The New Hampshire DCYF investigation process moves through four stages: a screening call at Central Intake, a face-to-face assessment that begins within 24 to 72 hours, a written finding of founded or unfounded, and, if the finding is founded, a 30-day window to appeal before your name can be placed on the state’s Central Registry. The whole framework runs under RSA 169-C, the Child Protection Act, and understanding each stage is what lets you protect yourself and your family while it unfolds.
How a Report Reaches Your Family
Every report of suspected abuse or neglect first goes to DCYF’s Central Intake. Intake staff compare the reported facts to the statutory definitions and decide whether the case is “screened in” for assessment or “screened out.” A report is screened in when the information describes a credible threat of harm to a child’s life, health, or welfare. It is screened out when the victim cannot be identified, the victim’s location is unknown, the facts don’t rise to abuse or neglect, or the matter belongs to another agency.1New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Standard Operating Procedure 1150.1 – Report Types, Screening Decisions, Overrides
A supervisor can override either decision. A report that technically meets criteria might not be assigned if the same allegation is already being handled in an open case; a report that falls short might still be assigned in unusual circumstances.1New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Standard Operating Procedure 1150.1 – Report Types, Screening Decisions, Overrides
Once a report is screened in, RSA 169-C:34 requires DCYF to begin investigating immediately if a child appears to be in immediate danger, and within 72 hours in all other cases.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 169-C:34 – Duties of the Department of Health and Human Services Within that limit, DCYF assigns a priority level that sets a deadline for face-to-face contact with the child: 24, 48, or 72 hours from the moment the report hits the district office inbox. Weekends and holidays don’t count against those clocks.3New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Standard Operating Procedure 1172.1 – Planning and Commencing an Assessment A formal safety assessment must be completed within 24 hours of that first contact, and it drives the immediate decisions: whether the child stays home, whether emergency services are needed, and whether the child must be removed.4Child Welfare Information Gateway. Use Safety and Risk Assessment Child Protection Cases New Hampshire
What the Caseworker Does During the Assessment
The field investigation is where DCYF gathers the facts it needs to reach a finding. Under RSA 169-C:34, the assigned worker must identify everyone in the household, check whether the family appears in prior reports, decide whether there is probable cause that abuse or neglect occurred, evaluate both immediate and long-term risk to each child, and identify services that might help.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 169-C:34 – Duties of the Department of Health and Human Services
In practice, that means recording every household member’s name, age, sex, address, and race, then pulling medical records, school attendance records, and any law enforcement reports on adults in the home.5New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1172 – CPS Assessments of Abuse and Neglect The worker talks to collateral sources: extended family, neighbors, daycare providers, and anyone else who sees the family regularly. Expect more than one home visit. Workers look at living conditions, check for food and working utilities, and watch how parents and children interact.
DCYF can interview your child without you present, but the policy requires supervisory approval and calls for the least intrusive approach available. Parents must be contacted as soon as possible afterward. Any interview conducted at a school or daycare must be recorded in full without interruption.5New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1172 – CPS Assessments of Abuse and Neglect
Internal policy gives the worker 60 days to complete the assessment. That is an agency deadline rather than a statutory one; RSA 169-C:34 sets when the investigation must start but not when it must finish. If the facts suggest possible criminal conduct alongside the civil case, the worker coordinates with the county attorney’s office.
Your Rights When DCYF Shows Up
A DCYF investigator arriving at your door is not the same as a police officer with a warrant. Without a court order, you can decline to let the worker into your home. You are not legally required to answer questions during the assessment phase. Refusing to cooperate at all can shape how the case proceeds and may prompt DCYF to seek a court order, so the decision is real, but the right is yours.
You do not have a right to a court-appointed attorney during the assessment itself, because no case has been filed yet. That right attaches later. If DCYF files a court petition, you are entitled to counsel, and the court will appoint one if you cannot afford to hire your own. You can request court-appointed counsel at the preliminary hearing.
If you decide to cooperate, having documents ready shortens the process. Immunization records, current prescriptions, and proof of your living arrangement answer many of the questions a worker is trying to resolve, and providing them yourself reduces the need for the worker to chase down third parties. You are not required to give the investigator your Social Security number.
