| |
|
|
DeStefano on Connecticut's Children & Families
 |
Greeting schoolkids in his City Hall office in New Haven, John DeStefano knows that Connecticut's children are worth the investment. |
The Department of Children and Families is Connecticut's safety net for its neglected and abused children, and John DeStefano, Jr. wants to mend its holes.
DCF has been unable to fulfill a court mandate to protect Connecticut's neglected and abused children, and it was forced to surrender state authority to a federal court monitor who will manage the department in partnership with the state. Even with a budget of $591 million, which is double the $256 million budget in 1995, DCF has had difficulty achieving its goal to protect our state's children, improve child and family well-being and support and preserve families.
Last summer, the federal court monitor released a report that showed that in Connecticut:
- It takes four years for a child to be adopted. Only 13.6% of children studied were adopted within two years, the national goal established by the Adoption and Safe Families Act.
- 18% of abuse cases take more than 30 days to complete.
- In more than 20% of abuse cases, criminal background checks are not conducted.
- Neglected and abused children are actually worse-off after being taken into state custody.
John DeStefano, Jr. believes that these sobering statistics can be improved, and in order for Connecticut to improve the quality of life of our most fragile children, he believes that the DCF must work to:
- Increase staff, provide more training for staff, and reduce caseloads to allow case workers to decrease delays in helping troubled children and improve response time to calls of abuse.
- Investigate every call made to the abuse hotline.
- Improve communication between DCF caseworkers and Probate Courts.
- Speed up the adoption process, visit foster families more frequently and provide better medical and mental health services for the children.
Caseloads & Hotline Response
The inefficiencies of DCF come to the forefront when the story of a foster child who died while in foster care is highlighted in the news. John DeStefano, Jr. understands that in order to prevent another untimely death, the organizational structure and the role of supervisors at DCF must be streamlined and improved. Case workers are burdened with case loads that are too high, which prevents timely visits to foster families and thorough follow-up of abuse hotline calls, which are two ways to address neglect and prevent further abuse.
Adoption & Health Services
In early November 2003, 118 children in DCF care were waiting for adoption: 48 were newborns to five-year-olds; 43 age 6-11; and 27 age 12 or older. The length of time these children wait for adoption is too long and reforms to this system to expedite this process must be made. Many of these children's problems just get worse while they wait for a stable family to take them in. It is especially difficult for older children to be adopted, so it is important that the state investigate alternative means to find a supportive network of adults in the child's life.
|
|
“The Department of Children and Families must protect Connecticut's most neglected children, and John knows the DCF needs to embrace strategic reforms to do this.”
|
|
Website Vooweb.com provides the biggest collection of professional Web 2.0 Templates. Web 2.0 Templates - its a website templates which made by world-class designers. Buy our Web 2.0 Templates | A family cooking recipes with hundreds of healthy, whole-food cooking recipes for the home cook. Healthy Food cooking Recipes For Your Entire Family | List of Samui villas and houses for rent on Koh Samui. Koh Samui villas for rent and sale on a private Samui community on the southern tip of the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.
Additionally, DCF foster care children are not receiving proper mental health and medical care while they are under DCF protection. Many DCF staff are not adequately trained to work with children's mental health issues. Foster care children have a high incidence of poor mental and physical health, so it is necessary to address their needs, but in Connecticut, 36% of foster care children do not get timely, federally mandated health screens, and 25% go without medical or mental health treatment. Programs like KidCare need funding to provide integrated behavioral and mental health care, rather than forcing children with these special needs out of state to residential facilities. John believes in community and community-based services to help keep children in their homes to get the support and services they need.
The Department of Children and Families must protect Connecticut's most neglected children, and John knows the DCF needs to embrace strategic reforms to do this. The new federally mandated requirements are an excellent road map to an improved system, but it will require even further investment to make the Department of Children and Families a secure, supportive and effective safety net, and John DeStefano, Jr. believes our children are worth that investment.
|
|