Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-12 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 17-420). Transfer of child or youth to other program, agency, organization or facility

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) When the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, determines that a change of program is in the best interest of any child or youth committed or transferred to the department, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may transfer such person to any appropriate resource or program administered by or available to the department, to any other state department or agency, or to any private agency or organization within or without the state under contract with the department.

(b) The commissioner may transfer any child or youth committed to the commissioner to any institution, hospital or facility for mentally ill children under the commissioner's jurisdiction for a period not to exceed fifteen days if the need for such emergency treatment is certified by a psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine by the state.

(1969, P.A. 664, S. 14; 1971, P.A. 13, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 111, S. 1; P.A. 73-552; P.A. 75-228; 75-524, S. 9, 30; 75-567, S. 79, 80; P.A. 76-436, S. 594, 681; P.A. 78-300, S. 1; P.A. 86-186, S. 8; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-216, S. 2; P.A. 99-26, S. 19, 39; P.A. 04-152, S. 3; P.A. 11-157, S. 7; P.A. 14-187, S. 12; P.A. 15-14, S. 26; P.A. 16-193, S. 4; P.A. 18-31, S. 20.)

History: 1971 act added provisions re transfers from Connecticut School for Boys to Cheshire correctional institution of males 15 or older deemed dangerous to self or others; 1972 act allowed commissioner's designee to act under section; P.A. 73-552 included transfers of females deemed dangerous to self or others and reduced age minimum for transferees to 14; P.A. 75-228 added reference to facilities other than Connecticut School for Boys and Long Lane School; P.A. 75-524 replaced “person” with “child or youth”, deleted references to transfers to facilities under department of mental health in previous provisions and added Subsec. (b) regulating such transfers; P.A. 75-567 allowed commissioner's designee to act under section provisions; P.A. 76-436 replaced “court of appropriate jurisdiction” with “superior court” and “juvenile court” with “superior court on the docket for juvenile matters”, effective July 1, 1979; P.A. 78-300 made technical correction; P.A. 86-186 changed the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Cheshire to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire; Sec. 17-420 transferred to Sec. 17a-12 in 1991; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993 (Revisor's note: The words “the department of” in the phrase “commissioner of the department of children and youth services” were deleted editorially by the Revisors to conform with customary statutory usage); P.A. 93-216 deleted references to the Connecticut School for Boys throughout section; P.A. 99-26 replaced references to “Long Lane School” with “the Connecticut Juvenile Training School” where appearing and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, effective upon the filing with the Governor and the General Assembly of written certification by the Commissioner of Children and Families that the new Connecticut Juvenile Training School is operational (Revisor's note: Said written certification was filed with the Senate and House Clerks on September 20, 2001, and with the Governor on September 21, 2001); P.A. 04-152 amended Subsecs. (a) and (c) by adding references to “male” children held or placed at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, effective May 21, 2004; P.A. 11-157 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re transfer to terminate on expiration of commitment in juvenile matter; P.A. 14-187 deleted former Subsec. (b) re requiring a hearing before placement or transfer to state-operated residential mental health facility, and redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (b) and made technical changes therein, effective June 11, 2014; P.A. 15-14 made technical changes in Subsec. (a); P.A. 16-193 amended Subsec. (a) by making a technical change; P.A. 18-31 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provisions re transfers under certain conditions, and amended Subsec. (b) to delete provisions permitting placement of delinquent male child in the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, effective July 1, 2018.

Annotations to former section 17-420:

Cited. 171 C. 644. Because defendant was over 18 and could not be “committed, admitted or transferred” to department's care and custody, requirement that department explore alternative of transfer to out-of-state institution did not apply to defendant and juvenile court properly declined to explore such alternative. 276 C. 633.

Annotations to present section:

Cited. 43 CA 613.

Subsec. (a):

To effectuate any transfer of a juvenile in custody of department, petitioner must first determine that it is in the child's best interest to do so; when petitioner seeks to transfer a juvenile in department's custody to Department of Correction, however, there is additional requirement that Superior Court must order the transfer following hearing; section requires that trial court, in determining whether to transfer allegedly dangerous juvenile to Department of Correction custody, must consider both best interest of the juvenile posing a safety concern and danger posed by that juvenile to other juveniles with whom the subject juvenile is or will be situated; delinquent juvenile who faces transfer proceedings pursuant to section does not have same liberty interest as adult who faces criminal proceedings; fact that, under due process clause, an adult who is not competent cannot be convicted of a crime does not mean that a juvenile who is not competent cannot be transferred to Department of Correction pursuant to section; fundamental fairness requires that juvenile be adequately represented at hearing so that court may make an informed and accurate determination of juvenile's best interest and the danger he or she poses. 264 C. 747.

