The Law Offices of Michael H. Agranoff provides aggressive representation for clients with serious DCF problems.  We understand the issues, and have many years of experience in this area.

Our firm is fully computerized. However, we offer personal service and convenient appointments. If necessary, evenings, weekends, and appointments at your home or business, can be arranged. There is a 24-hour phone message system, with no phone menus.

Our fees are reasonable. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Parking is never a problem. Use of fax and email is encouraged, to save time and avoid phone-tag.

We offer services in several areas:

1. DCF Investigations
The Department of Children and Families (DCF), formerly DCYS, is charged, among other things, with protecting children who are victims of abuse or neglect. This is serious and important work, often thankless, sometimes dangerous; and most DCF workers are good to excellent.

The problem is that DCF investigations are not like normal police investigations. Workers and supervisors are often under pressure to “substantiate” a person for abuse or neglect, in order to protect themselves against possible charges of releasing a child to a dangerous environment. There are innumerable political pressures in the child protection business, with a mix of State law, Federal law, and bureaucratic turf protection.

Workers seldom advise clients of their right to have a lawyer, and sometimes hint that they will do better without a lawyer. Persons being investigated may assume that contacting a lawyer is an admission of guilt. They may also assume that if they can simply “plead their case” to the worker, all will be well. These assumptions, as experience shows, are almost always false.

Persons familiar with Constitutional rights learned in civics classes, and repeated on TV shows and in newspapers, often do not understand the special rules for DCF. They are often astounded to learn that hearsay evidence can be used against them, with limited or no right of cross-examination; that investigations and trials are not open to the public; that there is no jury trial; that the press is excluded (as of this writing); that court-appointed lawyers are grossly underpaid and often not aggressive; that DCF often demands that clients speak to them without lawyers present, and attempts to intimidate clients; and various other surprising items. DCF workers never explain these rules to persons being investigated, and persons often find out about the problems after it is too late.

If you have a lawyer from the beginning, and if you cooperate with the lawyer, then you have maximized your chances of surviving a DCF investigation. There are no guarantees, of course, and no reputable lawyer would give one; however, you will have done all that you could to avoid a substantiation or a Court petition.

READ OUR PAMPHLET: What to do if DCF Pays You a Visit

READ OUR PAMPHLET: Typical DCF Tricks

READ OUR PAMPHLET: Fighting Substantiations of Abuse or Neglect

READ OUR PAMPHLET: The Child Abuse/Neglect Registry

2. Juvenile Court – Abuse/Neglect
If a petition of abuse or neglect is filed, you will have to appear in Juvenile Court. This can result in serious consequences to the parents, including removal of the children. In extreme cases, your parental rights can be terminated, and the children put up for adoption. Even without removal, DCF may be in your lives longer than you desire.

Our goal is to help reunify the family, and get their lives back in order, if at all possible. We work with the parents and with DCF. If necessary, we will coordinate with grandparents and other family resources. Your chances for success are much better if you have a qualified lawyer representing you.

3. Juvenile Court – Delinquency
In most cases, but not all, children under 16 in Connecticut who commit crimes are tried in Juvenile Court, where the goal is to help rather than to punish them. We will represent children in these matters, upon request of the parents.

4. Emancipation
If a child is 16 or 17, then the child or the parents may petition for emancipation. This results in the child being treated as an adult for most purposes. We will represent parents in these proceedings.

5. Miscellany
If you have any problem whatsoever with DCF, or fear that a problem may develop, please call. We can usually help. You have nothing to lose.

Brief consultations are available at reasonable rates. These can be scheduled quickly, and do not obligate you to further expense.

READ OUR PAMPHLET: Frequently-Asked Questions on CT Juvenile Courts

READ OUR PAMPHLETS: The Story of Nicole; Bob & Karen; Bernard & Elizabeth; Roberta

6. School Bullying and Harassment
Adults know that if other adults harass them, they have recourse to the police and to the courts. It is not so well known that children also have recourse against harassment or bullying by other children.

Kids will be kids, but if bullying gets out of hand and affects a child's well being, then the parents must take action. Unfortunately, parents often don't know what to do.

Many parents will complain to the school, which means well, but which has other problems to worry about. Dealing with school authorities to control the actions of other children can be most frustrating. In this lawsuit-saturated culture, schools have become experts at paper-pushing and giving verbal assurances. Unfortunately, if it's not in writing, then it probably isn't worth anything.

One student was being continually harassed by other students, because he wore different clothing and tended not to fight back.  His mother, who meant well, spoke to an Assistant Principal, who said, "There is nothing we can do.  Let the boys just work it out."

It worked out into a fight, with the student suspended, and more bad feeling in the school.

Of course, the Assistant Principal later denied that he said it, and there was nothing in writing and no videotape.  He counted on this woman to be intimidated by the school.  Instead she called me.

In those situations, we deal directly with the Superintendent or Board of Education, in writing. We also deal directly with the parents of the offending children. In extreme cases, we will seek police, civil court, and juvenile court action.

Therefore, if bullying becomes a problem, we can help. You do not have to "grin and bear it," nor do you have to beg indifferent persons to take action. Further, having an experienced advocate on your side is far less frustrating than dealing solo with the authorities.

