Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-47 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 17-445). Legal division re child abuse and neglect

✓ current as of May 2026

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There shall be a legal division which shall consist of attorneys-at-law assigned to the Department of Children and Families, who shall be on the staff and under the supervision of the Commissioner of Children and Families. There shall also be assistant attorneys general on the staff and under the direct supervision of the Attorney General. Such assistant attorneys general shall diligently prosecute petitions of neglect giving priority to petitions which allege child abuse as the grounds of neglect. Such assistant attorneys general and the department shall cooperate in preparation of such cases as shall be necessary to protect the safety and best interest of the child named in the petition.

(P.A. 77-577, S. 1; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-216, S. 5; P.A. 05-246, S. 8.)

History: Sec. 17-445 transferred to Sec. 17a-47 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; P.A. 93-216 removed the legal division from the department of children and youth services, removed the reference to three attorneys-at-law, placed the attorneys under the direct supervision of the attorney general and deleted provision which had stated that legal division not to be considered a replacement for, but an addition to, attorney general's staff responsible for prosecuting petitions for neglected, uncared for and dependent children; P.A. 05-246 provided that legal division to consist of attorneys assigned to Department of Children and Families and assistant attorneys general, made conforming changes and added reference to safety of child, effective July 8, 2005.

See Sec. 17a-106 re cooperative efforts to prevent, identify and treat child abuse and neglect.

See Sec. 53a-196a re felony offense of employing minor in obscene performance.

Commissioner or commissioner's designee has express authority to prepare, sign and file petitions for termination of parental rights. 247 C. 1.

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases, 1998–2002 · leading case: In re Darlene C., 717 A.2d 1242 (Conn. 1998).

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In re Darlene C., 717 A.2d 1242 (Conn. 1998). · cites it 10× “The court further noted that General Statutes § 17a-47, 14 which discusses the prosecution of neglect petitions by attorneys employed by the office of the attorney general, indicates that attorneys are required to perform all the legal work associated with such petitions, and,…”

In re Joshua S., 796 A.2d 1141 (Conn. 2002). · cites it 2× “See General Statutes § 17a-47, which provides that “[tjhere shall be a legal division which shall consist of attorneys-at-law assigned to each regional office of the department, who shall be assistant attorneys general on the staff and under the direct supervision of the…”

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.