After 30 years at DCF, Dorantes, who led the agency through its exit of a monitoring program and COVID-19, will join a foster care nonprofit.
DCF
Posted inGovernment, Justice
DCF commissioner says old juvenile detention center could humanely shelter migrant kids
Officials say a closed juvenile detention center’s history should not rule out repurposing it as a shelter for migrant children.
Posted inGovernment
Covid-19 left hundreds of foster kids in limbo due to backlog of cases
Hundreds of foster children have been waiting months for court hearings that were suspended because of the pandemic.
Posted inHealth
Connecticut’s most vulnerable children even more at risk during coronavirus crisis
The state typically receives 126 child abuse and neglect reports each day. That number fell in one week to 39.
Posted inEducation
State auditors expose gaps in background checks for school bus drivers
State auditors say gaps in criminal background check procedures for school bus drivers could place children in jeopardy.
Posted inGovernment
Federal monitor’s report reflects continuing concerns about DCF, but progress being made
A lawyer for the plaintiffs is optimistic because the agency has made progress in its hiring and caseload goals.
Posted inEducation
Program aims to reduce the suspension of Connecticut’s youngest students
A state-funded program aims to help prevent the suspension of young children by intervening when a child’s behavior is disruptive.
Posted inHealth
New DCF Commissioner emphasizes importance of safe sleep for babies
From 2013 to 2018, Connecticut lost 123 infants to sleep-related deaths alone, according to Child Advocate’s office. DCF is attempting to combat this problem.
Posted inJustice
Getting the dad involved, a new focus for DCF
Da’ee McKnight was in prison for his daughter’s entire childhood. Now he’s working to connect other dads with their kids.
Posted inHealth
Federal monitor’s report in DCF case shows continued concerns
The latest report from DCF’s federal monitor shows that the agency is still failing to meet half of the measures that are part of a court supervised exit plan – particularly those related to hiring and caseloads.
Posted inPolitics
Former DCF Commissioner Katz takes new job at Shipman & Goodwin
Joette Katz Joette Katz, the former commissioner of the Department of Children and Families and the former Connecticut Associate Supreme Court Justice, has taken a job with the prominent Hartford law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP. Katz, who served eight years as commissioner and almost two decades on the state Supreme Court, will work with […]
Posted inEducation
National search for DCF commissioner ends close to home
Vanessa Dorantes joined the Department of Children and Families nearly 27 years ago, one of the scores of social workers hired to bolster an understaffed DCF at the insistence of a federal court monitor. On Monday, she was nominated to lead that agency, which remains under the consent order that led to her hiring in 1992.
Posted inHealth
As DCF’s Katz bows out, the risky world of child protection awaits new administration
Joette Katz, who served under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for eight years, is resigning next month after what is believed to be one of the longest tenures leading a state child-protection agency in the nation. But it wasn’t always easy. Despite Malloy’s loyalty to her, Katz’s abrasive personality, refusal to back down from controversial decisions, and her decision to march the child protection agency in a new and sometimes perilous direction, resulted in a rocky eight years.
Posted inEducation
Final report on DCF under Malloy and Katz cites progress
Connecticut received Monday what is likely to be a federal overseer’s final assessment of the progress made by the Department of Children and Families during the tenure of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Commissioner Joette Katz, saying the state is closer than ever to ending nearly three decades of federal supervision. But not before the next governor takes office.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy’s fifth veto: The new DCF oversight bill
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a measure Wednesday that would have created a new, legislature-controlled, oversight council for the Department of Children and Families, calling it “a significant intrusion by the legislative branch” in executive authority.