As Joette Katz manages the high-profile case of a five-month old Ansonia boy dying under her agency's supervision, child advocates are waiting to see if the new commissioner of Children and Families has the resolve to avoid the mistakes of some predecessors, who hastily removed children from their homes.
"What has happened in the past is this tendency that whenever there's a problem the decision is to just automatically remove a child from their home," said Jeanne Milstein, the state's child advocate. "It's sometimes been an overreaction by the agency."
Joette Katz
Milstein said after high-profile fatalities in previous years, records often show DCF investigations lead to more children being removed from their homes. On Wednesday, it was determined that the death of an infant, whom DCF had twice declined to remove from his home in recent months, was a homicide.
Katz's plans for the troubled agency are to keep more children with their families, and the commissioner says she will stay the course.
The agency has been under federal court supervision for two decades, following a class-action lawsuit filed by child advocates alleging that the state took children from their families too often, among other complaints. On any given day there are about 4,300 children in state custody and thousands more living at home being supervised by DCF.
Martha Stone, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said after Katz took office four months ago it was inevitable that a child would die during her tenure, as is the case with the leader of every child-protection agency. The challenge, Stone said, would be to stay focused on broader reforms.
"There will always be crisis. There will always be a death, unfortunately," Stone said. "You have to keep your eyes on the prize."
In an interview Wednesday, Katz said the death will not deter her from implementing a sweeping package of changes for the agency, nor will it result in any immediate policy changes.
"I think in the past that's been exactly the mistake, frankly," Katz said. "A child dies and the next thing you know workers are getting thrown under the bus and 500 children get removed [from their homes] the next day because it's a reaction to a tragedy. I think that's the exact wrong way to behave."
Advocates said how Katz, who resigned as a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court to accept Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's appointment to DCF, responds to crisis will be revealing about the commissioner's leadership and where the agency is headed.
"This commissioner is going to be very careful in her reaction -- she's already proven that," Milstein said.
Milstein is the chairwoman of the independent panel that will be responsible for reviewing this recent death in Ansonia. "These are very challenging cases, and sometimes tragedies happen. What these tragedies offer is an opportunity to learn, not to go backwards."
Stone said a similar incident faced former DCF Commissioner Linda Rossi on her first few months on the job with the death of Baby Emily.
"She had the Emily crisis right away. It set the department in a reactive mode right away," she said.
The legislature's non-partisan Office of Legislative Research reported the Baby Emily case resulted in a substantial increase of children being removed from their families and placed in foster care.
"Since the death of baby Emily in early 1995, the [department] has more aggressively removed children from homes where child abuse or neglect is suspected. This policy has stressed a foster care system that provides placements for many of these children," reads another OLR report.
But Katz promises not to become reactive.
"You cannot let tragedies derail you," she said. "I don't want to be glib and say there are going to be other [deaths]. You hope there is never a death of a child. But it's like saying to a police officer you're never going to have a homicide, or to a firefighter, you're never going to have a fire. That's not just reality, which is why it's that much more important to have good policies in place."
However this case does play out, one reality will always remain, said Sarah Eagan, a lawyer for the Center for Children's advocacy.
"You can't predict outcomes all the time. That's the tragic reality," she said. "In the end, you have to take your best evidence and be allowed to make your best decision in each case."
I hope the people of Connecticut know how lucky they are to have someone like Joette Katz running their child welfare agency.
Just last week, I posted a comment on this story (http://www.ctmirror.org/story/12907/dcf-wrap) in which I said the real test for Judge Katz would be the next time a child known-to-the-system dies. Sadly, that test has come too soon. But so far Judge Katz has passed with flying colors.
Foster care panics leave all children less safe. Not only do they harm the children needlessly removed, they also overload the system, making it harder for
Read More"On Wednesday, it was determined that the death of an infant, whom DCF had twice declined to remove from his home in recent months, was a homicide."
"I don't want to be glib and say there are going to be other [deaths]. You hope there is never a death of a child. But it's like saying to a police officer you're never going to have a homicide, or to a firefighter, you're never going to have a fire. That's not just reality, which is why it's that much more important to have good policies in place."
