DCF Commitment of a child means that custody and guardianship of a child is transferred to DCF. For a child to be committed to DCF, there must be two separate court findings Adjudication of the Neglect Petition. A Juvenile Court judge must find that the child was neglected, abused or uncared for. This can…
Generally speaking juvenile delinquency in Connecticut Juvenile Court involves the violation of a state or federal law by someone under the age of 18. In other words, the police allege they have committed a crime. The Juvenile Court does not usually use the term felony or misdemeanor. Instead, the important distinction for a Connecticut delinquency…
Whenever DCF is involved there is always the risk that they might file a Neglect Petition in the Juvenile Court. Ordinarily, a Neglect Petition is filed when the abuse or neglect allegations are serious enough that DCF is attempting to remove the child (or at least threaten the child’s removal) or when DCF is trying…
Juvenile Court judges in Bridgeport and Stamford have the authority to send a child who has been arrested to Bridgeport Juvenile Detention. A child is entitled to a lawyer for detention review hearings. A child ends up in Bridgeport Juvenile Detention in one of two ways: 1. The police. At the time a child…
For DCF cases in the Stamford Juvenile Court, most hearings occur on Thursdays. Here is an overview: Orders of Temporary Custody In the most urgent of cases, DCF will remove a child under a 96-hour hold and then apply to a judge for an Order of Temporary Custody (OTC). For a judge to grant…
A DCF Connecticut Order of Temporary Custody (OTC) will be applied for when DCF believes that the child is serious danger and therefore the child should be immediately removed for their parents. Here are the different stages of a DCF Connecticut Order of Temporary Custody case: 1. Ex parte. DCF presents a judge with Affidavits…