Understanding how they screen cases is crucial it determines whether your report moves forward or gets dismissed. I’m often asked how DCF will screen out things. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families screens out cases right at the onset. They can do one of two things. They can screen it out. Doesn’t go any further. They can screen it in and they assign it for an investigation, even if it’s emergency or non-emergency, but the situations where they screen them out are many. And I’m going to just briefly describe a few to you.
Here are common reasons DCF will screen a case out instead of launching a full investigation.
The first is where a child is not a child. The child being reported is over the age of 18, therefore the case is screened out. The second type is where whoever is caretaking the child is not a caretaker. In other words they say that so-and-so’s watching the child, but yet that person may be in San Diego, away from Massachusetts. And if it was nowhere near where the child was reported as to being abused or neglected, and was not responsible for even entrusting the safety of the child.
The third type is when there’s many different 51A‘s filed, let’s say three or four of them, on one incident. What DCF will do is screen in one of them and screen out the other three. Another situation would be where a child’s from out of state and the incident took place out of state. Another type is where you’ve got a child that has been alleged to have been abused, but however was not, it’s like third or fourth hand. Somebody’s being told something by three or four different other people.
They don’t have firsthand knowledge of the abuse and neglect. They call it into DCF and DCF finds out that this didn’t happen. Whether this person doesn’t have enough knowledge or information to really support and screen in a claim. Another type that I see often is where this report many, many months later, even years later of something that happened, it’s too stale or old, for DCF to screen in and have assigned to an investigation and they should screen it out.
Now the Mass Department of Children and Families will often call pediatricians. They will call the schools. They will call the police to see as many reports regarding the household where the abuse and neglect has been alleged to have occurred. They also do Cori checks, they check criminal records and background checks to see if the people have ever been involved with the Department of Children and Families. So the screening process can get quite complicated and hopefully your case will not be screened in but rather screened out and it goes no further. And the rather screened out and the case goes no further. That’s the
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You find yourself in this situation, it’s advisable to seek legal representation from a qualified attorney, like those at the Law Office of Kevin Seaver, who can advocate for your rights and guide you through the complex process of a DCF investigation.
Remember that the ultimate goal of DCF is to ensure the safety and well-being of children while supporting families in crisis.
Please note that this article does not create an Attorney-Client relationship between our law firm and the reader and is provided for informational purposes only. Information in this article does not apply to all readers.
Readers should not rely on this information as legal advice and should seek specific counsel from the attorney based on personal circumstances. Thank you.
Kevin Patrick Seaver is a Massachusetts DCF Defense Lawyer who represents parents against false child abuse allegations.
Massachusetts DCF Defense Lawyer Kevin Seaver has been successfully fighting false child abuse allegations since 1991.
