A Family With Service Needs (FWSN) is a family with a child under sixteen (16) years of age who

1) has, without just cause, run away from his/her home;

2) is beyond the control of his/her parents, guardians or other custodians;

3) has engaged in indecent or immoral conduct;

4) is a "truant" or "habitual truant," which means a child enrolled in a public or private school and has four (4)

   unexcused

   absences from school in any one month or ten (10) unexcused absences from school in any school year;

5) 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"; or

6) who, while in school, has been continuously and overtly defiant of school rules and regulations.

Upon filing a FWSN petition with your local Juvenile Court, a DCF worker and probation officer will aid the court in assessing the necessity and appropriateness of placement.

Once the petition is filed, the Juvenile Court Judge may:

1) issue a warning and send the child home with parents/guardians;

2) refer the child to DCF for voluntary services, or if FWSN is solely the result of truancy, to the local school

   district;

3) commit the child to the care and custody, but not the guardianship, of the Commissioner for a period not to

   exceed twelve (12) months, for placement in foster care or any licensed facility other than Long Lane School;

4) order a child to remain in the home or in the custody of any other suitable person under the rules of the court

   and supervision of a probation officer; or

5) give temporary custody of the child in a suitable person or agency pending a temporary custody hearing.

For more information on filing a FWSN, go to the DCF Website or to the United Way of Connecticut Website.

Download the petition in PDF format.

You will notice that the form includes a notification for the parent(s) or guardian(s) to appear in court.  This is because people, other than the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child, may file a FWSN with the court.

Families United for Children's Mental Health

A Federation of Families Chapter in Connecticut

family with service needs