What Happens after Department of Child Safety Completes the Investigation?

After DCS completes an investigation, the parent, guardian or custodian involved will receive a letter stating whether or not the information found during the DCS investigation concludes there is reason to believe the allegations of abuse and/or neglect are true; this is referred to as either a “proposed substantiated” or “unsubstantiated” finding. If the finding is proposed substantiated, that means there is reason to believe the abuse/neglect did take place. An unsubstantiated finding means there was insufficient evidence to conclude the abuse or neglect took place. DCS will provide written notification at the conclusion of the investigation.

In cases where DCS proposed to substantiate an allegation of abuse or neglect that does not involve DCS filing a dependency petition with the Juvenile Court, the proposed substantiation will be forwarded to the Department of Child Safety (DCS) Protective Services Review Team (PSRT) for review. If PSRT agrees with the decision to substantiate, the person whom the allegation is made against will receive a letter from PSRT with information about their right to an appeal.