COMMISSIONER OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (CGS §§ 17A-5 AND 17A-6)

The commissioner is responsible for establishing facilities and services for children and families under its care. These include child protective, foster care, and family services; juvenile justice services; substance abuse and related services; mental health services; and prevention and educational services.

QUESTIONS

1. The December 2006 Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth Program Review, written by the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Office of the Child Advocate, and the Office of the Court Monitor, cited many problems. These include the inability “to effectively coordinate and implement changes that will improve the quality of services for children and the quality of the work environment for staff. ” What will you do to correct this?

2. There is currently no permanent superintendent at Riverview. How long will a search for a superintendent at Riverview take? What qualities will you be looking for in a superintendent?

3. The child advocate has recently described the state's children's mental health system as “badly broken. ” What will you do in the short-, medium-, and long-term to address this?

4. Do you believe the state needs a secure facility for girls? How high a priority is getting such a facility built?

5. A class-action lawsuit in 1991 resulted in a consent decree being signed by the department often referred to as the Juan F. consent decree. The decree called for DCF to meet 22 outcome measures. The Juan F. monitor's October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006 report showed DCF to be meeting 16 of the 22 court-ordered measures. How do you plan on guiding the department through meeting the final six benchmarks?

6. As of October 1, 2007, children who violate a Family with Service Needs court order can no longer be detained on that basis alone. Previously, as many as 500 children a year were detained on this ground (most often for running away). Will DCF be ready to handle this major shift in policy?

7. How do you plan to work with the state Department of Education to reduce truancy?

8. The mission of the department is “to protect children, improve child and family well-being, and support and preserve families. ” Which do you believe is DCF's top priority?

9. Describe your managerial responsibilities over the past 10 years. How many people have you supervised? What size budgets were you in charge of? How will this experience make you ready and able to manage 4,000 employees and handle an $ 800 million budget?

10. A 2004 study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy of benefit-cost analyses of youth prevention programs showed that preventing children from getting into trouble is more cost-effective than reforming them after they get into trouble. What percentage of your efforts will be addressed towards prevention?

RO: ts