ACTION 1: On February 4, 1999, the Department
of Children and Families (DCF) received an anonymous complaint and allegations concerning
abuse and neglect of detainees at the New Haven Detention Center.
Reported June 23, 1999:
On February 24, 1999, DCF notified
the Judicial Branch that they were conducting an investigation regarding
allegations of abuse at the New Haven Detention Center.
On February 26, 1999, Judicial Branch
representatives informed States Attorney Michael Dearington of the investigation;
Mr. Dearington contacted the State Police.
In concert with DCF, the Judicial Branch
implemented a safety plan at the Detention Center requiring a high supervisory level
employee to monitor the centers operations from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.
On April 29, 1999, the New
Haven Detention Center Supervisor was reassigned; Leo Arnone, Supervisor of
Hartford Detention, was assigned to New Haven Juvenile Detention Center effective on May
4, 1999.
ACTION 2: On June 2, 1999, DCF delivered the
Special Investigation Unit Report to Judicial Branch representatives, charging 19
employees with physical abuse and neglect.
Reported June 23, 1999:
On June 2, 1999, Judicial
Branch representatives contacted States Attorney Michael Dearington and forwarded
the DCF Report to him.
On June 7, 1999, the Judicial Branch
requested and received agreement from the Office of the Child Advocate to serve as a
monitor at the New Haven Detention Center site.
On June 8, 1999, the Judicial Branch placed 8
employees (charged with physical abuse) on suspension pending completion of an internal
investigation. Nine others (charged with physical neglect) were informed that they
are the subject of an internal investigation. Two employees have resigned.
ACTION 3: Investigate all allegations
contained in the DCF report.
Reported August 6, 1999
Attorney Glenn Coe continues to investigate
the allegations in the DCF report.
Reported June 23, 1999:
After numerous meetings
with Court Support Services Division (CSSD) staff and discussions with Judicial Branch
managers, a process to conduct the investigation was developed.
Reported July 19, 1999
An employee (suspended for physical abuse on
June 7, 1999) was terminated on July 19, 1999, for failure to successfully complete the
probationary period for attainment of permanent status.
ACTION 4: Conduct a review
of all detention supervisory and direct care staff job descriptions.
Reported August 6, 1999
The evaluation process has begun for the
new job series as outlined above.
Reported June 23, 1999:
A working group was
established to review job descriptions, duties and qualifications. A comparison with other
states will be conducted.
Reported July 19, 1999:
The review of job
descriptions has been completed and is currently being reviewed and evaluated by the Human
Resources Management Unit of the Judicial Branch. The new job descriptions will be further
reviewed by the team of experts, coming at our request, from the U.S. Department of
Justice in September 1999.
ACTION 5: Enhance the direct
supervision of detention line staff.
Reported July 19, 1999:
An interim staff enhancement plan was
completed. Its goal is to ensure adequate supervisory, social work, and detention staff on
all shifts. It requires the filling of 18 vacancies in juvenile detention and the creation
of 30 new positions.
These positions have been advertised. The
closing date for acceptance of applications is August 16, 1999.
NEW:
The closing date for applications for
Juvenile Detention staff has expired and interviewing will begin during September and
October. The posting for Classification and Program Officers has been extended by two
weeks.
A new acting Shift Supervisor has been
assigned to the 4pm to midnight shift, replacing a supervisor under suspension. This move
will provide support to the present shift supervisor and additional supervision to staff.
ACTION 6: Improve employee screening and
selection procedures for juvenile detention.
Reported June 23, 1999:
Recently the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) completed a study on the screening of
persons working with children. A request was made to the Administrator of OJJDP to provide
us with technical assistance to redesign our screening and selection procedures.
Reported July 19, 1999:
Effective July 6, 1999, the DCF Child Abuse
Registry was added to our screening process for prospective hires for all juvenile
detention positions. This is in addition to a physical exam, a drug screening test and a
criminal history record check.
NEW:
The Judicial Branch is exploring University
and College level programs that specialize in the education and training of detention
personnel. At the National Juvenile Detention Associations Center for Research and
Professional Development at Michigan State University, there exists a certification
program designed for juvenile detention line staff. Additional program information is in
transit, as we continue to seek out specialized programs of this nature.
Dr. David Roush from Michigan State
University will begin a review of hiring standards and practices during his visit to
Connecticut on August 30 and 31, 1999.
ACTION 7: Conduct additional
targeted training for detention staff in New Haven.
Reported August 6, 199
Education and Training Program
(ETP) special training sessions for staff at the New Haven Juvenile Detention Center began
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 and will continue for 6 weeks. Topics include; (1) From Policy to
Practice, (2) Communication and Conflict Resolution, and (3) Developmental Stages of
Juveniles.