The Finding and What Each Label Means
At the end of the assessment, DCYF issues a finding based on whether a preponderance of the evidence supports the allegations. A written Notice of Finding goes to the parents, guardians, and any person named as responsible.
A founded determination means DCYF concluded that abuse or neglect more likely than not occurred. Founded findings break into three subcategories. Founded, Court Action means a court has confirmed the finding after a hearing or through a consent decree. Founded, Problem Resolved means abuse or neglect did occur, but interventions have addressed the danger and no ongoing safety concerns remain. Founded, Services Only means the responsible person agrees the report is founded, waives the right to appeal, accepts placement on the Central Registry, and agrees to receive DCYF services.6New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1269 – Central Registry Records Management
An unfounded determination means the evidence did not support the allegations. New Hampshire also uses a middle category, unfounded but with reasonable concern, where DCYF may send a confidential letter of concern encouraging the family to seek support services even though no formal finding was made.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 169-C:34 – Duties of the Department of Health and Human Services
Appealing a Founded Finding
A founded finding is not permanent the day the letter arrives. You have 30 calendar days from the date the Notice of Finding is served to request an administrative appeal. Day one is the day after service. If day 30 falls on a weekend or state holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.7New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1215 – Administrative Appeals
To file, complete the appeal request form attached to the last page of the notice, include the assessment number, and send it to the CPS Supervisor at the district office that issued the finding. If you never signed for the letter and later contact the office, DCYF must give you a copy and the 30-day clock restarts.7New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1215 – Administrative Appeals
Missing the 30-day window matters. Once the deadline passes without an appeal, your name becomes eligible for the Central Registry. Findings that came through a court order rather than an administrative determination follow a different route: an appeal to Superior Court within 30 days of the court’s dispositional orders under RSA 169-C:28.7New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1215 – Administrative Appeals
The Central Registry and Its Long-Term Consequences
When a founded determination becomes final, either because no appeal was filed or because the appeal was lost, your name is added to the state’s Central Registry of individuals responsible for child abuse or neglect. Your name stays on that registry for seven years from the date of the finding.6New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1269 – Central Registry Records Management
The practical impact reaches beyond the database itself. Under RSA 170-E:29-a, child care institutions and agencies must submit names for background checks that include registry searches. A person listed with a founded complaint can be deemed ineligible for employment at child care facilities, and DCYF may deny, revoke, or suspend licenses tied to child residential care.8New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 170-E:29-a – State Registry Daycare workers, foster parents, and residential care staff are the people most directly affected. After seven years, DCYF destroys both the electronic and paper records.
When the Case Moves to Court
Not every assessment ends in court. DCYF may close the case, offer voluntary services, or find the family already addressed the concerns. When the agency believes a child is abused or neglected and either the family is not cooperating or the risk is serious, DCYF or another party can file a petition under RSA 169-C:7 laying out the specific facts and statutory grounds.9Justia. Chapter 169-C – Child Protection Act
The court then issues a summons for a preliminary hearing, usually between 24 hours and 7 days after service. At that hearing, the court decides whether enough evidence exists to sustain the petition and can order the child to remain at home under supervision, transfer supervision to a child-placing agency, or issue a protective order for the household. If the case advances to an adjudicatory hearing, both sides call witnesses and present evidence, and parents can cross-examine DCYF’s witnesses. A dismissal ends the matter; a sustained petition moves the case to a dispositional phase where the court sets services, oversight, or custody arrangements.
How Long Records Are Kept
Even an unfounded report does not vanish. Under RSA 169-C:35-a, DCYF keeps unfounded reports for 10 years from the date the case was determined to be unfounded. If a new report comes in during that window involving the same alleged perpetrator, the same child, or any siblings or other children in the household, the retention period resets for another 10 years from the date the new report is screened out or found unfounded.10New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 169-C:35-a If a later report produces a founded finding or an “unfounded but with reasonable concern” determination, the records are kept indefinitely.
Founded reports follow the seven-year Central Registry timeline, though court-ordered findings can have their own retention schedule tied to court records. When the retention period expires, DCYF destroys all electronic and paper records associated with the case.6New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DCYF Policy Manual 1269 – Central Registry Records Management