One of the most stressful things that can ever happen to you as a parent is to learn that someone has filed a child abuse report against you with New Jersey's Division of Child Protection & Permanency (known as DCP&P or DCPP). Even if you know the report is false, the process of being investigated by DCP&P is incredibly intrusive, and the stress of not knowing how the DCP&P caseworker will resolve your case can leave you nervous and afraid for your family's future. While the best outcome when this happens is for DCP&P to find that the abuse report filed against you was “unfounded,” that will only happen after you've been put through a detailed, invasive, and painful investigation.
The Lento Law Firm understands how difficult it can be to learn that you're the focus of a child abuse allegation being investigated by the DCP&P. You have rights in this situation, and our experienced attorneys are ready to help you protect those rights. We know New Jersey's child protection laws and regulations and have helped clients all across New Jersey who found themselves targeted by a child abuse report and by a DCP&P investigation. Call the Lento Law Firm Criminal Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn how we can help you if you are under investigation by the DCP&P.
How the DCP&P Investigates Child Abuse Allegations
The DCP&P is part of New Jersey's Department of Children and Families. Its role is to investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect, and DCP&P has the power to arrange for the protection of abused or neglected children. This often means removing the child from the home and placing them with a relative or in foster care.
When a child abuse or neglect report is filed with New Jersey's DCP&P, it will typically assign an investigator to the case. It's almost certain that the investigator will visit your home, sometimes within a day of when the abuse or neglect allegation was received by the DCP&P. These investigations can feel very intrusive – and that's because they often are. In addition to interviewing you, the investigator may go through your home looking for anything that could threaten the safety or well-being of your child, as well as for any evidence that your child has been abused or neglected. If you have a yard and any outbuildings, the investigator is likely to inspect those areas as well.
The investigation often includes interviews with everyone who lives with you – including the child who was named in the abuse or neglect allegation. If you have anyone else caring for your child, such as daycare personnel or babysitters, they may be interviewed as well. In some cases, the DCP&P investigators may also interview neighbors and relatives.
DCP&P investigators understand how intrusive all of this is. In many cases, they will work very hard to appear to be friendly and attempt to build a rapport with you and others being interviewed in an effort to get people to talk with them like they might speak with a friend. But at the end of the day, the DCP&P investigator's job is not to be your friend but to uncover evidence that a child has been abused, neglected, or is in danger of being abused or neglected. That's why it can be a mistake to meet with a DCP&P investigator by yourself. You may say something that you don't mean or that the DCP&P investigator doesn't understand in the same way that you meant it.
If you contact the Lento Law Firm as soon as you learn that a child abuse or neglect report has been made against you, we can go to work on your behalf, helping you defend yourself during the DCP&P investigation process. One of our experienced attorneys will explain the process to you so you understand what is happening. If there is time, we can prepare you for your DCP&P interview and even sit through the interview with you to make sure the questions you're asked are clear and that you understand them before you give your answer. We won't let the DCP&P investigator trample on your rights – and even if you call us while the DCP&P is at your door, we may be able to advise you and interact with the investigator to help protect you during the inspection of your home.
The Four Categories of Child Abuse Investigation Findings
When the investigation has finished, the DCP&P will prepare a report and will make a determination about the child abuse or neglect allegations made against you. There are four categories of potential findings:
- Substantiated
- Established
- Not Established
- Unfounded
Unfounded is the best result, the one that will have the fewest ongoing effects on your life.
What Determines Whether a Child Abuse Allegation is Unfounded?
The best result you can hope for if you've been accused of child abuse or neglect is for the DCP&P to determine that the allegations against you were “unfounded.” This has a specific meaning in New Jersey law. In particular:
An allegation shall be "unfounded" if there is not a preponderance of the evidence indicating that a child is an abused or neglected child as defined in N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.21, and the evidence indicates that a child was not harmed or placed at risk of harm.
There are two aspects to an “unfounded” determination.
First, there must be a lack of evidence supporting the allegation that “the child is an abused or neglected child,” as that term is defined under New Jersey law. The definition of “abused or neglected child” is a long one; it covers a number of different types of abuse or neglect. The term applies to a child under the age of 18 whose parent or guardian:
- Seriously injures them
- Allows them to be seriously injured or risk serious injury
- Sexually abuses them or allows them to be sexually abused
- Fails to provide a “minimum degree of care” (including proper food, clothing, shelter, and medical care) when they have the financial means to do so
- Fails to properly supervise them
- Willfully abandons them
- Improperly institutionalizes them
- Willfully isolates them from “ordinary social contact” in a way that can cause “emotional or social deprivation”
If there is not a “preponderance of the evidence” that any of these factors exist, it will support a finding that the abuse or neglect allegation is unfounded. If there is a preponderance of the evidence for any of these factors, the DCP&P will not categorize the case as “unfounded” but may treat it as Not Established, Established, or Substantiated.
