Connecticut Agrees To Give Federal Court Monitor Management Authority Over Child Welfare System

PRESS RELEASE

Court Monitor to head Transition Task Force with new power to reform DCF; state admits failure to improve safety and care for Connecticut foster children.

All parties in the class action lawsuit, Juan F. v. Rowland, agreed today to give the Court-Appointed Monitor, D. Ray Sirry, complete management authority over the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). In the agreement, signed and submitted to U.S. District Judge Alan H. Nevas, the state admitted that it has failed to comply with court-ordered improvement standards and achieve better outcomes for children and families in Connecticut.

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Sirry will head and have ultimate control over a three-person Transition Task Force (Task Force) that will include Darlene Dunbar, Commissioner of DCF, and the Secretary of the Office of Policy Management. The agreement states that the Task Force will "assume all decision-making authority having a substantial impact on the safety and welfare of members of the Juan F. class." If Task Force members cannot reach a unanimous decision on an issue, the Monitor can bring it to the Governor for review. However, the Monitor can appeal any decision of the Governor's to the District Court and "the District Court's decision shall be binding on the parties and not appealable."

On September 11, the children's attorneys, Children's Right and the Center for Children's Advocacy, asked the federal court to find Governor Rowland and DCF in contempt of court and to appoint an independent receiver to run the system, because the state had failed to meet numerous court-ordered outcomes for children, including:

*Getting services promptly to children and families to protect children in the home and prevent removing the child.
*Preventing further abuse while in foster care custody.
*Reducing the length of time in foster care.
*Reducing the number of moves for children while in foster care.
*Avoiding overcrowding of foster family homes.
*Getting children adopted promptly when they cannot be returned home safely.
*Ensuring children receive necessary medical and mental health services.

"The new authority granted to the Court Monitor today is a breakthrough in our efforts to improve the lives of Connecticut's children and families and sets a national precedent for court action to protect children," said Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of Children's Rights, the national child advocacy group which is co-counsel for plaintiff children in the Juan F. case. "By investing in a neutral Monitor who works only for the federal judge with overall management authority, backed up by the decision-making power of the court, we expect that long overdue reforms will now take place and will reach the children whose rights are being violated daily."

"After 12 years and 15 court orders, we had no other recourse but to file a drastic motion seeking receivership," said Martha Stone, executive director of the Center for Children's Advocacy at the University of Connecticut School of Law, co-counsel in Juan F. "Now that the state has humbly admitted non-compliance and acknowledged its limitations, we have confidence in the Court Monitor to assume his management responsibility and make needed reforms."

The terms of the agreement include the following (excerpted verbatim):

There shall be established a Transition Task Force ("Task Force"), which shall be comprised of the current Court Monitor, D. Ray Sirry, the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, and the Secretary of the Office of Policy Management. The Task Force shall assume all decision-making authority having a substantial impact on the safety and welfare of members of the Juan F. class, which authority is otherwise reserved solely to the Commissioner of DCF pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 17a-6.

The decisions of the Task Force shall be implemented by the Commissioner of DCF, within the time frames and in the manner specified by the Task Force.

If the members of the Task Force fail to reach a unanimous decision relating to an issue within its authority, the Monitor shall determine whether or not to certify the issue to the Governor. If the issue is certified, the Governor shall render his decision on the matter within five (5) business days. The decision of the Governor shall be final, subject only to Court review as provided below.

The Monitor may appeal the Governor's decision to the Court, which may review the decision to determine whether it is in the best interest of the members of the Juan F. class, and is consistent with the principles of the Consent Decree. If the Court determines that the Governor's decision is not in the best interest of the members of the Juan F. class, the Court may reverse or modify that decision. The District Court's decision shall be binding on the parties and not appealable.

The Monitor, in consultation with the Task Force, shall develop proposed modifications to the outcome measures and standards in the February 19, 2002 Transition/Exit Plan within 60 days of the entry of this order, affording parties an opportunity for input. The Monitor shall develop a definitive Exit Plan and submit it to plaintiffs and defendants, affording them a meaningful opportunity for input. The Monitor's final decision on the outcome measures, standards and Exit Plan shall be binding on all the parties. The Consent Decree, Manuals, and the February 19, 2002 Transition/Exit Plan, except for the Monitoring Order and the District Court's order of July 29, 2003, shall be vacated and replaced by this Stipulation and Order and the Exit Plan described herein, unless the Monitor is unable or unwilling to continue in his capacity as further set forth in this stipulation. The Exit Plan shall terminate on November 1, 2006, and the jurisdiction of the Court over this action shall terminate on that date, unless Defendants have not complied with the Exit Plan.
"This is a complete win for abused and neglected children in Connecticut a," stated Ira Lustbader, associate director of Children's Rights. "We will continue to watch over this process to make sure its potential is realized. It is extraordinary that the governor and commissioner have realized the need for this relief and that they are openly committed to cooperate in this arrangement."

Children's Rights works throughout the United States in partnership with national and local experts, advocates and government officials to document the needs of children in the care of child welfare systems. Children's Rights helps develop realistic solutions and, where necessary, uses the power of litigation to ensure that reform takes place.