Office of the Child Advocate

At a Glance

JEANNE MILSTEIN, Child Advocate

Mickey Kramer, Associate Child Advocate

Julie McKenna, Assistant Child Advocate

Moira O’Neill, Assistant Child Advocate (1/4 time)

Heather Panciera, Assistant Child Advocate

Faith Vos Winkel, Assistant Child Advocate

Sharon Dexler, Administrative Assistant

Janet Santiago, Processing Technician

Elysa Gordon, Assistant Child Advocate (3/4 time)

Christina Ghio, Assistant Child Advocate

Marcy Neff, Riverview Monitor (3/4 time)

Established - 1995

Statutory authority - CGS §46a-13k, et seq.

Central office – 999 Asylum Avenue,

Hartford, CT 06105

Number of employees – 11

Recurring operating expenses - $1,036,236

Mission

The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) speaks for Connecticut’s children. The OCA was created in 1995 to be an independent voice for children rather than an administrator of programs. OCA’s mission is to oversee the care and protection of Connecticut’s children and to advocate for their well-being. OCA is committed to ensuring that all children receive the care and supports they need.

Statutory Responsibility

The statutory responsibilities include evaluating the procedures for and the delivery of state-funded services to children, investigating inquiries or complaints regarding children, recommending changes in state policy, conducting programs of public education, legislative advocacy and proposing systemic reform, reviewing conditions and procedures of all public and private facilities where children are placed, providing training and technical assistance to children’s attorneys, initiating or intervening in court cases on behalf of children, serving on the Child Fatality Review Panel and conducting a fatality review on the circumstances of the death of a child due to unexpected or unexplained causes, in order to facilitate development of prevention strategies to address identified trends and patterns of risk and to improve coordination of services for children and families in the state.

Public Service

OCA has brought about significant change for Connecticut families and children. OCA helps families by educating and informing them about services for children, coaching them through various public systems, reviewing individual cases, advocating for children at risk, and addressing broad public policy issues. These reviews and investigations not only help the OCA address individual problems, but also assist the OCA in identifying the systems issues that need to be addressed. The activities of the OCA benefit the children of this state, and serve as a catalyst for policy and legislative change.

Improvements/Achievements 2008-09

• Continued to commit extensive staff resources to examine the pathways and conditions of confinement of youth in or at-risk for entering the adult justice system;
• Identified costly and duplicative bureaucracy existing in state run and state funded agencies, institutions, programs and services for children;
• Responded to almost 1,000 request for assistance regarding specific children;
• Conducted reviews of the cases of individual children in congregate care settings and institutions to intervene on behalf of these children and to enhance our systemic oversight and monitoring efforts;
• Continued (until June 30, 2009) formal monitoring of the state’s children’s psychiatric hospital, Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth, under a two year agreement ordered by the Governor;
• Made diligent efforts on behalf of children with complex medical conditions and developmental disabilities to ensure better protection for our most vulnerable children and towards creating more supports and services;
• Continued vigorous advocacy for children in out-of-state placements;
• Led legislative efforts for children with behavioral issues, educational stability for children in foster care and children transitioning into adulthood;
• Remained an active participant and convener of many task forces and committees which are responsible for the development of policy that impacts the children of Connecticut;
• Reviewed all unexpected and unexplained child fatalities via the Child Fatality Review Panel, providing information about health and fatality risks to children offering an opportunity to examine the effectiveness of state agencies and community programs as child welfare safety nets, and inspiring advocacy for systems improvement and prevention strategies.

Reducing Waste

The Office of the Child Advocate is committed to regular reviews of its current operating procedures aimed at reducing waste and increasing efficiency. The OCA has implemented operating policies and procedures and has computerized office operations. We continue to utilize resources electronically rather than printing all necessary documents. We use our website to distribute reports. We also have a specific energy savings plan.

Strategic Planning

The OCA has set the following priorities for the next fiscal year:

• Continue to represent the OCA in the W.R. class action.

• Review the circumstances of children under the age of six who are in congregate care. Congregate care is problematic for all children in out of home care; it is particularly detrimental for young children who need a consistent, reliable, primary caregiver and no disruption in placement.
• Continue investigating the care and protection of children who are placed in both DCF operated and licensed facilities.

• Complete a review of DCF’s voluntary services program.
• Continue advocacy and efforts to provide more resources for enhanced home and community-based services for children with disabilities and special health care needs.
• Enhance efforts to get DCF more involved with discharge planning and treatment planning for children in the custody and care of the Department of Correction. Continue to work with DOC to ensure that the girls at York and the boys at Manson receive the best possible care.
• Continue our advocacy and efforts to focus more attention on better transition planning and implementation to help young adults reach their full potential.
• Continue aggressive efforts to ensure that the law which raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to eighteen be implemented.
• Complete, in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General, an investigation regarding compliance of public school professionals and administrators with mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect