF insists on a safety plan, an attorney can work with you and the investigators to draw up a narrowly focused agreement. Even if you have signed a safety plan before consulting an attorney, a legal professional in Darien can try to get the plan amended to minimize DCF’s continued involvement in your life and reduce the length of the DCF investigation.
Sometimes, a DCF investigation will lead to a substantiated finding, which means that the investigator has found sufficient evidence that child abuse or neglect occurred. A substantiated finding can extend the length of DCF’s involvement in Darien for months or longer.
You do have the option to appeal a substantiated finding. Your attorney will request an internal review, which requires the DCF’s legal department to assess whether the investigator’s evidence, which led to his or her conclusions, was adequate to substantiate the finding. If the internal review finds the evidence inadequate, the substantiation finding may be reversed and the case will be closed.
Even if the internal review finds that the investigator’s evidence is sufficient to substantiate the finding, you still have other legal options. You can request a hearing where a judge will make a decision based on the DCF’s evidence as well as additional evidence that you provide.
The length of a Darien DCF investigation should be 45 days, but that number can be deceiving. If you mishandle the process, the DCF can be involved in your life longer than 45 days and sometimes for years.
To avoid this, the attorneys at the Law Offices of Mark Sherman know how to limit a DCF investigation and shut it down quickly. Read more than 300 certified reviews on our Avvo profile, and then call us to get effective representation during a DCF investigation.