Commissioner Katz,
Your analogy
"On Wednesday, it was determined that the death of an infant, whom DCF had twice declined to remove from his home in recent months, was a homicide."
"I don't want to be glib and say there are going to be other [deaths]. You hope there is never a death of a child. But it's like saying to a police officer you're never going to have a homicide, or to a firefighter, you're never going to have a fire. That's not just reality, which is why it's that much more important to have good policies in place."
Commissioner Katz,
Your analogy
It is worthy to note that, statistically, the primary killers of children are their mothers acting alone (38.3%), followed by their fathers acting alone (18.1%), or parents acting together (17.9%) for a total of 74.3%.
Despite these facts there are those that advocate that the safest course to follow is to keep the abused child in its home. It is assumed that all parents are naturally suited to raise their children with no allowance made for dysfunctional individuals who become parents.
No child deserves to live in daily terror
What family Unit? I would love for Ms Katz to define the family unit before she reunifys these defensless children with the very ones that have been suspected of injuring or neglecting them. Many will reunify abused children with their abusers because they believe in family presevation at all costs or as the directory of social services here once quoted, "blood is thicker than water". Ms.Katz, if I walked up to YOU right now and slapped YOU across the face, YOU could have me arrested for simple battery (misdemeanor). If I injured YOU in any way
Read MoreWhat Judge Katz faces
Well, at least now everybody reading this page knows what Judge Katz is up against.
The vicious smearing of all families caught in the net of agencies like DCF has been used to justify the needless destruction of families ever since 19th Century “child savers” as they proudly called themselves, used horror stories about the small percentage of brutally abused children to justify taking away immigrant children because of their parents’ poverty.
Today, the horror stories cited by the Alvarezes still make up a tiny fraction of the cases seen by DCF workers. Far more common
Read MoreYou are correct Mr. Wexler. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. If the numbers continue to rise, one might believe that the way CPS is handling business is just not working out. While I believe that you and I want what is in the best interest of the child - we are on opposing sides. While I choose not to berate you, you continue to berate those that offer different opinions. I want to make it very clear to you Mr. Wexler...WE are NOT
Read More45% above national average of cases in conneticut children are removed? Some how I find that to be incorrect, however if it is then i question why. Are social workers trained to recognize the signs and symptoms that children that are abused tend to show? ALL children deserve to be treated with care and compassion! Why do social services continually put children back into homes where nurturing and adequate care do not exist? Or leave children with parents who cause severe injury in the "name of discipline"? The entire nation lives with blinders on for fear of being sued for
Read MoreFederal legislators, influenced by the testimony of family preservationists, passed a law permitting the reunification of the siblings of a murdered child with the parent that killed the child. See Title 42, USC, Subsection 5106a. This same law says that if you horrifically injure your child you can still be reunified with that child. That’s how much family preservationists want a dysfunctional family to stay together.
And as if that was not enough, legislators attached a clause ensuring confidentiality to protect the identity of a child not old enough to have a reputation. Every news agency
Abusers are very good at what they do, that is Abuse. They are criminals, no matter how you look at it you can send them to seminars/classes/rehab, mental health, it still remains they Abuse!!!! The abuse gets worse once they get away with it or forgiven.
All the signs of abuse are there and the common sense is nil. You can have all the degrees, certificates, education in child care, but not see the common sense or FEEL the warning signs of ABUSE in a child or baby.
Kathy post will be remove soon too….because a women who age out of the system and knows what happens behind close door, should be silent ……the problem is DCF take a lot of children from good home…or for the wrong reason like the women who just won her case on Thursday in Conn. Highest court …DCF said she was mental Ill which was proven to be just lies….She had 3 children taken hour after the children were born because when she was 16 she had a brain tumor remove…….you can look it that up on CT-N because they
Read MoreKimberly, I am well aware of the case you mentioned above as well as the case with baby Emily years back.
Just think all those that were part of DCF a long time ago and aged out of the system came forward and told their stories of survival.
God help the children.
I think you should because the Best Interest of the child is qualified immunity....not absolute immunity .....and Katz just promoted one of the worst
thank you for not removing
"This is an investment worthy of being made."
Gov. Malloy to charter school students who had been bused to the Capitol Tuesday evening to thank him for proposing an increase in funds for charters.
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