Working from home meant we could vary snack and coffee breaks, change our desks or view, goof off, drink on the job, even spend the day in pajamas, and often meet to gossip or share ideas. On the other hand, we bossed ourselves around, set impossible goals, and demanded longer hours than office jobs usually entail. It was the ultimate “flextime,” in that it depended on how flexible we felt each day, given deadlines, distractions, and workaholic crescendos.
Aristotle made several efforts to explain how moral conduct contributes to the good life for human agents, including the Eqikh EudaimonhV and the Magna Moralia, but the most complete surviving statement of his views on morality occurs in the Eqikh Nikomacoi .
Successful people ask better questions.
But on Aristotle’s view, the lives of individual human beings are invariably linked together in a social context. In the Peri PoliV he speculated about the origins of the state, described and assessed the relative merits of various types of government, and listed the obligations of the individual citizen.
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Working from home meant we could vary snack and coffee breaks, change our desks or view, goof off, drink on the job, even spend the day in pajamas, and often meet to gossip or share ideas. On the other hand, we bossed ourselves around, set impossible goals, and demanded longer hours than office jobs usually entail. It was the ultimate “flextime,” in that it depended on how flexible we felt each day, given deadlines, distractions, and workaholic crescendos.
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As you might imagine, I hear a lot of Connecticut DCF complaints. We should remember that DCF’s policy and obligation is protect children in Connecticut. This is a critical goal which is frequently difficult and challenging. Most often, they do an excellent job. But understandably, there are times when their actions leave families disappointed, dissatisfied and even just plain angry.
There are three ways to handle a dispute with DCF:
1. There is an Ombudsman’s Office that fields complaints from families, service providers, foster parents and citizens. This may be the way to go initially – especially if there is no pending Juvenile Court involvement. Bottom line: you seek to have the matter adressed administratively.
2. File motions in Juvenile Court if there is a case pending. For example, if you have a disagreement about what DCF should be doing (i.e. offering reunification services, visitation, assessing relatives as potential placement resources) or not doing (unannounced visits, speaking to children without parent’s permission) you can request a judge to get involved to remedy the situation. Bottom line: you seek a court order.
3. Bring a lawsuit. This is reserved for those cases where their actions caused identifiable harm to a child or a family. For instance, a child injured while in foster care, violating confidentiality laws or falsifying documents. Bottom line: you seek compensation.
I have not had any directly dealings with the Ombudsman’s Office. However, I have heard from some folks that their experience was not pleasant or they were given “lip service” or that the office is virtually useless.
If you have had dealings with the Ombudsman’s Office or particular DCF Offices, I am interested to hear about it – good or bad.
Contact me online or call me in my Stamford office at (203) 356-1475 or in my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 to schedule your case evaluation and determine how best to handle your Connecticut DCF complaints.
All Divorce and Family Courts in Connecticut rely heavily on the Court Support Services Division – better known as Family Relations to assist litigants in divorce, custody and financial matters. Family Relations Officers are also often involved in domestic violence cases in both the Family and Criminal Courts.
Pursuant to Connecticut Statutes, judges have the authority to order Family Relations in Connecticut to “investigate any circumstance of the case which may be helpful or material or relevant to a proper disposition of the case.” In other words, anything. As a result, any disputed issue in Family or Divorce Court will go through Family Relations at least once, if not more.
Here is some of what they do.
Family Relations Officers conduct Alternative Dispute Resolution Services such as:
- Negotiations of any motions which appear on the Short Calendar
- Mediation for custody and visitation disputes
- Conciliation Counseling to explore the possibility of a couple reconciling
- Pre-trial Settlement Conferences
The Family Relations Office also performs two types of Evaluations:
- Issue Focused Evaluations where the recommendation is limited to a specific subject.
- Comprehensive Evaluations, which are in-depth assessments of a family. A Family Relations Officer writes a report that sets forth a recommended Parenting Plan. Many times the report forms the basis of an agreement between the parties thereby avoiding costly and potentially emotionally damaging litigation.
