An ongoing DCF case is supposed to be voluntary. That means that you can refuse to cooperate with DCF. But if you refuse to work with DCF, DCF is likely to become more concerned about your child’s safety. If you refuse to work with DCF, you risk DCF removing your child from you and placing them in foster care.

Sometimes, DCF closes the ongoing case for a family when the family refuses to work with them.

What DCF does if you refuse to work with its workers depends on

• the situation, 
• the DCF case worker, and 
• the DCF supervisor.

Instead of refusing to work with DCF at all, you may want to limit the information you provide to the DCF worker. You can do this by signing papers called releases that limit the information that schools, service providers, and doctors can share with DCF.

The DCF worker involved with your family during an open DCF case is called the “ongoing worker.” Some people also call them “DCF worker” or “case worker.” You will no longer talk with the “response worker” who investigated the 51A report of abuse or neglect.  

Some people call the ongoing workers “ongoing social workers,” but the workers do not always have background or training in social work. Some may actually have a background in criminal justice.

The DCF ongoing worker usually: 

• assesses whether DCF should remove the children from their home,
• meets monthly with families at the family home,
• completes the family assessment,
• completes the family’s DCF action plan,
• arranges for the limited services that DCF provides, like daycare vouchers,
• monitors whether the family is doing what is on their action plan,
• checks on the family by talking to their schools, doctors, and service providers,
• reports on the family to the worker’s supervisor,
• recommends when the family’s DCF ongoing case should close.

At the beginning of a new DCF ongoing case, DCF conducts a family assessment. This might be confusing if DCF just investigated your family, which is a kind of assessment. But the family assessment process at DCF is different from the investigation. (DCF calls the investigation a “51B response.”)

DCF’s regulations say that the family assessment helps its workers decide:

• if a family needs services,
• which services the family needs,
• who offers the services the family needs, and
• what behavioral changes DCF thinks the family needs to make.

The family assessment is supposed to include all family members. The ongoing worker must work with the family to identify the family members who DCF will include in the assessment. 

DCF regulations also define family as:

• all family members and other people living in the home, 
• children in DCF placement, 
• children living out of the home, and 
• any parent or parent substitute living out of the home. 

During the family assessment, the DCF ongoing worker is supposed to:

• meet in person at least 3 times with parents and other household members,
• meet with all children at least 2 times,
• meet at least once with any parent or parent substitute who doesn't live in the child’s home,
• talk with others who know about the family, such as extended family, past or current service providers, and anyone else the family suggests, and
• help the family with immediate needs, like authorizing services and casework services.

The 3 meetings with the parent and other household members must include:

• 1 meeting within 5 working days of DCF assigning the ongoing worker to the case, and
• 2 meetings in the home.

The first meeting with a child must take place where the child lives. It must take place within 5 working days of DCF assigning the ongoing worker to the case.

If the ongoing worker can’t have all these meetings, they must write down the reasons why in the family’s DCF case file.

DCF has different requirements when doing a family assessment about a
young adult who:

• turned 18 in foster care, and
• is working with DCF voluntarily

During the assessment, DCF often does an online search of you. This can include Facebook, Instagram, X, and other social media platforms. DCF workers can even find deleted accounts. You may want to set accounts and posts to private and avoid posting any information about your open DCF case. Avoid posting pictures that you do not want DCF to see.

DCF is supposed to finish the family assessment within 45 working days after the case opens. But it often takes longer.

DCF can remove your child from your home and place them in foster care anytime that it thinks your child is in danger. See Can DCF take my child?

When DCF finishes the family assessment:

1. in certain cases, DCF reviews the “support” decision that led the DCF case to open, and
2. in all cases, the ongoing worker and their supervisor decide if DCF will keep the case open or close it.

DCF regulations say that after a family assessment in a new case, DCF must review its support decisions. DCF calls this review an “Administrative Review.” This Administrative Review decides ifr DCF should change the support decision to “unsupport.” DCF doesn’t usually change a support decision at the end of a family assessment.

The DCF worker must tell the family if they decide to close the case after the family assessment. The worker should then follow DCF’s case closing process to close the case.

For cases that stay open, the ongoing worker should tell the family that DCF has decided to keep the case open. DCF should also give them written information about the outcome of the family assessment. But most families report that they don’t get anything in writing.

If DCF decides to keep the case open, the ongoing worker should start to develop the action plan. They also keep doing the work of an open DCF case.