Unapproved caretakers/visitors

Reversed - DCF did not have reasonable cause to support a finding of neglect because 1) the department had no evidence to confirm that the mother was actively abusing substances at the time 2) the department did not consider statements obtained from the child regarding her parents and their drug use…

Reversed - DCF did not have reasonable cause to deny the Appellant's kinship foster care license. In reaching the decision that the Appellant failed to meet licensing standards, the Department relied on statements from one of the four children in the Appellant'a care (J) as well as statements from…

Reversed - DCF did not have reasonable cause to revoke the Appellant's foster care license because the Department's licensing reassessment did not clearly identify any failure by the Appellant to comply with specific licensing standards. In its decision to revoke her license, the Department cited…

DCF did not have reasonable cause to revoke the Appellant's license to be a foster parent. The Department made the decision to revoke the Appellant's foster care license following a supported 51B report for neglect against the Appellant after the Appellant left the child in question, the Appellant's…

Affirmed - DCF had reasonable cause to support the 51A decision for neglect against the Appellant (maternal grandmother and guardian of the child "N"). A Probate and Family Court Order from June 24, 2014 ordered the Appellant to continue to serve as the guardian of N due to a history of substance…

Affirmed - DCF had reasonable cause to deny Appellant’s application to become a licensed kinship, child-specific family resource when: (1) Appellant allowed non-approved individuals to care for the child in Appellant’s absence, including the child’s mother, who has a history of substance abuse, as…

Affirmed - DCF had reasonable cause to support a 51A report for neglect against the Appellant (kinship foster parent) where the Appellant allowed two unapproved caretakers to have unsupervised contact with the child. In the first documented instance, the unapproved caretaker had a criminal record…

Affirmed - DCF had reasonable cause to support a finding of neglect against the Appellant guardian where: (1) the children's mother and her ex-boyfriend had a previously supported 51A report due to a history of domestic violence and substance abuse, and as a result were not allowed to be alone with…