Department of Children & Family Services

Clinical Services

Care and Protection

The department is mandated to investigate, assess and monitor all cases that involve child abuse: neglect, sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children.

Foster Care

DCFS provides foster care as a temporary safe place if a child cannot live with his/her family. This can be a short, medium or long term placement in foster care. Children enter foster care because of neglect, abuse, a family crisis, or the child's acting out at home. Foster parents provide foster children with stability, affection, consistency, and nurturing.

Children usually continue to visit their own families until they may be reunited. If this is not possible, family members and other persons important to the child are contacted to see if they can give a permanent home to the child. Sometimes foster families are asked to provide permanent foster care or may seek to adopt the child in their care.

Adoption

Adoption is a service which provides parents for children who cannot be brought up by their birth families. It is about providing a child with a permanent, loving and legally secure home with parents who are committed to the child’s welfare. The Adoption of Children Law sets out the procedures for adoption of children. Adopting a child can be a most rewarding experience.

Custody Assessments

As officers of the Courts, DCFS assist with providing home study reports as requested by the Grand Court on matters involving the care and day to day control of child child/children of a marriage or relationship. These reports are very comprehensive and assist the courts with making decisions in the best interest of the child/children.

Means assessments

DCFS assist the courts by conducting means assessments and providing reports to the Maintenance and Affiliations Court on the relevant parties that have applied to the said court for maintenance.

Counselling

Counselling is an important part of social work intervention with children and families to help them work through whatever the issues they are experiencing. Counselling may be done on a one on one basis or with a family, depending on the situation and needs of the individual and the family.

Mediation

The Department at times must engage in mediation to address a range of family issues in order to assist families to resolve issues ranging from care and well- being of children or elderly relatives.

Family Services

This includes social work intervention with families affected by domestic violence or elderly abuse.

Last Updated 2013-02-22