Connecticut General Statutes 46b-149f – Child from family with service needs who violates valid court order or is in imminent risk of physical harm. Petition. Hearing. Order
(a) When a child who has been adjudicated as a child from a family with service needs pursuant to a petition filed on or before June 30, 2020, in accordance with section 46b-149, violates any valid order which regulates future conduct of the child made by the court following such an adjudication, a probation officer, on receipt of a complaint setting forth facts alleging such a violation, or on the probation officer’s own motion on the basis of his or her knowledge of such a violation, may file a petition with the court alleging that the child has violated a valid court order and setting forth the facts claimed to constitute such a violation. Service shall be made in the same manner as set forth for a summons in subsection (c) of section 46b-149. The child shall be entitled to representation by counsel and an evidentiary hearing on the allegations contained in the petition. If the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the child has violated a valid court order, the court may (1) order the child to remain in such child’s home or in the custody of a relative or any other suitable person, subject to the supervision of a probation officer or an existing commitment to the Commissioner of Children and Families, (2) upon a finding that there is no less restrictive alternative appropriate to the needs of the child and the community, enter an order that directs or authorizes a peace officer or other appropriate person to place the child in a staff-secure facility under the auspices of the Court Support Services Division for a period not to exceed forty-five days, with court review every fifteen days to consider whether continued placement is appropriate, at the end of which period the child shall be returned to the community and may be subject to the supervision of a probation officer, or (3) order that the child be committed to the care and custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families for a period not to exceed eighteen months and that the child cooperate in such care and custody.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 46b-149f
- Child: means any person under eighteen years of age who has not been legally emancipated, except that for purposes of delinquency matters and proceedings, "child" means any person who (A) is at least ten years of age at the time of the alleged commission of a delinquent act and who is (i) under eighteen years of age and has not been legally emancipated, or (ii) eighteen years of age or older and committed a delinquent act prior to attaining eighteen years of age, or (B) subsequent to attaining eighteen years of age, (i) violates any order of the Superior Court or any condition of probation ordered by the Superior Court with respect to a delinquency proceeding, or (ii) wilfully fails to appear in response to a summons under section 46b-133 or at any other court hearing in a delinquency proceeding of which the child had notice. See Connecticut General Statutes 46b-120
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Family with service needs: means a family that includes a child who is at least seven years of age and is under eighteen years of age who, according to a petition lawfully filed on or before June 30, 2020, (A) has without just cause run away from the parental home or other properly authorized and lawful place of abode, (B) is beyond the control of the child's parent, parents, guardian or other custodian, (C) has engaged in indecent or immoral conduct, or (D) is thirteen years of age or older and has engaged in sexual intercourse with another person and such other person is thirteen years of age or older and not more than two years older or younger than such child. See Connecticut General Statutes 46b-120
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
(b) When a child who has been adjudicated as a child from a family with service needs pursuant to a petition filed on or before June 30, 2020, in accordance with section 46b-149 is under an order of supervision or an order of commitment to the Commissioner of Children and Families and believed to be in imminent risk of physical harm from the child’s surroundings or other circumstances, a probation officer, on receipt of a complaint setting forth facts alleging such risk, or on the probation officer’s own motion on the basis of his or her knowledge of such risk, may file a petition with the court alleging that the child is in imminent risk of physical harm and setting forth the facts claimed to constitute such risk. Service shall be made in the same manner as set forth for a summons in subsection (c) of section 46b-149. If it appears from the specific allegations of the petition and other verified affirmations of fact accompanying the petition, or subsequent thereto, that there is probable cause to believe that (1) the child is in imminent risk of physical harm from the child’s surroundings, (2) as a result of such condition, the child’s safety is endangered and immediate removal from such surroundings is necessary to ensure the child’s safety, and (3) there is no less restrictive alternative available, the court shall enter an order that directs or authorizes a peace officer or other appropriate person to place the child in a staff-secure facility under the auspices of the Court Support Services Division for a period not to exceed forty-five days, subject to subsection (c) of this section, with court review every fifteen days to consider whether continued placement is appropriate, at the end of which period the child shall either be (A) returned to the community for appropriate services, subject to the supervision of a probation officer or an existing commitment to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or (B) committed to the Department of Children and Families for a period not to exceed eighteen months if a hearing has been held and the court has found, based on clear and convincing evidence, that (i) the child is in imminent risk of physical harm from the child’s surroundings, (ii) as a result of such condition, the child’s safety is endangered and removal from such surroundings is necessary to ensure the child’s safety, and (iii) there is no less restrictive alternative available. Any such child shall be entitled to the same procedural protections as are afforded to a delinquent child.
(c) No child shall be held prior to a hearing on a petition under this section for more than twenty-four hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. For the purposes of this section, “staff-secure facility” means a residential facility (1) that does not include construction features designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juvenile residents who are placed therein, (2) that may establish reasonable rules restricting entrance to and egress from the facility, and (3) in which the movements and activities of individual juvenile residents may, for treatment purposes, be restricted or subject to control through the use of intensive staff supervision.