About DCF

Connecticut Department of Children and Families

The Department of Children and Families is the state agency responsible for child protection, behavioral health, juvenile justice and prevention services in Connecticut. 

DCF works with families and communities to improve child safety, ensure that more children have permanent families, and advance the overall well-being of children. DCF protects children who are being abused or neglected, and strives to help children who are facing emotional and behavioral challenges.

While DCF certainly has a noble mission, and provides valuable services to families and communities, it sometimes carries out its duties in a heavy-handed way. In fact, DCF sometimes disregards the rights of parents, and will take actions that result in serious harm and detriment to families. Because DCF deals with child protection, the state has granted it an immense amount of power.

When your family becomes involved with DCF, you might feel stripped of your rights and question whether you are still in America. However, you do have rights, and having a qualified attorney is the best way to protect those rights. Please see What to Do When DCF Calls. Read more on my perspective on The Future of DCF.

Note for Persons in States Other than Connecticut

All states have a child protection system (CPS) that has the same general function as DCF.  However, laws and actual practices vary widely from state to state. 

Nearly every week, I get an e-mail from someone outside of Connecticut who needs help in dealing with his or her state’s CPS.  Most say the same thing: “I cannot find a lawyer to help me.”

Unfortunately, I cannot help you directly, as I am licensed in Connecticut only.  However, I will do what I can to try to find you a qualified lawyer in your state.

There is, at present, no national organization of CPS defense lawyers for adults.  This is an incredible fact.  Virtually every other branch of law has an organization of some kind; but not CPS defense for adults.  No doubt it will come some day, but it is not here yet.

I was recently able to help a woman in Florida, by locating a qualified CPS defense lawyer.  It was a gratifying experience.  Here is a portion of the woman’s final e-mail to me:

 “I just wanted to send a quick email to thank you again for all of your help.  I have contacted [the attorney recommended]….Again, I can’t thank you enough for your assistance and for your compassion.  Your clients in Connecticut are truly blessed to have someone like you on their side.” 

It appears safe to say that there is a shortage of lawyers willing to help adults with CPS problems.  Again, I will try to find you a lawyer if you need one; but until and unless we get a solid national organization, it will be rough going in some states.

Note on Problems in Other States

If you have problems with CPS in other states, I am pleased to advise the following:

CPS Problems in Massachusetts:
Call Atty. Gregory A. Hession
Web Site: www.massoutrage.com
Tel: 413-746-9993.

CPS Problems in Florida:
Call Atty. Jessica C. Tien
Web Site: www.tienlaw.com
Tel: 813-639-0080

If you live outside of Connecticut, but have a problem with Connecticut DCF, then I will be glad to try to help you.  We have helped several out-of-state clients with Connecticut DCF problems.

Note for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents 

DCF regularly places advertisements urging adults to become foster and adoptive parents, or mentors for children.  This is an excellent service, and there are fewer things that are more rewarding than helping a child in need. 

Very often, foster parents become attached to the child or children, and wish to adopt them.  DCF will assist you in this when possible. 

However, the general caution to consult an attorney remains, even when DCF is “on your side.”  Many prospective adoptive parents have run into problems; and sometimes, by the time they call an attorney, it is too late. 

You might refer to the story of “Bernard and Elizabeth”, in our article on Substantiation Cases.

There are other cases.  In a 2008 case, a decent couple who had three grown children had taken in two foster children whose parents were having their parental rights terminated.  Everything was fine.  They were all set to adopt these children, with DCF’s blessing.  As part of the routine processing, the couple had to list references.  One of those references wrote a very scathing report, claiming that the couple had abused the children.  In spite of a dozen good letters, the doubt was raised.  The children allegedly confirmed the abuse, although we were not allowed to examine them, as the couple had no “standing” as prospective adoptive parents.

We have no personal knowledge of the truth.  We do know that the natural children of the couple, and many of their friends and relatives, gave glowing reports.  We do know that the adoptive children gave conflicting reports, although we were not allowed to examine the details.  DCF, with no effective oversight or review, ended their chances to adopt.

Be careful.  When dealing with DCF, you should consult an attorney from the beginning.  It does not matter how well things seem to be going.  Our office is aware of many DCF traps, and we may be able to spot problems before they arise.

Note on the Two DCF’s

Many persons will find some of the articles on this web site hard to believe. After all, doesn’t DCF simply work to protect children against abusive parents?

Yes, it does, in part. However, there are two separate DCF’s.

The DCF that the public sees is the DCF as portrayed in its web site, http://www.ct.gov/dcf. This is a DCF of happy kids and happy parents being helped by kindly social workers. It is a DCF of statutes, regulations, and sound policies and procedures. It is the DCF that is portrayed to the State Legislature at budget hearings.

The DCF that many clients see is the DCF as portrayed in this web site. This is a DCF of families in trouble, whether through their own fault or not, and social workers telling them what to do. Many social workers are excellent; but some are hard-bitten, thoughtless, and interested primarily in covering their own tracks. They will give legal advice to clients that is misleading or wrong, and will discourage them from seeking lawyers to protect their rights. They often take a bad situation and make it worse. This is the DCF that clients have seen when they come to our office for help. This is the DCF that anguished parents, grandparents, and foster parents fear when they realize that they may lose their children for good.

Do you have a good social worker or not? Is that social worker listening to you, or following the dictates of supervisors and managers who do not know you? You cannot know, and that is one reason that you need a lawyer when dealing with DCF.

Life is seldom as portrayed on television. DCF today is roughly where the police were a century ago – nearly unlimited powers over a frightened populace.

When you deal with DCF, you need a DCF defense lawyer.

Here are two actual cases from March, 2010:

1. A child presented in school with mild bruises. His parents were fine people, who came from a country in which corporal punishment of children was accepted. The school nurse examined the child, and wrote an affidavit that the child was in serious danger if he remained home. The child was taken by DCF. The social worker was excellent, and realized that there was no serious danger, provided that the parents understood certain things and agreed to comply with reasonable steps. The social worker and I worked together, and the child was returned to the parents even before the initial court hearing.

2. A child was severely injured, and it was clearly intentional. The child was properly seized and an investigation begun. It was clear that the child was injured while in her mother’s care, either by the mother or by a friend of hers. We represented the father. He was nowhere in the area when the injury occurred, and the police quickly cleared him. There was no evidence that he covered-up for the mother; quite the contrary. Yet DCF actually filed a termination of parental rights petition against both parents, despite actual knowledge that there was no evidence against the father.

Which of the two DCF’s will you get, if this happens to you?