State legislators eager to hear where the promised closure of the state’s controversial jail for young offenders stands were given an update Monday – and the Department of Children and Families has yet to offer an alternative solution to house and care for the couple of dozen youths who require a locked facility on any given day.
The department five months ago said it was looking into using two alternative properties owned by the state – High Meadows in Hamden or the Ella Grasso Regional Center in Stratford – but needed more time to determine whether either was feasible.
At that time, DCF officials said they were planning to host forums over the next three months to gauge options for serving some youth through private providers and have architects tour High Meadows, Ella Grasso and other properties to determine the best alternative to the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) in Middletown.
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On Monday, DCF told the human services subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee that it has not analyzed the cost to retrofit the other facilities nor has it solicited proposals yet from nonprofit community providers for help delivering care.
“We will be engaging in a collaborative process with a group of stakeholders to tour the properties with the chief architect from [the Department of Administrative Services] to weigh the pros and cons of each location and develop cost estimates in the coming months,” the agency wrote in documents submitted to the subcommittee.
The push to close the Connecticut Juvenile Training School followed criticism from national experts of Connecticut’s approach to juvenile justice and a state watchdog’s
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