What Do Parents Want to Know About MA DCF Child Abuse Investigations?
The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) is committed to protecting children. They will come into a parent or caretaker’s life when they get a report accusing them of child abuse or neglect. This blog answers some of the questions parents often want to know when they are dealing with a DCF investigation for allegations of child abuse.
The proper course of action on how to deal with DCF child abuse allegations will depend on the allegations and several other factors. Regardless, parents and caretakers should hire an experienced DCF attorney to help them get through the process. The best DCF lawyers will be able to provide a step-by-step, guided plan to get DCF out of your life without you losing your time, money, reputation, and most importantly, your children.
What is the First Step to MA DCF Filing Child Abuse Allegations?
MA DCF files child abuse or neglect allegations when someone reports a family to them. A reporter could be a mandated reporter, who are professionals who work with children (such as teachers, doctors, police officers, and social workers). Or, a reporter could be a non-mandated reporter, who is an ordinary citizen (such as a neighbor or a relative of a family).
Non-mandated reporters can report to DCF anonymously, but mandated reporters cannot. So, DCF looks into reported allegations of abuse and neglect. They do not come up with the allegations on their own. That means someone out in the community, such as a working professional or someone in the public, saw signs that a child may be or is being abused or neglected by someone responsible for caring about them.
Can MA DCF Take Away Your Child Because of Child Abuse/Neglect Allegations?
Yes, DCF in Massachusetts can take away your child because of child abuse or neglect allegations. Since DCF is always looking out for the children’s best interests, and not the parent’s best interests, DCF can use any excuse to take the child away when there are abuse or neglect allegations. It is really up to DCF’s discretion, at the end of the day. If they feel like the child is not safe, they will tell a judge how they feel and the judge will probably be on their side. That’s why it is so critical for parents
When Does DCF Usually Remove Children?
They usually do this when the allegations are extremely serious, like severe physical abuse or severe sexual abuse. Severe physical abuse looks like marks or bruises or both on the child’s body, and drastic changes in the child’s behavior. Similarly, severe sexual abuse looks like cuts or bleeding around a child’s genitals and the child making detailed descriptions of the sexual abuse, among other things. DCF also tend to remove children when the child is suffering from extreme neglect.
Extreme neglect means the child looks like they are starving, very dirty, or their clothes are torn and old, among other things. DCF is actually doing their job when they remove children from their homes due to serious reasons like those. Unfortunately, DCF can and has removed children from their homes due to a misunderstanding. An experienced DCF attorney can guard against this because they can make sure DCF does not misconstrue or misunderstand the situation or your version of the events.
What is the Process of DCF Removing Your Child?
A person, usually a DCF social worker, files a petition in the Juvenile Court and asks a judge to order that your child be removed from your home because the child needs “Care and Protection.” The court can order DCF to take temporary custody of your children if the judge is seriously concerned that they are not safe with either parent because of abuse, neglect, or sexual exploitation. While judges do not want
‘After someone files the Care and Protection case, DCF can get a judge to sign off on letting DCF take the child away from the home and put them in DCF’s temporary custody. Then, there will be a hearing in front of a judge. The hearing should happen within 72 hours after DCF takes the child, but a lot of the time it takes way longer. This is because of a variety of reasons. During that hearing, the parents can explain to the judge why the child should stay with them in their home. DCF on the other hand, will try to convince the judge that the child should be in DCF’s custody.
How Does MA DCF Handle Child Abuse?
Once DCF gets a report, they handle child abuse allegations by doing a “51B investigation“. DCF does the 51B investigation to find out whether or not the allegations were true. During this investigation, DCF visits the reported family’s home, interviews all the children and adults in the family, and speaks to other people who know the family personally as well as professionally. DCF should speak to your child’s doctors and teachers to get a more full picture of your family’s situation. But they can only do that if they get your permission. Do not let DCF speak to those people before you gave them permission. Speak to an attorney immediately if this happened to you.
How Do You Know If Your DCF Case is Open or Closed?
When DCF decides to do an investigation, it means the case is open. A “closed case” is when DCF stopped looking into the allegations and is no longer involved with the family. After the investigation, DCF can either close the case or keep the case open. DCF will close the case when they decided to “support” the allegations without an assessment, or when they decided to “unsupport” the allegations. When DCF keeps a case open after an investigation, it means they started a DCF Assessment. During the DCF Assessment, DCF connects families with services in the community. DCF then works with the family to make sure children can grow and thrive with the parents. They also help make sure the home is safe and stable.
What Helpful Tips Should Parents Follow When Dealing With DCF?
The following are some helpful pieces of advice for dealing with DCF:
- Don’t speak to DCF without an attorney present
- Keep records of every phone call, interview, or conversation you have regarding the subject
- Don’t be defensive during the investigation and try to cooperate with the authorities. DCF can use anything you say or do against you.
- Reach out to relatives, friends, co-workers, or neighbors about being a character witness to vouch for your parenting abilities
It is important to try your hardest to keep your support system in place. They can give you the unconditional love you need to get through this. But they can also vouch for you to DCF. Just having people who can state that they never saw you mistreat or threaten your children will help your case. If DCF does not discover any evidence of abuse, they will close the case and get out of your life forever. You should hire the right attorney to figure out how to win against DCF. You need an experienced MA DCF attorney who spent many years dealing with a whole range of DCF cases.
Kevin Seaver has been a trusted Massachusetts DCF lawyer specialized in DCF law since 1991. 
DISCLAIMER
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.
