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FILE NO.,COURT, AND DATE FILED
3:93CV1944 (D. Conn., Oct. 25, 1993)
CITATIONS
None
CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW NO.
None
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
Martha Stone
Center for Children's Advocacy
University of Connecticut School of Law
65 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06104
(860) 570-5327
Fax: (860) 570-5256
mstone(at)law.uconn.edu
ISSUES
This lawsuit was the first effort by the Center for Children's Advocacy to address the cross-system issues of abused and neglected children, many of whom are simply runaways from child welfare programs and placed in juvenile detention facilities for lack of alternative placements. The suit sought to remedy the serious problem of children languishing in overcrowded detention centers in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford, where sexual and other assaults were prevalent; medical, mental health, educational services, and recreational opportunities were inadequate; and housing conditions were deplorable.
HISTORY AND STATUS
The defendants are the Judicial Department (which manages the detention centers); the Department of Children and Families (DCF) (which oversees the child welfare system, contracts for residential placements, and operates the state training school); and the three city education departments (that deliver the educational services within detention facilities).
The federal court approved a negotiated consent decree on February 6, 1997. In addition to expanded recreation, education, increased staffing and staff training, and a behavior management program, the decree expands medical and mental health care services and staffing through contracts with community health providers (e.g., Yale Child Study Center and the Yale Psychiatric Institute). The decree further mandates that DCF receive a population list from detention centers on a daily basis and work with the youths' attorneys and probation officers to seek alternatives to incarceration.
In 2002, plaintiffs filed a motion for noncompliance to modify the Consent Decree, which resulted in a June 2002 Court Order requiring the Judicial Department and DCF to develop and implement a comprehensive system of screening, assessment, planning, and services for children with mental health needs who were in detention.
Due to continuing noncompliance in delivery of mental health services, plaintiffs negotiated a second court-ordered Settlement Agreement that will remain in effect until October 1, 2007. The parties' agreement generates $8.5 million in new services and improved staff training for children with mental health needs in an effort to divert them from unnecessary detention confinements. Compliance with the agreement will be monitored by a court appointed monitor.
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