UNDERSTANDING What is a DCF Emergency Response in Massachusetts

An “emergency response” is a type of decision that DCF makes which determines how they will do the a report made to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (MA DCF). Such a response indicates that a child’s health, well-being, safety, or life is in immediate danger. An emergency response means the reported family will go through an emergency investigation.

When a report requires an “emergency response,” MA DCF will begin an investigation into the allegations immediately.

MA DCF determines a 51A report requires an emergency response after it has been “screened in.” The MA DCF screener will determine that a report requires this response decision when:

The allegations meet the department’s criteria of child abuse or neglect; and

The Department feels that the reported child is truly at immediate risk of danger.

What are Examples of DCF Emergency Responses?

MA DCF can decide that a report requires an emergency response regardless of the type allegations. Allegations of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, and child neglect can all require emergency responses.

Examples of when MA DCF would screen in a report as an emergency response are when:

• The child stated that a parent or caretaker sexually abused them: The child told a teacher that her dad was touching her sexually. The child asked her teacher not to disclose this information to anyone. The teacher, a mandated reporter (thereby legally obligated to report all suspicions of child abuse to MA DCF), reported it anyway.?
• The child was seen with bruises, marks, or injuries from physical abuse: There was a case where a child came into daycare with a bruise on his upper arm, a black eye, and his hair ripped out. The daycare worker who saw the child in these conditions reported it to MA DCF.?
• The child’s parents were observed to be intoxicated: A police officer found a teenager playing with fireworks in the street. When the officer took him back home, he saw the child’s mother was under the influence of alcohol. The officer felt that the mother was not concerned when he explained that her son was using illegal fireworks. So, the police officer made a report of child neglect to DCF because the mother was too busy getting intoxicated while her child was playing with dangerous items.?

How Long Does MA DCF Have to Determine a Report Requires an Emergency Response?

MA DCF must decide if a 51A report needs this within two (2) hours of receiving the report.

What Happens After MA DCF Determines a Report Requires an Emergency Response?

After MA DCF determines a report requires an emergency response, they will assign a social worker to begin an investigation into the family. This social worker will visit the child’s home to find out:

• The identities of the alleged perpetrators and reported children
• What the conditions of all the other children in the home are
• The nature, existence, cause, and extent of the alleged abuse or neglect

In extreme cases, MA DCF will go to a judge and ask for permission to remove a child from their home. This happens when MA DCF thinks removing the child is necessary to prevent future abuse or neglect of the child.

Sometimes, when a social worker visits a child at their home, they see that the child is not in immediate danger but there is still possible child abuse or neglect happening. This means the situation was actually not an emergency. In that case, MA DCF will change the decision on the 51A report to a “non emergency response.”