DCF officials cannot have it both ways

A former student and his wife took care of a newborn boy through DCF. The process was long and arduous, and did not end when the boy came home to his new family. Because his biological mother was an addict, the baby had traces of opiates in his system. The first few months of his life were filled with doctors’ appointments and DCF checkins, all faithfully carried out by his new family.

The boy showed improvement over time, and the young couple moved to adopt the child officially. But after nearly 18 months of care, DCF returned the baby to his biological mother, despite the fact that she did not meet any of the conditions necessary to get her child back.

So it was with great interest that I read Kevin Rennie’s piece last week [Aug. 13, Insight, Page 1, “DCF owes Connecticut children a standard better than ‘not that abysmal’ “] on the death of Corneliuz Williams. Especially bothersome was DCF commissioner Vannessa Dorantes’ comment, “It takes the collective efforts of all members of our community … to ensure that children can safely remain at home.”

Children remaining at home with their biological parents is the ideal, but it should not be DCF’S be-all and end-all philosophy at the expense of children’s health and safety. Furthermore, the public should be aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of couples who are willing to adopt children — the “community” that Ms. Dorantes promotes.

It all seems a bit hypocritical to take a child away from a couple willing to adopt a child in one instance, and chastise the community for not doing enough when tragedy strikes in the other. DCF officials cannot have it both ways.

Daniel Gaffney, Meriden