If you speak to the parents of offending children, and they do not cooperate, it is best to see an attorney. Arguing with the parents will most often just start a neighborhood skirmish.

The bottom line: If a bullying situation develops, try to work it out peacefully. If you can't, don't get upset; call us!

In one of the most notorious cases in Connecticut history, a middle school student, Daniel Scruggs, hanged himself as a result of relentless bullying in school.  His mother complained that she had tried to get help for years and was stonewalled by the authorities.  After Daniel’s death, there was an investigation – and the mother was arrested!  The State charged that, bullying or not, Daniel’s problems were mainly caused by her own negligence.  Although the mother had one of the top criminal lawyers in the State defending her, she was found guilty.  Both DCF and the school system were embarrassed, but escaped responsibility.

A case like this has plenty of blame to go around, and I will not attempt to parcel out fault.  But one thing is clear: had the mother gotten legal help the moment that she ran into a stone wall, Daniel might be alive today.  A qualified Juvenile Court lawyer would have not only pressured the school, and the parents of the offending children, but also would have advised the mother on her own child care responsibilities and methods of getting counseling for her child.  The lawyer would have attempted to counsel the child as well.

After Daniel committed suicide, it was too late.  If the tragic death of this innocent child does not convince you to get help in dealing with the authorities, then, sad to say, nothing will.

The mother was sentenced to probation and community service.   However, the case finally did have one decent turn for her.  In August, 2006, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously reversed the mother's conviction.  Among other things, the Court noted that DCF had closed its file in this matter, leading the mother to believe that the State itself believed that there was no immediate threat to Daniel's health.

In other words, in my opinion, DCF botched the case.  When someone in authority realized that someone had to be held accountable for this child's death, DCF then attempted to shift the blame to the mother.  Of course, many people, including the prosecutor, still believe that the mother was at fault; and this case had plenty of fault to go around. 

To repeat, it is clear beyond argument that you need a lawyer when dealing with DCF.

Some people may find this hard to believe.  After all, are not teachers, principals, and superintendents authority figures?

Yes, once they were.  In today’s bureaucratic environment, however, many are reduced to being paper-pushers.          

Dr. John Rosemond had an excellent column in April, 2006.  The point was that a teacher in the northeast saw a student bullying another child, told him to stop, and – the teacher was reprimanded!  The parents of the bully complained to the school; and the school, fearing litigation more than the plague, chastised the teacher.

Dr. Rosemond commented that he hears this from teachers all the time.  I myself hear it occasionally from teachers in my circle of family and friends.

Of course, the school’s pat response would be that the teacher should have told the principal.  That, of course, is nonsense.  Why bureaucratize and extend something that could have been solved on the spot?  One doesn’t know who to feel sorrier for:

·        The bully, who has learned the wrong lesson, and may well grow up to be an adult criminal

·        The bullied child, who can no longer trust adults

·        The teacher, who has seen her ideals thrown out the window

·        The school administration, which has to live with itself knowing that it is cannon fodder for overpaid school board lawyers

If you still trust paper-pushers to give you your rights, then I cannot help you.  But hopefully, you will help yourself before a disaster erupts.

SANTORO  BULLYING  WARNING:
Most people, of course, do not want to be confrontational.  That is understandable; after all, everyone likes to be liked, and you may need a favor from the other person one day.  So why call a lawyer if you have a school bullying problem?

A gentleman named Frank Santoro, Jr., had a son in the Hamden, CT public schools who was being bullied.  He complained to the school, which allegedly did nothing.  Of course, the school will have a different viewpoint; and after reading the above, you may draw your own conclusions.

Mr. Santoro, aware of so-called anti-bullying laws, then filed a lawsuit against the school system.  After all, isn’t there a law requiring school boards to establish anti-bullying policies?

Despite being represented by one of the top civil lawyers in the State, Mr. Santoro’s case was thrown out of court in August, 2006.  The technical reason: anti-bullying policies are “discretionary”, and parents have no “private right of action” to see that they are enforced.

The real reason:  governmental immunity.  If you, as a private citizen, violate the law, you can be charged.  If a governmental entity violates the law, it is generally immune, although there are exceptions.  As of today, bullying is not one of those exceptions.  The Courts do not want to be inundated with cases from citizens irate at ineffective government; hence, governmental immunity thrives.

In other words, you have a right without a remedy.  Not such a bargain.

The lesson is clear.  Do not expect the anti-bullying “laws” to protect you, and if administrators refuse to protect you, do not expect them to change simply because you persist.  In the Santoro case, the student allegedly doing the bullying was a black student, and the administrators were afraid of “creating a racial incident.”

Such is the administrative mentality of our lawsuit culture.

If your child is being bullied, and if the school does nothing, CALL A LAWYER IMMEDIATELY.

The lawyer may be able to pressure the school board, its lawyers, and the parents of the offending children, more effectively than you can.

SUPPORT GROUPS: There are various web sites and organizations for people who have problems with DCF or other child protection agencies. Some support groups are better than others. We do not specifically endorse any, and we caution people that a support group is not a substitute for the services of a licensed competent attorney.

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