To:Child WelfarePartners

From: Susan I. Hamilton, JD, MSW

Re: Juan F. Exit Plan Third Quarter 2009 Report

Date:December 23, 2009

Despite the challenging fiscal climate, Department staff continues to conduct quality work on behalf of Connecticut's children and families. The Juan F. Exit Plan Report (to see the entire report please clickon the following link: filed by the Court Monitor this week shows that during the third quarter of 2009, our staff succeeded in either meeting or coming within 10.3 percent of meeting 20 of the 22 outcome measures. Fifteen outcome measures were met outright. For the 10th consecutive quarter, the Department exceeded the measure for preventing repeat maltreatment. For the 14th consecutive quarter, the Department exceeded the goal for reducing reliance on residential placement, and we brought the percentage of Juan F. children in a residential treatment center to its lowest level ever at 9.6 percent. The number of children in residential placement has been reduced by 418 children or 47 percent since April 2004.

In perhaps the clearest demonstration of how far the Department staff has advanced the quality of our interventions and services to intact families, the number of children under age 18 in care as the result of abuse or neglect is currently slightly above 4,000. That represents a reduction of about 27 percent since December 2004 alone. A number of fundamental reforms have contributed to this trend, including the implementation of Structured Decision Making and the capacity to now provide intensive in-home clinical services to approximately 3,000 families. As noted above, this is happening while the Department continues to meet the measure for preventing repeat maltreatment.

Unquestionably, challenges remain -- particularly in outcomes for treatment plans and needs met. While these two measures took a step back during the quarter, the overall trend line for these two measures has been positive over the last several quarters. In addition, two important activities to improve our treatment planning had not yet been fully implemented during the period, including the training on the new case plan that had just begun in August. Currently, training on the case plan has been completed statewide, and the new case plan is being used in all the area offices.In addition, the transition of the Administrative Case Review (ACR) from the Bureau of Continuous Quality Improvement to the Bureau of Child Welfare will make a substantial positive impact on this outcome. Converting the ACR into an internal area office function makes it more meaningful to the staff responsible for the direct work with families and strengthens the ACR as a tool for improving the entire treatment planning process.

In relation to the outcome measure for needs met, there are a number of initiatives underway to improve the quality of our services and make them more responsive to the individual strengths and needs of our children and families. Among these initiatives are included:

  • The Service Needs Reviews, which have already resulted in more than 36 percent of identified children being removed from the cohorts requiring a higher level of attention;
  • Work to develop more in-state capacity to provide specialized residential treatment services, specialized living and outpatient treatment programs for youth with problem sexual behavior, and the creation of specialized programs for youth with significant behavioral dyscontrol and aggression;
  • Improvements in the Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services program;
  • The planned implementation of a Differential Response System next year, and
  • A new foster parent recruitment and retention campaign guided by data and other input from our current foster families and implemented in partnership with a private marketing firm.

Taken together, the Department is pursuing an impressive array of initiatives to meet the remaining challenges involving treatment planning, family engagement, enhancing the pool of resource families, and meeting the individual needs of children. The goals that remain unmet under the Exit Plan present important challenges to our work. However, I am confident that Department staff -- working together with families and our many other partners -- has the ability and the determination to move these initiatives forward even under difficult circumstances.

I want to thank you for your commitment and hard work to ensure that children and families receive the highest quality services possible, and I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year.