Sen. Fasano Calls for Public Hearing on DCF’s “2016 Revised Exit Plan”
October 3, 2016Hartford – Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) today wrote to legislative leaders asking lawmakers to organize an immediate public hearing to review and discuss the “2016 Revised Exit Plan” approved by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill last week regarding federal court oversight of the state’s Department of Children & Families. This plan is a new agreement made between DCF and the plaintiff of the 1989 “Juan F” class-action lawsuit which led to the agency being placed under federal court oversight for decades to monitor the agency’s failure to properly care for vulnerable children.
“Immediate discussion is needed to ensure that the legislature is not limited by a small window of time during next year’s session in which to address this very complicated and far reaching issue,” wrote Sen. Fasano.
“As you are aware, the exit plan will be submitted to the legislature within three days of the opening of the 2017 legislative session and we will have just thirty days to review and act upon it,” Fasano wrote. “We need to ensure that this agreement made between only two parties, the plaintiff and the Department of Children & Families, is open to input from all experts and advocacy groups, including but not limited to the Office of the Child Advocate. If approved this agreement will have a long-term impact on the state of Connecticut, therefore input from all parties including advocacy organizations and families must be taken into consideration prior to making any legislative decision on this matter.”
Sen. Fasano highlighted three questions he hopes to address in a public hearing:
- Why does DCF continue to fail to meet children’s needs and fail to meet five other critical quality measures?
- Will the Revised Exit Plan assist DCF in meeting these measures and if so, how?
- Does the Revised Exit Plan address the challenges created by new DCF policies, such as the FAR program, and the risk assessment failures identified by the Child Advocate and others and if so how?
Sen. Fasano pointed to multiple areas in which Connecticut continues to fail to meet the requirements set forward by the court monitor to properly meet the needs of children in its care. He also questioned whether the Revised Exit Plan offers enough guidance to make a difference, especially considering that the state is still failing to meet the same measures it was prior to the current administration.
Sen. Fasano also raised concerns about the court order potentially treading on separation of powers.
“Further, while I am certainly in favor of efforts to protect funding for child services throughout the state, I also cannot ignore that this court order treads on separation of powers. At a time when the state is dealing with this same issue as it relates to an overreaching Connecticut Supreme Court ruling on school funding, we similarly have to consider the impact of the court acting beyond its authority and how each branch of government must work in balance with the others. This court ordered plan could set precedent and result in control over large areas of state policy as well as budgeting and spending being ceded by the legislature to the Judiciary Branch,” said Fasano.
“A court order that supersedes the will of the legislature and binds future legislatures to a court ordered spending plan and oversight for an unknown period of time simply because the current leadership lacks the political will to adequately prioritize and fund child services has to be weighed carefully.”
Sen. Fasano urged lawmakers to begin the process of reviewing this court order as soon as possible and not wait until after the November election.
“It’s important to note that this plan was negotiated and agreed to by Commissioner Katz, represented by private counsel, and the particular plaintiffs to this action. DCF’s private counsel should be obligated to make a full explanation of the breadth and magnitude of the document that they negotiated to bind the legislature now and in the future. The Office of the Child Advocate, the legislature, other advocacy groups, families and other interested parties deserve the opportunity to share their input now as well.
“I believe that starting the conversation now is necessary to ensure that lawmakers can make a decision in the best interest of Connecticut’s children without being rushed through a very complicated issue during the first thirty days of a busy legislative session. This is our duty and we owe the public, families impacted by DCF and others a thoughtful and transparent look at whether this plan is in the best interests of the children of our state.”