The Department of Children and Families, also known as DCF, is a Connecticut agency in charge of investigating allegations of abuse and neglect against children. They take this job especially serious when dealing with school administrators.
You will find out DCF is investigating you when they reach out to you for more information or they reach out to your employer to let you them know you are under investigation. Often DCF will not be give you all the details about the allegations against you and try to get a statement before you know all the facts.
Since school principals work for the Connecticut school system, once DCF opens an investigation they must DCF must tell your employer. In addition, Connecticut General Statute § 17a-101g states that DCF must also tell the Board of Education about the investigation.
Yes. DCF will likely inform the police of the allegations against you and they will also investigate. If the allegations involve sexual abuse, DCF must tell the police within 12 hours of the report. Their investigations will occur simultaneously. To learn more about how DCF and the police work together, click here. To learn more about the police side of sexual assault investigations click here.
A standard Connecticut DCF investigation lasts 45 days but if you are a school principal DCF must close the case within 33 business days.
There is no limit on how far back in time DCF can look to investigate you. If someone comes forward today accusing you of sexual abuse a decade ago, DCF has the power to investigate you, and they will. This makes defending yourself especially challenging as most of the evidence proving your innocence is likely gone.
That depends. Generally, if you are accused of sexual misconduct that occurred before you were 16 years old, you cannot be placed on the registry. However, if DCF substantiates allegations against you before you were even a teacher, you can be placed on the Central Registry,
If DCF substantiates the allegations against you, they will have 5 business days to tell your employer. You employer is then required to suspend you with pay for the duration of your appeal. In addition, the Board of Education can take steps to revoke your teaching certification
Probably not. There is no requirement that your employer remove the investigation from your file, no matter the result. A DCF investigation can follow you for a long time.
DCF investigations can have wide ranging effects on your job, especially if you are a school administrator. Hire any of the best Connecticut DCF attorneys to fight for your job when you are a school principal facing a DCF investigation. Read from our hundreds of certified Avvo.com reviews. Then call the Mark Sherman Law today.
