Services Provided

Voluntary Services

As many people have discovered, getting help for your child, when you do not have adequate means, is not an easy task. There is no one agency in Connecticut whose sole mission is “child welfare.” There are many different agencies which handle child welfare, and each handles it from its own point of view.

DCF is a child protection agency. It handles claims of child abuse and child neglect. It is not a child welfare agency. If you call DCF and claim that your child needs psychiatric help, or dental care, or newer clothes for school, and you cannot pay for it, DCF does not have a direct mechanism to handle that. DCF will likely refer you to other agencies.

Agencies that might help you with child welfare include:  Social Security; DMR; DMHAS; DSS; Probate Court; the State Child Advocate; Town social services; schools; churches; food banks; and others.  DCF is also an agency that may help.  It offers:  emergency mobile psychiatric services (EMPS) for mental health crises; individualized community-based services (ICBS) for children with significant mental health, drug, or alcohol problems, and voluntary services.  Some of these agencies and services can help in some situations.  But again, there is no one single coordinated child welfare agency in Connecticut. 

To be fair, it must be noted that Connecticut is better than many other states in child welfare.  If the federal government implements universal health care, it remains to be seen how effective that will be for children.

The remainder of this article is concerned with DCF voluntary services.   What if you are caring for a child and call for DCF for voluntary services for mental health, drug or alcohol problems? 

If you apply for voluntary services for your child, and if DCF accepts the child into the program, then your child may get benefits usually offered only to children who are committed to DCF through the Juvenile Court.

Benefits can include many things: individual counseling (psychological or psychiatric), group counseling, Big Brothers or Big Sisters or other mentoring, guidance for parents, parent aides, domestic violence classes, etc. There is almost no limit. Sometimes children are placed in group homes or foster homes at State expense.

The important thing is “voluntary.” DCF does not have to accept a child for voluntary services. And if they do accept a child, the parent must cooperate, or DCF will drop the child from the voluntary services program.

Of course, what a parent means by “cooperation”, and what any particular social worker might mean by “cooperation”, are not always the same.

DCF voluntary services can be a lifeline for a family. But sometimes things do not work out well. Many parents who ask State or Town agencies for help are told to call DCF for voluntary services. Sometimes, after calling voluntary services, the parents find that a Juvenile Court petition has been filed against them!

In all fairness, DCF is often given near-impossible missions. A class action suit was recently filed, claiming that DCF failed to implement policies and procedures to ensure that mentally ill youth have enough resources available to help them. The difficulty is that while DCF investigates claims of child abuse or child neglect, it does not directly have the resources to “cure” all underlying problems, especially those of mental illness, which defy even experienced psychiatrists and psychologists in many cases. Nevertheless, DCF, which is a child protection agency, and not a child welfare agency, is required to do something.

The class action suit, as settled, required DCF to spend more money on emergency mobile psychiatric services, community based placements, and training of staff and organizations. The settlement, of course, also required a bureaucracy to implement and oversee the agreement. In other words, more work for social workers who are already overburdened in many cases.

Certain individual plaintiffs also received funding for special needs trusts to benefit them.

The upshot is that DCF, like the schools, is given a mandate to do virtually everything, without the resources to accomplish that mission. Of course, some would argue that resources could be found if other DCF actions were curtailed; but that’s another story, told in many articles on this web site.

Therefore – no surprise – the squeaky wheel gets the grease. As I found in attending PPT’s, if you have a lawyer present, you are more likely to be listened to. The same often applies in voluntary services.

SUMMARY

• DCF voluntary services will benefit those parents whose children have needs that they cannot afford, and which cannot be met through other State or Town agencies.
• It is always preferable to go to other agencies, because these other agencies will not file Juvenile Court petitions against you.
• If other agencies cannot help, then call DCF voluntary services for help.
• If you call DCF voluntary services, keep in mind whether or not you wish to retain an attorney. The attorney might be helpful if any difficulties arise with voluntary services; and might also lessen the chance that a petition will be filed against you.

See Cases.

REGIONAL CHILDREN’S PROBATE COURT

There is hope on the horizon. Since 2007, a new institution called Regional Children’s Probate Courts (RCPC) have been opening up in Connecticut. As of April, 2008, there are four RCPC’s: Meriden, New Haven, New London, and Willimantic. More are expected.

These courts operate like normal Probate Courts, except that the Judges are specialists in Juvenile Matters. Items such as transfer of guardianship, uncontested TPR’s, emancipation, adoption, and voluntary services, should go more smoothly. And they may go faster than in the Juvenile Court.

In addition, new programs are starting. One now is called MINCS (Mental Illness, Non-Committed Services). Basically, it is an alternative to DCF voluntary services. The Probate Court will push DCF to get services in place, and not be beholden to the DCF bureaucracy.

Obviously, it remains to be seen if RCPC services will be adequately funded, but indications are good. You may always contact the Court directly, but we recommend that you consider contacting an attorney first.