| Introduction |
A
Families With Service Needs (FWSN) petition provides a basis for
responding to the needs of children exhibiting misbehavior considered
unlawful only if committed by children younger than sixteen (16) years of
age.
Behaviors
include running away, truancy, defiance of school rules, being beyond the
control of the parent/guardian, engaging in immoral or indecent conduct,
and engaging in certain sexual activities.
Legal Reference:
Conn. Gen. Stat. §46b-120(8). |
| Definition |
A
Family With Service Needs means a family which includes a child
under sixteen (16) years of age who
-
has,
without just cause, run away from his/her parental home or other properly
authorized and lawful place of abode
-
is beyond
the control of his/her parents, guardians or other custodians
-
has engaged in indecent
or immoral conduct
-
is a
habitual truant which means a child who has four (4) unexcused absences
from school in any month subsequent to the month in which he/she was a
truant or ten (10) or more absences from school in the balance of the
school year subsequent to the time at which he/she was a truant
-
who,
while in school, has been continuously and overtly defiant of school rules
and regulations, or
- is
thirteen (13) years of age or older and has engaged in sexual intercourse
with another person and such other person is thirteen (13) years of age or
older and not more than two (2) years older or younger than said child.
|
| When
FWSN Applies |
The
FWSN statute applies only to a child under sixteen (16) years of age.
A Youth in Crisis petition may be filed regarding children sixteen
(16) and seventeen (17) years of age.
Cross-reference:
See policy 46-3-32, Youth in Crisis. |
| Court
Authority |
A
FWSN adjudication is not a delinquency adjudication. However, the court does retain authority over children who
exhibit non-criminal behaviors. Although
these children cannot be detained in a detention or correctional facility,
they can be committed to the Department.
Important:
FSWN-adjudicated children cannot be detained unless
they have violated a court order. Violation
of a court order is a delinquent act. |
| Principle |
FWSN cases are predicated upon the principle that
the family as well as the child must be involved in services in order to
effectively deal with the child's problematic behavior. |
| Provisions |
The law provides for the coordinated utilization
of a wide range of public and private social, education, and court
services at a local, regional and statewide level including those provided
by the Department. |
| Who
May File Written Complaints |
Any
of the following individuals, who believes a child's behaviors (as listed
above) is such that the family is a Family With Service Needs, may file a
written complaint (Form JD-JM 118) setting forth those facts with the
Superior Court for Juvenile Matters which has venue over that matter:
-
selectman,
town manager, police officer or welfare department of any town, city or
borough
-
superintendent
of schools or probation officer
-
the
Commissioner of DCF
-
any child
caring institution, agency or youth service bureau approved or licensed by
the Commissioner of DCF
-
a parent
or foster parent of a child, or
- a
child or his representative or attorney.
|
| Dispositional
Options |
At
the time of disposition, the court may
-
issue a
warning and send the child home with parents/guardians
-
refer the
child to DCF for voluntary services, or if FWSN is solely the result of
truancy, to the local school district
-
commit
the child to the care and custody, but not the guardianship, of the
Commissioner for a period not to exceed eighteen (18) months, for
placement in foster care or any licensed facility other than Connecticut
Juvenile Training School (CJTS)
-
order a
child to remain in the home or in the custody of any other suitable person
under the rules of the court and supervision of a probation officer, or
- vest
temporary custody of the child in a suitable person or agency pending a
temporary custody hearing.
|
| Court
Findings |
Federal
law requires that the court make the following findings with respect to
FWSN-committed children in out of home placement:
-
continuation in
the home is contrary to the child’s welfare – at time of initial
placement
-
reasonable efforts to prevent the child’s removal – within
sixty (60) days of placement
-
reasonable efforts to
achieve the permanency plan
– annually.
|
| Department
Involvement in FWSN Case |
Upon
notification by Juvenile Court of a pending FWSN petition, the Social
Worker shall be involved,
along with the probation officer, in assessing the necessity and
appropriateness of placement.
If
the court vests temporary custody or commits a child from a Family with
Service Needs to the Department, the area office must open a protective
services case and provide placement for the child. |
| When
to File an Extension |
The
Department may file a Petition for Extension of FWSN with the Juvenile
Court to extend the commitment if it believes an extension would be in the
best interests of the child and the child is under the age of sixteen (16)
years of age.
The
extension is filed at least thirty (30) days before the expiration of the
commitment. |
| Permanency
Plan for FWSN |
The
Social Worker shall file an annual Motion for Review of Permanency Plan
using the Permanency Plan Order and Review Delinquency/Family with Service
Needs, form JD-JM-145, for every FWSN-committed child in out of home
placement. The procedures are
the same as for a permanency plan for all children in DCF custody. A Study in Support of Permanency Plan is required.
Cross-reference:
See policy 46-3-22, Motion for Review of Permanency Plan. |
| Continuation
of Services |
When a minor over sixteen (16) years of age
continues to need services which were provided while FWSN commitment was
in effect up to age sixteen (16), consideration should be given to the
option of filing a Youth in Crisis petition, providing Voluntary Services,
or initiating neglect proceedings, provided that the circumstances are
appropriate for one of these options. |
| Discharge
from Commitment |
When
the Department believes that a FWSN commitment is no longer necessary, the
child’s Social Worker shall file a petition with the court seeking
revocation of the commitment.
The
child or parent/guardian may also ask to have the commitment revoked, but
this cannot be requested more than once every six (6) months. |
| DCF
Authority in FWSN Cases |
FSWN
cases are not voluntary in that the child is under a court order to
cooperate with the Department. If
the child or family do not comply or if the child leaves an out-of home
placement without Department permission, the Department may
|
