The governor’s nominee for head of the Department of Children and Families, Jodi Hill-Lilly, moved to the next step in her confirmation on Friday, garnering approval from Senate leadership after an enthusiastic hearing filled with applause and laughter from dozens of supporters.
Hill-Lilly, who had been the deputy commissioner of administration at DCF, has served as the interim director since Vannessa Dorantes left the agency at the start of the year. If approved, Hill-Lilly would be DCF’s second Black commissioner.
Hill-Lilly’s confirmation before the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee drew dozens of supporters, including DCF workers, friends and family. After Friday’s meeting, her confirmation heads to the full Senate.
“For the past five years, I can say with confidence, that while we’ll always have more to do, Connecticut DCF is moving in the right direction,” Hill-Lilly said during her introductory remarks.
DCF is charged with caring for many of the state’s most vulnerable residents. They investigate claims of child abuse and neglect, care for the state’s foster children, offer services to help parents and provide mental health care programs for kids across Connecticut.
Ahead of the hearing Friday, lawmakers questioned Hill-Lilly about some of the serious issues facing DCF, including workforce challenges, a system struggling to meet the mental health needs of children and recent high-profile reports of abuse and neglect.
Hill-Lilly has worked for the state for more than 30 years and most recently supervised the department’s administrative functions such as human resources, the Academy for Workforce Development and fiscal services, among other areas. Early in her career, she was a social worker and supervisor.
She has also served on the faculty for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and as vice president of the National Staff Development Training Association. She has led DCF’s initiative on racial justice.
“We’ll take you up in the Senate next time we are in, but I think you will do very well,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. Duff is also the committee’s co-chair.
Lawmakers commented on Hill-Lilly’s reputation as a pro-workforce administrator and asked how she would handle issues of low morale and lack of workers. Nearly a third of DCF’s workers left the agency in the last five years, Hill-Lilly said, and the agency’s contractors face similar issues.
She added that the agency has built up a division meant to support staffers’ mental health. She’ll keep an eye on case load — not just numbers, she said, but the complexity of the cases.
She said the agency is set to get a new case management system next year, which she thinks will help the agency become more efficient. She also wants to build up local partnerships so that more families can get services in their communities.
“I will listen, I will learn, I will partner and I will act,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to continue the great work started and go a little deeper. We will remain responsive to the emergent needs, particularly post-pandemic.”
Mental health has also been a growing issue for youth nationally, and Hill-Lilly said the agency is seeing more complicated needs from teenagers in Connecticut. Following the pandemic, more children have reported mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and eating disorders.
The heightened need, paired with workforce issues, has strained the state’s mental health care system for children.
It’s one of the biggest issues for DCF, Hill-Lilly said. She said staff are talking about best ways to address the mental health crisis as well as opioid addiction in families DCF serves. They’re also paying particular attention to the efficacy of in-home services that aim to alleviate some of these problems, she said.
Opioid use is a growing problem nationally and within the child welfare system. A recent report from Connecticut’s Office of the Child Advocate showed that at least eight infants and toddlers have died because of fentanyl intoxication over the past few years.
“We have a very significant mental health crisis,” Hill-Lilly said. “I tell people all the time, every time I’m in front of them, everybody needs to be in therapy, because we were all impacted by the pandemic.”
Ranking member Rep. Dave Yaccarino, R-North Haven, questioned Hill-Lilly about DCF efforts to prevent instances of alleged child abuse and neglect that have gained media attention in recent months. He specifically asked about a now-closed Harwinton group home that faced allegations of physical and sexual abuse, a lack of supervision of kids and insufficient therapeutic care for children with histories of severe trauma.
“At the end of the day, your department is tasked to help children and families,” Yaccarino. “And we probably live in one of the most difficult times financially right now for poor people, or families with mental health needs. As you mentioned, there’s a lot of challenges, and I believe you are up to the task.”
Hill-Lilly reiterated that DCF moves quickly to address misconduct and that she doesn’t hesitate to take action if needed.
Among the last exchanges of the meeting was a moment of levity when Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol, asked Hill-Lilly if she would sing for the committee. She’d said earlier that she found singing therapeutic.
“I love your personality, you did an outstanding job at answering these questions,” Martin said. “And I just want to end on a high note. Can you leave us with a little tune?”
The question was met with cheers and applause from the audience while Hill-Lilly doubled over laughing.
Children’s committee co-chairSen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, closed the hearing with praise for Hill-Lilly.
“I am tremendously happy to be able to work with you going forward for the sake of all the children in our state,” Maher said. I know that you are a social worker deeply at heart, that you care for not only the children, you care for the families and you care for your staff, and that is paramount.”