It is important to ask them and to also if you have an attorney to talk to an attorney about what their different roles might be.   There are different social workers for different aspects of the case. There are screeners that will take the emergency information about the 51A over the phone.  There are investigators […]

There is physical neglect, where the child is not getting the basic needs met or not being properly supervised or kept safe.  An educational neglect, emotional neglect or medical neglect are examples as well.

The answer typically is that DCF is allowed to show up unannounced.  You do not need necessarily have to let them in unless there is a court order, an administrative hold or the police are present with them.  It would be important to talk to a lawyer prior to determining whether or not the advantages […]

The definition is if the parent, guardian or other caretaker either deliberately or through inability or negligence fails to take actions necessary to provide a child with minimally adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, supervision, emotional stability, growth or other essential care is one definition.

What would be the pickup and drop off locations and responsibilities? Will there be a specific holiday, school vacation, summer vacations time for parents and how will that be addressed? How will there be determinations regarding routine, medical and dental or therapeutic appointments?  How will things occur such as Halloween, depending on the child’s age, […]

Prior to being separated from the other parent, what responsibilities have you and the other parent assumed, meaning who gets the child ready for school, who brings the child to school, who helps with homework, who schedules or takes the child to medical and dental appointments and things of that nature.  Also, if the child […]

A visitation center is a place where the visits are supervised by a neutral person. The courts make an Order that the visitation has to occur at a specific or general visitation center.  There are a variety of visitation centers throughout Massachusetts.  They require an intake to be done by both parents and understanding that […]

It is important to probably talk to an attorney about the different analysis that needs to be looked at. There is a different analysis if one parent is the only legal parent; such as if this has occurred where the parties are not married and have not been any proceedings to determine paternity or custody […]

It’s different where there is the Complaint for Modification to remove a child, but there can be a criterion where it can be looked at in terms of the significant disruption to the non-custodial parents parenting time if the parents can’t agree and it can be reviewed by the court.

A De Facto parent is one who has no biological relations to the child but has participated in the child’s life as a member of the child’s family.  Typically, living with that child and performing a share of the caretaking functions similar to a legal parent, usually with the consent of the legal parents.  De […]