Westport Risk of Injury to a Minor Allegations

Westport risk of injury to a minor allegations are taken seriously and can trigger immediate action and consequences. DCF is typically contacted in most circumstances if someone is charged with risk of injury to a minor in Westport. If the police issue an arrest in any sort of risk of injury case, they typically are required to notify DCF immediately. Due to how quickly these cases can escalate, it is important to retain the services of a capable defense attorney. Work with a lawyer that could work towards the best possible outcome for you.

What Are The Requirements for Substantiating Allegations of Risk of Injury?

For the DCF to substantiate Westport risk of injury to a minor allegations, they have to find reasonable cause to believe that abuse or neglect has occurred. Reasonable cause would be if the child reports that they are abused or that neglect has occurred. Another example of reasonable cause would be if someone were interviewing the child, and they came to believe that the child’s parent fears the other parent, or came to believe the child was not being treated appropriately.

There is a standard of reasonable cause, but it is based off all these little things that DCF observes. First, DCF would base it off of the interviews that they conduct with the parents and the child, both separately and together, and they would also base it off of their tour of the family home. Additionally, DCF often gets releases from the parents to contact the child health professionals, which can be dentists, doctors, or nurses at school. They also get releases to speak to the child’s teachers. Sometimes, they even call good friends of the family or neighbors and they collect a general idea of how the child is inside and outside the home, using all the information that they gather to decide whether or not they believe that there is abuse or neglect in a home.

What is the DCF Family Assessment Response System?

The Family Assessment Response System also referred to as FAR, is when there is a low-risk DCF case and DCF decides that it is not high-risk. This means that they do not think the child is in danger, so they are not going to investigate the case anymore. Instead, they are just going to come back and meet with the family a few more times to ensure that the child is not in danger. And often times, they will advise the family on services that might be helpful.

For example, they might come back to the family and refer them to someone who can keep them organized and attend whatever therapy and doctors’ appointments they need to attend. This could be something that a family needs help with if they are being investigated by DCF.

Another service that DCF might recommend is that the family go to family counseling or that a counselor comes to the family’s home to meet with the children once a week. But in the FAR, none of the services that DCF recommends are mandatory for the family to accept.

Value of an Attorney

If you are facing Westport risk of injury to a minor allegations, it is vital that you work with an experienced child endangerment lawyer that can help. These allegations are serious and have the potential to create tension in households and negatively impact your family dynamic. Furthermore, these allegations can harm your reputation and negatively impact your social and professional life as well. Speak with a skilled attorney that could devote the time and resources necessary to build your case.