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CONNECTICUT
DCF says it's on the right track, but
critics disagree
The summertime quiet that echoes in the halls of the
Connecticut Juvenile Training School gives no hint of the violence that
erupted in May between inmates and staff. Walking the cinderblock halls,
Department of Children and Families Deputy Commissioner James Carr
points to classrooms where children learn bike repair, cooking and
animal care as positive steps toward keeping residents occupied and
learning new skills. Carr says the enhanced curriculum puts the school
on the right track toward eliminating persistent problems at the DCF-run
facility, which has become the most visible symbol of a troubled child
welfare system.
“All of us desire progress here. We may be impatient,
but these are complex issues and complex problems we are attending to,”
DCF Deputy Commissioner James Carr said.
The $57 million juvenile training school came under
fire almost immediately after it opened three years ago. A report by the
child advocate's office in November 2002 complained that staff illegally
restrained and secluded boys; no individualized treatment plans existed;
the center wasn't adequately cleaned; and proper policy to respond to
suicide attempts and other critical incidents hadn't been developed. DCF
disagreed with the report, calling some of it untrue and saying more
time was needed to work on the other issues.
The May 16 and 17 melee at the training school, which
injured twenty-seven staff members, pushed DCF to begin overhauling the
detention center. The department agreed to spend $1000 a day to hire a
federal monitor to consult with the school's administration. DCF
Commissioner Darlene Dunbar issued a Sept. 1 deadline to improve
conditions there. The agency has promised to increase the presence of
management staff and others who will walk through the facility more
often. DCF also plans to fill staff security vacancies, and create a
panel of experts in behavioral health and substance abuse to consult
with management.
Dunbar said she also wants to increase the number of
educational and other programs offered at the center, to reduce the
number of hours residents spend with little to do. The training school
is not accepting any new youths over the summer so it can focus on
revamping its program, CJTS Superintendent John Dixon said. Dixon said a
main goal is creating programs that bolster the moral of the staff,
which plummeted following the violence.
“It's hard to maintain moral when people are feeling
unsafe,” he said. It's been a pretty rough period of time in terms of
kids acting out and staff getting hurt.”
The problems at the detention center come 14 years
after the entire DCF was placed under federal oversight following a
lawsuit claiming systemwide negligence. Critics doubt the agency will
complete a laundry list of systemwide changes by a November 2006
deadline that would allow it to get out from federal overstep. Attorney
General Richard Blumenthal and Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein say DCF
either refuses to fix its problems or can't manage to implement change.
“It's outrageous what's going on there. It's a crisis,
chaotic situation,” Milstein said. “If parents acted toward their own
children the way DCF acts toward the children in their care, the
children would be removed from their care.”
Last week, both Blumenthal and Milstein alleged staff
at the detention center have mistreated children and released security
videotapes to back up their allegations. Both have railed against the
agency for failing create individualize treatment plans, and for
shipping children out of state. Blumenthal said DCF continues to suffer
from lack of leadership and clear direction.
“We see very little, if any, progress. The problems
seem to be systemic and deep seeded, relating to lack of leadership as
much as resources,” he said. “The scarcity of leadership is demonstrated
in lack of accountability, long-term planning, and basic management. If
it has helped, the evidence isn't visible yet.”
But at least one advocate sees light at the end of the
tunnel. Shelley Geballe of Connecticut Voices for Children, one of two
attorneys to file class-action lawsuit against DCF that led to the
consent decree, said the $51 million added to DCF's budget this fiscal
year will help lower DCF worker caseloads and help speed up adoptions.
“We're making progress in some areas. Will it be
enough to meet these deadlines? In a way I don't think that matters so
much. What matters is whether the quality of care is improving
steadily,” she said.
Sarah Coffey
7 July 2004
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--trainingschool-vi0704jul04,0,925811.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
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