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Connecticut Department of Children & Families employees answered questions during a working group meeting at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on August 12, 2025. Susan Hamilton sits on the far right of the table. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

Gov. Ned Lamont named Susan Hamilton, general counsel and a former commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, as the agency’s interim commissioner on Tuesday.

Her predecessor, Jodi Hill-Lilly, left the department Monday after less than two years as its leader.

Hamilton served as commissioner of DCF from 2007 to 2011 under Gov. M. Jodi Rell. During that time, the agency saw some slippage in progress toward meeting children’s basic service needs, according to reports.

Lamont cited Hamilton’s long career at DCF, first as a social worker and later as commissioner, as preparation to return to the role. The agency is charged with the care of thousands of children in foster care and oversees programming to support kids’ mental health needs.

“She returned two years ago to serve as general counsel, and her extensive experience makes her ready to immediately step back into the role as commissioner for a second stint,” Lamont’s statement said. “The services DCF provides — safeguarding some of the most vulnerable youths in our state — are among the most important in government, and it is a function whose work never stops.”

Hamilton, who will be the third person to serve as the head of DCF during the Lamont administration, thanked the governor for selecting her for the position.

“I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to serve again as the DCF commissioner to help lead an incredible and dedicated team who work tirelessly to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of Connecticut’s children and families,” Hamilton said in a statement.

The Center for Children’s Advocacy released a statement in support of Hamilton, saying that its attorneys have long worked cooperatively during her years of work in the state.

“We appreciate her willingness to serve as interim DCF Commissioner during these challenging times,” the organization said in its statement. “Connecticut’s child welfare system continues to confront urgent challenges, including the most serious behavioral health crisis and human service gaps the state has dealt with in many years. We know Sue will continue her longstanding partnership with child welfare stakeholders to strategically address these challenges in the days and weeks ahead.”

Hamilton’s initial tenure as DCF commissioner took place while the agency was under the supervision of a court monitor.

The court monitor was assigned as part of a 1989 federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of “Juan F.,” an anonymous 10-year-old boy representative of a class of children whose needs were unmet by an agency run with poor resources, guided by outdated policies.

The court monitor issued regular reports on the agency’s progress toward reform until DCF was released from the order in 2022.

A 2009 report from the monitor found that nearly half of the children in DCF care weren’t having their basic service needs met, and that the state was losing ground in its court-assigned reforms. The agency saw a drop in the percentage of children who were reunified with their parents from about 72% of cases studies to 56%, according to Children’s Rights, Inc. The group noted that DCF was meeting 15 of the 22 indicators for success, after previously meeting 17 of 22, marking “the state’s worst performance since Susan Hamilton was appointed commissioner of DCF in June 2007.”

Ken Mysogland, bureau chief of external affairs, said during the more than 30 years of the consent decree, it was common for there to be progress and slippage on the goals under various commissioners.

“Throughout every commissioner’s tenure, compliance with the outcome measures may have increased or may have decreased in particular measures due to many factors. Those include budgetary considerations, political implications, the impact of particular societal pressures on families and the emerging nature of risks that our families face,” Mysogland said. ” … At the end of her tenure, the department was in substantial compliance and sustained compliance with all but two of the outcomes.”

In 2009, Hamilton was also arrested and charged with driving under the influence. She participated in a diversionary program that erased the charge from her record.

Committee on Children co-chair Rep. Corey Paris, D-Stamford, said he looks forward to working with Hamilton and hopes to support her in “stabilizing the agency” and supporting kids and families.

Paris said because DCF deals with sensitive issues, it’s often open to criticism and that the blame for the agency’s challenges can’t be put on any one person.

“I think the agency has always been under challenges, and I think it’s just by nature of the agency that we’re talking about and what we’re dealing with,” he said.

Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, the Committee on Children’s other co-chair, said she welcomes Hamilton to the role. “As we look forward to the future of DCF my hope is that children’s welfare will also include a commitment to behavioral health support for all our children to best serve them now and in the future,” Maher wrote to the Connecticut Mirror. “I look forward to working with Commissioner Hamilton in the months ahead.”

Children’s Committee ranking member Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R-Killingly also issued a statement in support of Hamilton.

“With Susan Hamilton stepping in as interim commissioner, my hope is DCF enters this transition maintaining some stability,” Dauphinais’ statement said. “Her experience and appreciation for the department will hopefully improve services while Governor Lamont decides on a permanent successor to focus on what matters most—Connecticut’s children and families.”

Hamilton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and justice studies from the University of New Hampshire, a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, according to Lamont’s office.

Hill-Lilly, the previous commissioner, earned about $250,000 annually, and Hamilton currently earns about $211,000, according to state records.

Laura Tillman is CT Mirror’s Human Services Reporter. She shares responsibility for covering housing, child protection, mental health and addiction, developmental disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. Laura began her career in journalism at the Brownsville Herald in 2007, covering the U.S.–Mexico border, and worked as a statehouse reporter for the Associated Press in Mississippi. She was most recently a producer of the national security podcast “In the Room with Peter Bergen” and is the author of two nonfiction books: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts (2016) and The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo Garcia (2023), which was just awarded the 2024 James Beard Award for literary writing. Her freelance work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Laura holds a degree in International Studies from Vassar College and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College.

Ginny is CT Mirror's children's issues and housing reporter. She covers a variety of topics ranging from child welfare to affordable housing and zoning. Ginny grew up in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas' Lemke School of Journalism in 2017. She began her career at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette where she covered housing, homelessness, and juvenile justice on the investigations team. Along the way Ginny was awarded a 2019 Data Fellowship through the Annenberg Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California. She moved to Connecticut in 2021.