The “preponderance of the evidence” standard is not a high one. It's considerably lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases. Another way of thinking about it is that if the investigator believes it is more likely than not that you were responsible for child abuse or neglect, the allegation against you won't be treated as “unfounded.” Or if the investigator is only 51% sure that you were responsible for abuse or neglect, that will be enough to prevent your case from being categorized as “unfounded.”
The second part of finding that an abuse or neglect claim is unfounded is that what evidence there is indicates that your child was not harmed or put at risk of being harmed.
What Happens if DCP&P Determines that a Child Abuse Allegation is Unfounded?
When the DCP&P investigation determines that a child abuse or neglect allegation made against you is unfounded, it will not pursue any remedies against you. In addition, your name will not be added to New Jersey's Child Abuse Registry. Finally, DCP&P is required by New Jersey law to expunge from its records “all information” relating to the abuse or neglect report made against you.
Is it Unusual for DCP&P to Determine That a Child Abuse Allegation is Unfounded?
You might think that it is unusual for the DCP&P to decide that an abuse or neglect allegation is “unfounded,” if only because of the low burden of proof that will prevent the DCP&P from making that determination. However, the Department of Child and Families Annual Report for 2019 reveals that more than 35% of DCP&P investigations resulted in a finding that the allegations made were “unfounded.”
That's a significant percentage. More than 1/3 of all abuse reports were arguably investigated for no reason. There are several reasons that may explain why the number of unfounded child abuse reports is so high.
One is that New Jersey requires anybody who suspects child abuse or neglect to report their concerns to DCP&P and provides immunity from civil lawsuits when people do so in good faith. Another incentive to report suspected child abuse or neglect is that New Jersey law requires anyone who has “reasonable cause to believe” that child abuse is taking place to report it. If they fail to do so, they can face criminal charges that could lead to them spending up to 18 months in prison, depending on the circumstances.
When you have a combination of civil immunity on the one hand for mistakenly reporting child abuse or neglect and criminal liability on the other hand for failing to report child abuse or neglect, you set the stage for many false reports being made. That appears to be exactly what happens in New Jersey.
Another reason for the high number of abuse reports that are unfounded is that professionals such as doctors, nurses, and teachers who are in contact with children and fail to report suspected abuse may find themselves sued for failing to do so. When you add to that New Jersey's protection against lawsuits for mistaken reports made in good faith and its legal requirement that anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect must make a report, you make it far more likely that anyone who has the slightest suspicion that child abuse or neglect may be taking place is likely to report it to DCP&P.
Finally, it's not unusual for one spouse involved in a child custody dispute with an ex-spouse to report the other spouse to DCP&P in an effort to gain an advantage in the custody case. This kind of tactic is aided significantly by the fact that DCP&P allows child abuse reports to be made anonymously.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help You if You're Being Investigated for Alleged Child Abuse
The minute you learn that someone has named you in a DCP&P child abuse or neglect report, you should call the Lento Law Firm for help. As we've noted above, investigations can begin very quickly after an abuse report has been filed, and the sooner one of our attorneys is involved in your case, the more quickly we can act to protect your rights during the investigation.
Our experienced attorneys understand New Jersey's child protection laws. We also understand how DCP&P investigations operate. We know the rules that the investigator must follow, and most importantly, we know what your rights are throughout the entire process. If you contact us quickly enough, we can:
- Explain what's happening and how DCP&P investigations work
- Prepare you for the kinds of questions you can expect when the DCP&P investigator shows up at your front door
- Be there with you during your interview to protect you against unfair or unclear questions
- Monitor the DCP&P investigator's inspection of your home and property
- Provide the DCP&P investigator with information that may help your case that they may not have otherwise uncovered
The best result that can happen when the DCP&P investigates you is for the DCP&P to determine that the allegations made against you were “unfounded.” The high percentage of cases that are labeled as unfounded confirms that this result is not at all unusual. But you're more likely to reach this result if you have an experienced attorney helping you protect your rights during what can feel like a very unfair investigation process.
Call the Lento Law Firm Criminal Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we can help protect you against unfounded claims of child abuse or neglect.
