‘Systemic issues’ still hamper DCF care for foster children

The Department of Children and Families often places abused or neglected youths in living situations without making a concerted effort to provide necessary supports to the youths and their caregivers.

That’s the conclusion of a much-anticipated review released Tuesday by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The review is one the federal government does every three or four years of state child welfare agencies across the country.

Finding a safe and stable placement for at-risk youths “is hindered by systemic issues,” the 39-page review of Connecticut reported after reviewing 82 random cases. DCF has roughly 4,000 children in care on any given day.

Many of the conclusions in this report mirror deficits outlined in other outside reviews of the agency, testing the approach Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration has taken to keep more at-risk youth with their families by offering additional supports.

When Malloy took office in 2011, just 21 percent of youth in the system were living with relatives compared to almost half now. The state accomplished this by moving youths out of costly group homes and from out-of-state care.

But a growing chorus of state legislators and advocates have been sounding the alarm that, while more children are being placed with family members, the DCF is not providing the services they require in the community.

The state has been under federal court oversight for 25 years for failing too many abused or neglected children, and plaintiffs in the case increasingly have grown concerned that mid-year cuts from the state continue to hamper improvement.