(1). Children are not Removed, but Protective Measures are Put in Place. When Dealing with Utah DCFS Findings that do not indicate that your children need to be removed, they will be allowed to stay in your custody, but the following protective services can occur:
– Voluntary services (Protective Services Counseling). No court order, but a voluntary agreement between DCFS and the parents to ensures the children’s safety.
Court-ordered services (Protective Services Supervision). A child welfare petition is filed with a Utah Juvenile Court, but the children remain in your care.
Intensive services (Protective Family Preservation). These intensive services are provided to children who are at immediate risk of an out-of-home placement
(2). Your children are Removed. This consequence of dealing with Utah DCFS finding is obviously your worse nightmare. If the Utah DCFS findings indicate that removing your children is the best option, the Utah DCFS child protection worker is at your doorstep with police in tow. Your children will be taken into state custody.
OR
(3). Supported Findings. No Child Welfare Case. Sometimes a supported Utah DCFS finding of child abuse can occur without the child being removed from the home and a full-blown child welfare case being opened. This often occurs when the alleged perpetrator is not the parent, but another child or adult who does not live in the home.
At the end of the Division of Child & Family Services’ (“DCFS”) investigation, the Utah child protection worker will have to make one of the following Utah DCFS findings:
(1). Supported Finding: “Supported” means a finding by the division based on the evidence available at the completion of an investigation that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. Each allegation made or identified during the course of the investigation shall be considered separately in determining whether there should be a finding of “supported.” Utah Code 62A-4a-101(41) (2021).
2). Unsupported Finding: “Unsupported” means a finding at the completion of an investigation that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. However, a finding of “unsupported” means also that the division worker did not conclude that the allegation was without merit. Utah Code Ann. 62A-4a-101(45) (2021).
(3). Without Merit. “Without merit” means a finding at the completion of an investigation by the division, or a judicial finding, that the alleged abuse, neglect, or dependency did not occur, or that the alleged perpetrator was not responsible for the abuse, neglect, or dependency. Utah Code Ann. 62A-4a-101(46) (2021).
If your children were not removed from your home and a child welfare case was not opened up, you can still challenge the Utah DCFS Findings with the following:
An Internal Utah DCFS Review: As you guessed, it is highly unlikely that an internal appeal asking DCFS to overturn one of its own child protection workers is going to happen.
A Judicial Review of DCFS Findings : Instead of appealing internally with an internal DCFS review of your DCFS findings against you, you can ask a Utah Juvenile to hold a substantiation hearing to determine if the DCFS findings are legitimate. This is where having an experienced attorney will help you deal with the alleged Utah DFCS Findings.
A Utah DCFS Substantiation Hearing where you challenge the Utah DCFS’s findings of child abuse and neglect against you. You will definitely want an experienced Utah DCFS attorney on your side. The Utah rules of evidence apply and live testimony of witnesses will occur. DCFS will have the burden of providing adequate proof of their Utah DCFS Findings to show you there was committed child abuse and neglect.
The statutory authority to appeal a DCFS finding to a Utah Juvenile Court is found at Utah Code Ann. UTAH CODE 62A-4a-1005(3)(a) (2021)
When you are appealing the DCFS findings against you, you should request your entire DCFS file through a Utah GRAMA request. A Utah GRAMA is a public records request and you are allowed to see your own DCFS file—Don’t be surprised however, if it is heavily redacted and missing information.
Assuming you lost your appeal of the DCFS findings against you, sometimes you can now expunge a DCFS finding of child abuse and neglect against you. Expunging erases or removes a record of criminal conviction. Prior to 01/01/2020 you can not expunge any Utah DCFS findings found against you. It is important to hire an attorney to help you explore expunging yourUtah DCFS Findings.
Utah administrative rule R512-76-4 sets out the new 2020 law and criteria for expunging DCFS findings. These Criteria for Expungment Include:
Automatic Expungement after one year:
– All allegation types with a finding of Without Merit will be automatically expunged if:
One year has passed since the CPS case closure date with no subsequent CPS case, including unaccepted referrals, involving allegations against the same alleged perpetrator.
Automatic Expungement after five years:
– All allegation types Unsubstantiated or found to be without merit by the Juvenile Court will be automatically expunged if:
Five years have passed since the CPS case closure date with no subsequent CPS case, including unaccepted referrals, involving allegations against the same alleged perpetrator.
Allegations of dependency and educational neglect with a finding of Unsupported or Supported will be automatically expunged after five years if:
The original CPS case did not result in an ongoing case or removal due to the allegations involving the alleged perpetrator or the perpetrator; and five years have passed since the CPS case closure date with no subsequent CPS case, including unaccepted referrals, involving allegations against the alleged perpetrator or perpetrator.