Statute as applied resulted in denial of procedural due process where court failed to determine competency prior to ordering transfer of mentally disabled youth from Department of Children and Families facility to a correctional institution; for purposes of future transfer proceedings, court must first consider child's competency and then determine if transfer is in child's best interest, including considering evidence of alternatives to incarceration. 68 CA 427. The term “dangerous” did not render Subsec. unconstitutionally vague as applied to respondent who had been previously adjudicated delinquent for a physical assault; respondent was denied due process and entitled to a hearing before a judge, without the need for a jury, in a matter that could subject her to incarceration in an adult correctional facility; burden is on Department of Children and Families to adduce evidence re whether a transfer to Department of Correction is warranted by clear and convincing evidence that the juvenile subject to the transfer is a danger to himself or herself or others or cannot be safely held under supervision of Department of Children and Families, and some evidence must also be adduced that the transfer is in the juvenile's best interest. 157 CA 826.

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: In re Stevem M., 826 A.2d 156 (Conn. 2003).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

In re Stevem M., 826 A.2d 156 (Conn. 2003). · cites it 26× “This certified appeal involves the proper scope of inquiry at a hearing to transfer a juvenile in the custody of the department of children and families (department) to the custody of the department of correction pursuant to General Statutes § 17a-12 (a). 1 *750 The petitioner,…”

In re Steven M., 789 A.2d 1169 (Conn. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 19× “Manson Youth Institution pursuant to General Statutes § 17a-12 (a). 1 The respondent first claims that § 17a-12 (a) is unconstitutional on its face.”

In re William D., 933 A.2d 1147 (Conn. 2007). · cites it 4× “We are mindful that, in a different chapter that also addresses delinquency proceedings, the legislature has used the phrase “child or youth” in some provisions; *318 see General Statutes § 17a-8; 9 General Statutes § 17a-12 (c); 10 and thus could have used a similar phrase in §…”

State v. Cassidy D., 29 A.3d 190 (Conn. Super. Ct. 2010). · cites it 6× “in a residential sex offender treatment setting that has been designated, by the juvenile probation officers, as the least restrictive and more appropriate placement for this delinquent, the department has ready access to the remedy provided by General Statutes § 17a-12,…”

J.B. v. Killingly Bd. of Educ., 990 F. Supp. 57 (D. Conn. 1997). · cites it 2× “Indeed, section 17a-12 recognizes that a change in placement may be necessary for the best interests "df a' child, including a transfer to a private facility in Connecticut or another state.”

In re Angel R. (Conn. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 32× “On appeal, the respondent claims that General Statutes § 17a-12 (a) violates the federal and Connecticut constitutions on the ground that its application to the respondent deprives her of due pro- cess in the following ways: (1) the statute is impermissi- bly vague; and (2) the…”

In re Steven M., 797 A.2d 515 (Conn. 2002). · cites it 2× “Decided April 19, 2002 “Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that: (1) the appeal was not moot because it met the test of ‘capable of repetition, yet evading review’; (2) under General Statutes § 17a-12 (a), the court must determine that the requested transfer is in the…”

State v. Carter, 685 A.2d 329 (Conn. App. Ct. 1996). · cites it 2× “General Statutes § 17a-12 (c) provides in pertinent part that “(1) any delinquent child may be placed at any time in Long Lane School .”

Doe (D. Conn. 2026). · cites it 2× ““In order to make a transfer decision [pursuant to § 17a-12], a fact finder must consider whether such a transfer is in a child's best interest, whether a child is dangerous to himself, herself or others, whether DCF cannot safely retain the child's custody, and whether DOC…”

In re Quamaine K. (Conn. App. Ct. 2016). “The court found that the respondent had failed to rehabilitate within the meaning of § 17a-12 (j) (3) (B) (i). The court’s finding was predicated in part on Green’s opinion that, at the time he evaluated the respondent in November and December, 2014, she had not yet shown…”

— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-12(a) — 1 case

J.B. v. Killingly Bd. of Educ., 990 F. Supp. 57 (D. Conn. 1997). “Indeed, section 17a-12 recognizes that a change in placement may be necessary for the best interests "df a' child, including a transfer to a private facility in Connecticut or another state.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.