A DCF Internal Review is the first step in a DCF Appeal. If an individual accused of abuse or neglect disagrees with a DCF Substantiation finding or placement on the DCF Central Registry they must request a DCF Internal Review within 30 days of receiving the Notification of Investigation Results. I imagine that since you are reading this it is likely that you already received this letter and are exploring what this all means.
An Internal Review is completed by the local DCF Legal Unit to determine if the Substantiation or Registry decision is factually or legally deficient and therefore should be reversed.
When the “accused” requests this Review, they are allowed to submit any documentation to DCF that is relevant to DCF’s Investigation. DCF may also schedule a meeting or phone conference to gather additional information as they reconsider their original decision. Unfortunately, the form letter that DCF sends to an alleged perpetrator (their word not mine) does not contain this information. Therefore, most people are unaware that they can participate in the Internal Review process.
In order to make your best case during this review process, you should obtain your copy of the Investigative Protocol. You should also consider retaining a lawyer to maximize your chance of a reversal at this stage. Retaining a lawyer sooner rather than later is usually much more cost effective long term.
DCF has 30 days to complete the review. They will send a letter with the results. There are two possible outcomes: the decision will be reversed or upheld. Obviously, if it is reversed then the Review was a success and no further action is needed. However, if it is upheld, then the matter should be appealed through a DCF Administrative Hearing which must be requested within 30 days.
Contact me online or call my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 or my Stamford office at (203) 356-1475 today to schedule a consultation concerning a DCF Internal Review.