Cooperate with Family Relations. They are trained professionals who see cases like yours daily. Much more often than not, they can forecast how a judge will view an issue.
Please contact me if you have questions about Family Relations in Connecticut.
Who pays for medical bills is one the biggest concerns an accident victim has. The anxiety only increases as the bills pile up and more medical treatment is still needed.
For starters, the driver who caused the collision is not obligated to pay until your case is resolved. Until then, it is your responsibility. I know it seems unfair but let’s move on and get your bills squared away.
Here’s how:
1. Medical Payments Coverage (“Med Pay”). Look at your automobile insurance policy. You may have purchased additional coverage in case you were injured in a car accident. If so, this is your primary source for paying your medical bills.
2. Health insurance. This is your next option if you do not Med Pay or have exhausted the amount of Med Pay coverage. Before your private health insurance will pay your expenses, they will require a letter from your auto insurance carrier that you do not have Med Pay coverage.
3. Medicare or Medicaid. If you are on either these federal programs, they will pay the bills as they come in but they will eventually make a claim for reimbursement.
4. Worker’s Compensation. If you are injured in a work related motor vehicle accident, worker’s compensation insurance while cover your health care expenses.
5. Letter of Protection. This is written promise sent to your medical provider that you will pay your outstanding medical bills out of your settlement. In essence, your providers have a lien on your settlement.
As an accident victim, your focus should be on receiving appropriate medical care and recovery. Making sure your bills are paid is one of the more important tasks your attorney can handle.
Most divorce lawyers in Connecticut bill by the hour.
Clients usually advance a sum of money (a retainer), which the attorney deposits in a Trustee account. The attorney maintains an accounting of their time as services are performed. Then the attorney withdraws funds from the Trustee account for the legal fees they earned. It sort of works like a debit account.
If the initial retainer is exhausted, the client usually advances another retainer.
At the end of the case, any money left over in the Trustee account is promptly refunded to the client.
Hourly rates for divorce lawyers in Connecticut vary from about $200 to $750. The initial retainer also varies. Some attorneys request as little as $1,000 while others ask for $30,000 or more.
All of these terms and the scope of the lawyer’s services, must be set forth in a written Retainer Agreement provided by the lawyer to the client.
Here are some factors attorneys use in determining a legal fee:
- The novelty and difficulty of the issues involved and the skill required to perform the legal services properly
- The fee customarily charged by others attorneys in the same locality
- The time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances of the case
- The nature and length of the relationship with the client
- The experience, reputation and ability of the lawyer performing the services.
Sometimes an attorney will agree to charge a set fee rather than charging hourly. This is known as a flat fee divorce and is usually limited to uncontested divorces that do not involve children, alimony or real estate.
DCF does have a policy on erasing or “expunging” certain reports. The policy attempts to balance the privacy of persons who were not found to have been perpetrators of abuse or neglect against the goal of protecting children.
Expunge is defind as the deletion of all names, allegations and documents in their database. I consider that to be everything they have on you. So if you are entitled to get your file expunged, the entire record should be wiped clean.
Here are the different scenarios to determine whether your records will be expunged:
1. Non-accepted reports will be maintained by DCF for 60 days then they will be expunged. These are calls to the Hotline that were not accepted and therefore DCF did not perform an Investigation. Basically, the allegations did not meet the criteria for abuse or neglect or were otherwise considered bogus.
2. Reports that were investigated by DCF but were unsubstantiated (unfounded) will be expunged 5 years from the date that Investigation was completed. But – unsubstantiated reports will not be expunged if a person has been substantiated in any other case. In other words, one Substantiation means all your cases stick – even the ones where there was no neglect or abuse finding.
3. Investigations resulting in a Substantiation (reasonable cause to believe that neglect or abuse occurred) will be kept on file indefinitely along with any unsubstantiated cases. So, in these cases. expungement is not possible. For this reason alone, virtually all Substantiations should be appealed.
I represent clients in all DCF related amtters though out Fairfield and New Haven County including those who reside in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, Greenwich, Shelton, Orange and Milford.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 to schedule your DCF consultation.