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Policy
Manual
Superior Court For Juvenile Matters
46-3-28
Amending Petitions
| What is an Amended
Petition? |
A
petition is amended when the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) presents a
motion to the court, requesting that the court change the petition that
has already been filed to update the facts of the case.
Legal
Reference:
Connecticut Practice Book 34a-1(d).
The
amendment states new allegations, and the additional facts and
circumstances that have occurred in the case from the date of the original
petition to the date of the amendment that support those allegations. |
| Why is an
Amendment Filed? |
An amendment is filed to update the petitions.
Amended petitions are required so that the Department is not
prevented or precluded from presenting testimony for the adjudicatory
phase of the case that concerns those events and circumstances that have
occurred since the filing of the petition, and which have a direct bearing
on the allegations of the petition.
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| When is an
Amendment Filed? |
An
amendment is filed in any case where several months have gone by since the
filing of the petition and the case is scheduled for trial and/or
disposition. If no amendment
is filed, those facts and circumstances that have occurred during this
period cannot be considered for the adjudicatory phase of the case, even
though they may be significant and relevant.
An
amended petition shall always be filed when the decision is made to seek
an Order of Temporary Custody (OTC) on a pending neglect petition.
When
the court has granted an amendment, the Practice Book permits that the
court may allow additional time for the parties to respond to the
additional or changed facts and circumstances. |
| Social
Worker's Role |
The Social Worker must be aware of and alert to
the need for filing an amended petition and must contact the AAG to
request that a motion to amend be filed.
The Social Worker is responsible for supplying the facts and
circumstances to the AAG, and also for preparing an addendum to the
Summary of Facts and/or an addendum to the Social Study, to be presented
to the court. |
Connecticut Department of Children and Families Effective Date: November 1,
2005 (Revised)
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