The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) has released a lengthy letter in response to concerns raised by the state’s child advocate, Christina Ghio. The letter outlines actions the department is taking to address issues such as high caseloads, poor workforce retention, and the need for more foster families.

Addressing Concerns

DCF Commissioner Susan Hamilton noted that the department is hiring support staff positions, improving the speed of visits to children and caregivers, and hiring a nonprofit to improve recruitment and retention of foster families. However, Hamilton also stated that the agency partly disagrees with Ghio’s assertions regarding the department’s efforts to address behavioral healthcare for youth.

Ghio had raised concerns about the availability of mental health treatment services for girls in DCF care, stating that they often wait twice as long as boys for access to psychiatric residential treatment facilities. Hamilton responded that the agency is working to develop a statewide strategic plan to recruit and retain more foster parents and improve the process of managing placements.

Workforce Retention

DCF is also working to address workforce retention issues, including high caseloads and overtime. The department is hiring social work case aides to assist social workers with tasks such as driving children to appointments, allowing them to focus on their core work.

A new oversight committee created by a bill passed this year will also be part of efforts to track the agency’s progress. The committee will work to develop a public data dashboard with real-time quantitative data, including the number of reports received and accepted, the number of children in in-home and out-of-home care, and worker caseloads.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.