Filing for Connecticut Emergency Custody is necessary when a child needs immediate protection. Fortunately, there is a process to get a court order right away, without a full hearing, to ensure a child’s safety.
This is called an ex parte order.
Here’s the process:
Complete an Affidavit. State all the reasons why the child is “immediate and present risk of physical danger or psychological harm.” Persuade the judge that there needs to be emergency order now rather than waiting for a hearing. Be convincing – but always be truthful.
File the Affidavit at the Court Clerk’s Office. You must file the Affidavit along with a Custody Application unless a case is pending. A Clerk will take the documents to a judge for a quick ruling.
The other parent or guardian must be served with the documents.
A few other notes:
Be thorough – the judge can only act on the information presented in the Affidavit.
The judge may inform the Department of Children and Families (DCF) of the allegations in the Affidavit. This may involve DCF conducting an Investigation and advising the judge as to their findings.
The ex parte orders may provide for temporary child custody, an order prohibiting the removal of the child from Connecticut and/or an order regarding visitation rights. You can also request other orders specific to your emergency situation.
A hearing will occur within 14 days for all parties to be in attendance. At this hearing, both parents will present evidence as to why the ex parte orders should or not remain in effect.
Connecticut Emergency Custody Attorney
I represent clients in Connecticut Family Court in custody proceedings though out Fairfield County including those in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Email me. Or call me at either of my offices to schedule a consultation. Stamford office (203) 356-1475. Fairfield office (203) 259-5251.
I will walk you through the Connecticut Emergency Custody process.
DCF License Hearings are DCF Administrative Hearings where a child care facility such as a foster home, adoptive home, group home has the opportunity to appeal DCF’s decision to deny an application to become licensed. A License Hearing also includes a challenge to limit, suspend, revoke or refusal to renew a license.
A request for a hearing must be made within 15 days after receiving written notice from DCF regarding their proposed licensing action. These appeals are very time sensitive – exceptions are rarely made.
At the Hearing, DCF will have their witnesses testify first and will usually submit written documentation and other exhibits to attempt to support their decision. After DCF finishes their case, the child care facility presents their witnesses and exhibits.
After evaluating all the evidence, the Hearing Officer must decide whether the child care facility failed to meet or comply with the DCF Regulations for licensing.
The Hearing Officer has several options:
- Uphold DCF’s decision
- Grant a provisional license until corrective measures are taken
- Suspend the license
- Restrict the license
- Issue or renew the license.
The Hearing Officer has 30 days to issue a written decision. There is a right to appeal the Hearing Officer’s decision to the Superior Court but these are rarely successful. It is critical to get it right the first time.
Please email me or call (203) 259-5251 to discuss DCF License Hearings.
Increase Connecticut Alimony? Yes it can happen. Alimony orders can be modified unless the divorce decree specifically precludes modification. Some Separation Agreements provide that the amount can be modified but the term (length of time to pay alimony) cannot be extended. Other times there is no language at all about modification and therefore changing the order (up or down) is permitted.
In a recent case, the alimony order was modified from $1,600 to $6,000 per month. The wife was able to prove a “substantial change in circumstances” since the date of the last order because the ex-husband’s income increased by four times the amount he was earning when they divorced.
At the time of the divorce the ex-wife has assets of close to $240,000. By the time she filed her Motion for Modification the assets had dwindled to about $10,000 since she was forced to use her assets to meet living expenses.
Furthermore, her earning capacity was minimal and she was experiencing health issues.
All of this led the court to conclude that the previous alimony award was insufficient to maintain the wife’s standard of living.
Alimony modifications in Connecticut are very fact dependent. If have questions about how to increase Connecticut alimony please contact me.
DCF Emotional Neglect is defined as the denial of of proper care and attention to the children emotionally and/or morally by a person responsible for the child’s care that may result in the child’s maladaptive functioning.
This the definition in the DCF Policy Manual and it is pretty confusing.
For starters – the standard is pretty speculative. “May result?” It requires DCF to forecast that in the future the child may be impacted by a parent’s behavior.
The second issue with he definition is the word “maladaptive.” I checked out an online dictionary and found defined maladaptive as “marked by faulty or inadequate adaptation.” Ok. So if a child might not adapt well because of something that a parent did or did not do then DCF could substantiate Emotional Neglect.
That’s not terribly useful or comforting for a family under DCF Investigation.
So let’s turn to some examples of what could be considered DCF Emotional Neglect:
- Encouraging the child to steal or engage in illegal activities
- Encouraging the child to use drugs and/or alcohol
- Recognizing a child’s need but failing to provide the child with emotional nuturance
- Having inappropriate expectations of the child given the child’s developmental level
In order for DCF to file a Neglect Petition in Juvenile Court based on Emotional Neglect they must obtain a statement from a mental health provider documenting their concerns.
Please contact me to discuss all aspects of DCF Investigations.
A child victim lacks standing to challenge a Hearing Officer’s decision removing their alleged abuser’s name from the DCF Central Registry. In other words, an adult can appeal a Substantiation or Central Registry decision but not the child who is the subject of the DCF Investigation.
Read the case here:
Please contact me if you have questions any DCF cases including DCF appeals.
Medical Neglect Investigations almost always start with either a pediatrician or a doctor at a hospital making a referral to DCF. These referrals usually involve allegations that either:
- A parent is refusing to authorize medically indicated treatment for their child; or
- A parent has missed a series of medical, dental or mental health appointments.
These referrals to DCF typically result in “full” Investigations rather than an abbreviated Investigation that DCF might conduct for less serious matters. On the surface, this makes sense. Obviously, no one wants a child to be medically compromised. With medical cases, there can be a lot of complex (maybe technical) information for DCF to evaluate.
However, there are instances where DCF is not getting the complete story. At least not initially.
I find this is especially true in cases where families have sought out second and third opinions regarding their child. For example, there might be legitimate and conflicting medical opinions as to diagnosis, causation and what the appropriate treatment should be. It is unlikely that DCF would be aware of this when the call first comes into the Hotline.
Of course, there are many other reasons from a parent’s perspective as to why their child has not been neglected. These reasons need to be presented in an organized and logical fashion to DCF so that the whole picture is painted.
By the way, failing to provide immunizations and/or routine well child care by itself does not constitute medical neglect. In other words, DCF needs more to Substantiate neglect or to file a Neglect Petition in Juvenile Court.
If DCF does Substantiate Neglect, a parent has a right to appeal that decision. A parent also has a right to an attorney if they are summoned to the Juvenile Court. Representation in this type of case is crucial.
You may contact me by email or by calling my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 or in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 if you have questions about Medical Neglect.