An independent review of the state’s Division of Children, Youth and Families, released Monday, provides plenty of evidence that DCYF is not protecting vulnerable children from abuse and neglect. There has been enough talk and study. The system needs to be fixed before another child dies.
Chris Sununu, who will be sworn in as governor on Jan. 5, must lead the effort to implement the urgently needed reforms outlined in this damaging report. He was briefed at length on the review’s findings, and he says he has met with “frustrated” DCYF staff members. He told the Union Leader “clearly things need to change” and that he intends to make improvements in child protection a priority.
For the sake of the vulnerable children involved, Sununu needs to use his new influence and power to make good on that promise.
The DCYF report, prepared by the Center for the Support of Families, documented an understaffed, overloaded and stressed-out agency that is not doing its job, and can’t do it. A center official described the situation as “traumatized” staff trying to deal with “traumatized” children and families. Unless a child had an obvious serious injury, the vast majority of reports of alleged abuse were declared “unfounded, ” even in the face of repeated reports involving the same family, even when there was evidence that something had happened to a child, even when a social worker determines that a child is at very high risk. Why? Because case workers feel that state law makes it too hard to prove neglect or risk of harm to supervisors or the courts.
That explanation is plainly unacceptable, and dangerous.
Gov. Maggie Hassan, now on her way to the U.S. Senate, initiated the DCYF review a year ago in response to the deaths of Brielle Gage, 3, and Sadie Willott, 21 months. DCYF had been involved with both families, in Gage’s case 10 times. Now, it is up to Sununu, with the backing of his party’s full control of the Senate and House, to take decisive action and make sure that these girls will be remembered for making life safer for other children.
“If they don’t implement the recommendations then it is all for nothing. It’s just a waste of time,” Nashua Police Capt. David Bailey, who worked on the Gage case, told the Nashua Telegraph. Of course, he’s right.
The consultant recommends that the state set up a statewide “implementation” team to carry out their recommendations and monitor progress. We think a stronger, more focused response, independent of the Department of Health and Human Services and DCYF, is needed and will be more effective over the long term.
To that end, we strongly endorse a detailed proposal now before the Commission to Review Child Abuse Fatalities that would establish an independent Office of Child Advocate to oversee DCYF child protection services. We believe that the OCA would be best able to push for the reforms outlined in the consultant’s report. Beleaguered DCYF workers and administrators would welcome that support.
Critics have faulted the consultant’s review for not addressing the Gage and Willott deaths, because the state said those cases were pending in court. But supporters of the child advocate say that office can find a “path” between the criminal cases and the public’s need to know if the child protection system had failed. We need that level of transparency to make sure we are doing all we can to keep at risk children safe.
“We can debate how we got to this point, or we can resolve to take reasonable efforts to avoid reaching this crisis point again,” commission member John DeJoie wrote to his colleagues on the Child Fatalities Commission.
“Developing an Office of Child Advocate is a reasonable effort,” he said.
We agree.