Family With Service Needs Court Petitions Helpful For Some Parents
By Christopher L. Montes, M.A., N.C.P., F.D.C., B.C.C.P | Community Services Division – Commission on Persons with Disabilities at October 7, 2023 | 10:30 am | Print
In the field of youth and family services it is inevitable to regularly receive referrals for children and youth who seem to be making their parent’s lives miserable. Perhaps there have been no laws broken, at least none that anyone would know of, however certain behaviors have driven mom and/or dad up a wall. Parents feel that they have no where to turn. Well, in smart phone terms…there’s an “app” for that. It is called a Family With Service Needs (FWSN) referral.
In Connecticut, certain behaviors of youth under age 17 a FWSN referral can be made to Juvenile Court. Stealing cookies from the cookie jar would not quite be a reason for referral, but according to state statutes [Conn. Gen. Stat. §46b-120(8)] the following applies:
A Family With Service Needs means a family which includes a child under seventeen (17) 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.
Once received, a FWSN referred youth will need to meet with a probation officer. Very specific directives will be given to the youth and his/her parents. If these directives are not followed, the next step will likely be to appear before a judge who will give a court order. Breaking a court order is considered illegal and, in some cases, a judge may detain a youth for noncompliance. However, this is usually for the protection of the youth, particularly if there are runaway behaviors or sexual behaviors deemed dangerous. Additionally, a referral to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) may be made for voluntary services, whereby parents will be responsible to follow through on behalf of the referred youth. However, a DCF referral for services is not mandatory unless there is abuse or neglect.
The law is very specific regarding who may file a FWSN petition. Those who may file are limited to:
- 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.
A FWSN referral to the court is not a punishment for the referred youth; it is both a protective factor and a support to the family or school. Every possible intervention, including psychiatric assessments, individual, group, and family therapy, and positive youth development programs will be made. Youth who receive these services are likely to have more successful outcomes than those whose problems are addressed with criminal sanctions (as used to be the case until the law changed in 2008 whereby FWSN referred youths were no longer automatically sent to court as delinquents). This is widely seen as a change for the better because, statistically, children and youth who are sent to court for delinquency have a very high probability of returning to court for additional delinquency charges, and ultimately graduate to adult court often resulting in incarceration.
Parents do have recourse if their children fit the definition of FWSN behavior. A call to the school, police, DCF or New Britain Youth & Family Services is the first step in gaining control and keeping children safe. If you have a question regarding FWSN youth referrals, please call New Britain Youth & Family Services at 860-826-3366. You may also email [email protected] or visit New Britain Youth & Family Services in room 301 of New Britain City Hall.
