The state abruptly postponed a daylong training conference for child protection workers this week, saying the agency needs to focus on its work.
The Division for Children, Youth and Families annual conference was set to take place at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester on Friday and include speakers, training and awards. Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers decided at the start of the week to delay the event until the fall, he said. “In light of the ongoing need to focus on our work, I wanted to postpone the conference,” Meyers said.
The state is in the process of recruiting a new agency director and working to shrink a backlog of 2,800 open abuse and neglect investigations. A new date for the conference has not yet been chosen, Meyers said. “It really will hopefully be a new beginning point for the division as we get new management in place,” he said.
The state incurred some costs from the venue cancellation, though Meyers did not name specific figures. The conference, themed “Back to Basics: The Building Blocks of Safety, Permanency, & Well-Being,” featured a keynote speaker from Cook County Adult Probation in Chicago, Ill., according to a program posted online. The conference would have included all DCYF staff and child advocates.
The program featured training seminars on using drug tests and recognizing substance abuse; identifying and responding to human trafficking; testifying in court hearings and worker safety. The cost for non-state employees ranged from $80 to $130 for the day.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said he agreed with the decision to postpone. “Commissioner Meyers and I discussed his decision to postpone the conference and I agreed with him 100 percent, it’s the right call,” Sununu said in a statement.
DCYF has come under scrutiny since two toddlers under agency watch were killed by their mothers within a year. A recent Monitor investigation found at least eight children since 2011 had DCYF involvement prior to their deaths.
A recent independent review found the agency doesn’t have enough workers to keep up with incoming reports of child abuse and neglect. Facing crushing caseloads, burnout has been a leading cause for staff turnover, the review showed.
Lawmakers are pushing for reform at DCYF, which is currently without a permanent leader. Sununu put the former head on administrative leave last month after learning the agency suspended protocols to close more than 1,500 open investigations over two days in 2016.