Expungement Upon Request after five years:
(a) After five years have passed since the CPS case closure date, an individual may request an expungement on the following Unsupported General Findings: (i) Child Endangerment; (ii) Dealing in Material Harmful to a Child; (iii) Dental Neglect; (iv) Dependency; (v) Domestic Violence Related Child Abuse; (vi) Educational Neglect; (vii) Emotional Abuse; (viii) Emotional Maltreatment; (ix) Environmental Neglect; (x) Failure to Protect; (xi) Failure to Thrive; (xii) Juvenile Perpetrator of Sexual or Physical Abuse; (xiii) Medical Neglect; (xiv) Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy; (xv) Non-Supervision; (xvi) Pediatric Condition Falsification; (xvii) Physical Abuse; (xviii) Physical Health; (xix) Physical Neglect; (xx) Psychological Neglect; (xxi) Sibling or Child at Risk; and (xxii) Unknown.
(b) The expungement will be approved only if:
The original CPS case did not result in an ongoing case or removal due to the allegations involving the alleged perpetrator;
Five years have passed since the case closure date with no subsequent CPS case, including unaccepted referrals, involving allegations against the same alleged perpetrator; and
There was no criminal conviction for the same incident.
Expungement Upon Request after 10 years:
(a) After ten years have passed since the CPS case closure date, the perpetrator may request an expungement on the following Supported General Findings: (i) Child Endangerment; (ii) Dealing in Material Harmful to a Child; (iii) Dental Neglect; (iv) Dependency; (v) Domestic Violence Related Child Abuse; (vi) Educational Neglect; (vii) Emotional Abuse; (viii) Emotional Maltreatment; (ix) Environmental Neglect; (x) Failure to Protect; (xi) Failure to Thrive; (xii) Fetal Exposure to Alcohol or other Harmful Substances; (xiii) Juvenile Perpetrator — non-significant risk of Sexual or Physical Abuse; (xiv) Medical Neglect; (xv) Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy; (xvi) Non-Supervision; (xvii) Pediatric Condition Falsification; (xviii) Physical Abuse; (xix) Physical Health;(xx) Physical Neglect; (xxi) Psychological Neglect; (xxii) Sibling or Child at Risk; and(xxiii) Unknown.
(b) The expungement will only be approved if:
The original CPS case did not result in an ongoing case or removal due to allegations involving the same perpetrator;
Ten years have passed since the CPS case closure date with no subsequent CPS case, I including unaccepted referrals, involving allegations against the same perpetrator; and
There was no criminal conviction for the same incident.
Allegations Never Eligible for Expungement:
(a) The following Supported or Unsupported allegations designated as Chronic and/or Severe and/or there was a criminal conviction for the same incident are never eligible for expungement: (i) Abandonment; (ii) Baby Doe; (iii) Child Endangerment; (iv) Chronic Abuse; (v) Chronic Neglect; (vi) Court Ordered; (vii) Dealing in Material Harmful to a Child; (viii) Dependency; (ix) Domestic Violence Related Child Abuse; (x) Educational Neglect; (xi) Emotional Abuse; (xii) Environmental Neglect; (xiii) Failure to Protect; (xiv) Failure to Thrive; (xv) Fetal Addiction to alcohol or other substance; (xvi) Fetal Exposure to Alcohol or other Harmful Substances; (xvii) Juvenile Perpetrator – significant risk of Sexual or Severe Physical Abuse; (xviii) Labor Trafficking; (xix) Lewdness; (xx) Medical Neglect; (xxi) Medical neglect resulting in death/disability/serious illness; (xxii) Non-Supervision;(xxiii) Pediatric Condition Falsification; (xxiv) Physical Abuse; (xxv) Physical Neglect;(xxvi) Ritual Abuse; (xxvii) Safe Relinquishment of a Newborn; (xxviii) Severe Abuse; (xxix) Severe Neglect; (xxx) Sexual Abuse; (xxxi) Sexual Exploitation; (xxxii) Sexual Trafficking; and (xxxiii) Sibling or Child at Risk.
Any allegations with the following findings are never eligible for expungement:
(i) False Report; (ii) Unable to Locate; (iii) Unable to Complete; and (iv) Substantiated by the Juvenile Court.
Utah DCFS administrative rule R512-76-3 (2021) states a person may submit a written application to expunge findings. If you are rejected, you must wait at least one year to reapply. If the expungement eligibility criteria are met, the findings must be expunged. DCFS does not have discretion to not expunge.
