DCF Service Agreements (also known as Safety Plans) are part of many Investigations. They are usually discussed during DCF’s initial home visit. The form itself is a one-page document that identifies a Safety Factor(s) and what the parent and the social worker will do to address that concern(s). Simply put, it is a written agreement…
The policy of Connecticut DCF is to protect the health and welfare of children. We must all agree that a child’s safety is paramount. To this end, there is a Hotline, which receives reports of suspected neglect and abuse. Anyone who makes a report in good faith and has reasonable grounds for making the report…
A DCF Investigation of a foster home usually starts the same way as other referrals – a call to their Hotline by a mandated reporter. The Hotline Worker then screens the call to determine if it meets the guidelines and operational definitions of abuse and/or neglect. If not, the case is not “accepted.” If…
This is tricky. There is no minimum age for a child to be left alone in Connecticut. I am sure some parents wish there was. It would make their child care decisions a lot easier. When the parents make the wrong “call” it could lead to a DCF Investigation for child neglect or an…
According to the DCF Policy Manual, educational neglect occurs when a parent of a child, age seven through fifteen, interferes with the ability of the child to receiver a proper education. Essentially, educational neglect is when a child is not registered in school or not allowed to go to school and there is no state…
I imagine that there is nothing more unsettling than being investigated for child abuse. This is especially true if the DCF Social Worker presumes a parent is guilty from the jump. The whole Investigation can be skewed and tainted as DCF searches for any evidence to support the claim while dismissing or disregarding exculpatory evidence….