Sarah M. S. v. Department of Children & Families
Sarah M. S. v. Department of Children & Families
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The sole issue in this case, as stated by the plaintiff, is whether General Statutes § 17a-28 “prohibiting dissemination of information gathered by the department of children and families (department) in all but strictly limited circumstances [should] be enforced as written by the legislature or should new, unprecedented and creative exceptions to statutory law be found?” This “issue,” as discussed in the plaintiffs brief, amounts to three arguments.
The plaintiff, the mother of a child who was the subject of a department investigation, argues that the trial court should not have concluded (1) that she was provided with access to all the records relevant to an investigation by the department in a case involving her, (2) that no relevant department records involving her were improperly disclosed to others and (3) that she had not alleged and proved damages for the recovery of attorney’s fees, expenditure of her personal time and diminution of her reputation in the community. We affirm the trial court’s judgment for the defendant.
The trial court found the following relevant facts. The department received a telephone call from the Childcare Center of Stamford, Inc., reporting a suspected child neglect situation. The call was received after-hours. An investigator was sent to the home of
A week after receipt of the letter, the plaintiff sent a letter to a social work supervisor at the regional office of the department requesting, pursuant to General Statutes § 1-19, the Freedom of Information Act, a “copy of all reports and material related to a report of neglect and/or abuse by us of our children.” Less than two months elapsed from the date of the telephone call by the day care center to the date of the letter from the plaintiff.
After receipt of the plaintiffs letter, the regional office notified her and the child’s father that the records could be reviewed in its office, and an attorney representing the plaintiff subsequently did review the entire file. The plaintiff did not receive a photocopy of the
The plaintiffs complaint is brought pursuant to § 17a-28 (m) (l),
The trial court found that the plaintiff was provided with a photocopy of all relevant records and that the plaintiff had not met her burden of proof by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the department refused to provide photocopies of all of the records requested. The court also found that the plaintiff never requested access to or a printout of any records stored on computer and that the computer records had been expunged. Further, the court found that the only document not destroyed was a document noting the time and assignment to an investigator when the complaint from the child care center was first received, and that a photocopy of this document had been provided to the father of the child.
On the basis of our thorough review of the record and exhibits in this case, we conclude that the trial court’s findings and conclusions are supported by the evidence and should not be disturbed. We affirm the trial court’s conclusion that the plaintiff was provided with access to all of the relevant records.
The plaintiff also contends that information should not have been disclosed to a department supervisor who took the initial telephone call from the child care center because at the time of the disclosure to her she was not then working for the department. The record in question was mailed to the supervisor, and was a copy of a record she herself had generated and signed when she was working for the department. She was again working for the department when her deposition was taken by the plaintiff. The record was sent to her in preparation for the deposition. We agree with the trial court that on the basis of these facts the disclosure to her was not violative of § 17a-28 (b).
The plaintiff also complains that a disclosure to the Greenwich police was unauthorized. This disclosure
We agree with the trial court that on the basis of the facts of this case, public policy and statutory authorization allowed the department to conduct an after-hours investigation, to seek a police escort and to provide the police with basic information. It was for the department to determine whether the report of neglect was an emergency that required investigation immediately. If so, the allegations of the child care center were necessarily revealed. Furthermore, § 17a-101b (a) (5) specifically provides for the transmission of information to a law enforcement agency in some instances.
The plaintiff makes one last broad claim of another statutoiy indiscretion, namely that the department disclosed records pertaining to the plaintiff to the state data center. We do not consider this claim because it was not raised in or considered by the trial court.
Because we conclude that the plaintiff was provided with access to all relevant records and that no relevant department records were released in violation of any statute, we need not consider the plaintiffs claim that she suffered damages for which she is entitled to monetary compensation. The trial court did not use “new, unprecedented and creative exceptions to statutory law” to conclude that judgment for the defendant should be rendered. Nor do we in affirming that judgment.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
General Statutes § 17a-28 (m) (1) provides that persons aggrieved by a violation of subsection (b), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i) or (k), or certain provisions of subsection (l) may seek appropriate relief pursuant to § 52-146j, in the event of improper disclosure of records, in the Superior Court for the judicial district in which they reside. Here, the plaintiff claims a violation of several subsections, most notably (b), which prohibits disclosure of department records without the consent of a person named in a record.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.