All New Haven Detention Center employees have
completed a policy and procedure review program with Interim Supervisor, Leo
Arnone.
Reported June 23, 1999:
Judicial Branch officials
met with representatives from Educational Training Programs Incorporated (ETP) to discuss
immediate training needs for the New Haven juvenile detention staff and to determine the
content of the training. All New Haven staff will receive a minimum of two days of
training on techniques for managing youth with emotional or cognitive disabilities.
Reported July 19, 1999:
At our request, ETP has
developed a training course outline designed to meet the needs of the New Haven Detention
Center.
At our request, Lindsay Hayes, Project
Director of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, will conduct a review of
our suicide prevention policy and training program.
We have completed a review of existing mental
health services contracts, which include the requirement that they train other detention
staff who deal with juveniles with mental health problems.
At our request, the Department
of Administrative Services (DAS) Strategic Leadership Center offered assistance in
training. DAS will partner with our training coordinator to identify needs and resources.
NEW:
ETP continues to facilitate special training
sessions for staff at the New Haven Detention Center. All staff have completed two of the
three special sessions.
ACTION 8: Complete this years In-Service
Training Program for all detention staff.
Reported August 6, 1999
In-service training in New Haven was
completed on Friday, July 23, 1999.
Reported June 23, 1999:
Presently all juvenile detention staff
are completing their yearly 40 hours of mandatory training. This training, which began in
April, includes medication administration and refresher training on suicide prevention,
which were areas of concern in the DCF report.
Reported July 19, 1999:
In-service training
continues at the New Haven Detention Center and will continue to run concurrently with the
ETP special training.
ACTION 9: Improve detention living
conditions and increase available space.
Reported August 6, 1999
OPM has approved funding, as of October 15,
1999, for 10 additional girls beds in Hartford. Four beds will open in Hamden as
soon as practicable. Community Solutions, Inc. has completed their training and has opened
10 beds in Norwalk. These additions will bring the number of secure juvenile detention
beds for girls to 44.
A comprehensive checklist of basic supply
needs for juveniles was developed and forwarded to each facility for completion.
Significant work has been completed to
develop program specifications for the new Bridgeport facility. Both new facilities in
Hartford and Bridgeport are in the design phase.
Reported June 23, 1999:
The first meeting with the
architects to design the new Hartford Detention Center was held this week. The importance
of this project to the Branch was emphasized and an aggressive schedule for its completion
is being developed.
In Bridgeport, as an interim step, we have
met and are pursuing the potential conversion of the present Juvenile Court (Clerks
Office, Courtroom) to detention support space.
Various state and local agencies were
contacted to identify potential space that might be suitable for use as a detention
center.
The Judicial Branch awarded a contract to
upgrade the heating and air conditioning system at the New Haven Detention Center to be
completed in September 1999.
Since many physical and programmatic
enhancements needed at state detention centers are presently unbudgeted, a search was been
initiated to identify new sources of funds to support the cost of these improvements.
Reported July 19, 1999:
Options have been
reviewed to develop girls beds in secure physical facilities. Ten girls beds
have opened in Hamden; ten beds in will open in Norwalk next week; and ten beds will be
available in Hartford in October 1999.
Judge Leuba wrote to the heads
of several state agencies requesting assistance in locating space for new secure detention
centers.
ACTION 10: Compare
Connecticuts detention program with recognized national standards and other states.
Reported August 6, 1999
OPM forwarded our request for technical
assistance to OJJDP. We requested Dr. David Roush to provide recommendations on hiring
practices and training, to compare Connecticut Juvenile Detention Centers standards and
practices with ACA standards, and review other programming.
Through the National Center for Juvenile
Justice, Joseph K. Mullen was identified and recommended for evaluating training programs
for staff of juvenile detention centers. We have requested his assistance in our request
for technical assistance to the OJJDP.
CSSD staff met with Sarina Roffé of the New
York City Department of Juvenile Justice, Office of Public Affairs on July 23, 1999. We
toured the new juvenile detention facility in the Bronx and met with Stephanie
Prussack,
Director of Horizons Juvenile Detention Center.
Reported June 23, 1999:
Utilizing the American Corrections
Associations National Juvenile Detention Standards, along with the detention
operation recommendations from OJJDPs Detention Conditions of Confinement Study, a
comparative analysis of our detention centers is being conducted.
Reported July 19, 1999:
Review continues on
various juvenile justice standards that have been published. Contacts have been made with
benchmark programs from which we are seeking advice and counsel.
NEW:
Judicial Branch officials have gathered
preliminary information regarding hiring practices, standards, and pay scales for Juvenile
Detention Officers from Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and California. Based on the
information available to date, Connecticuts minimum qualification requirements
either parallel or surpass those of other states surveyed. Connecticut Juvenile Detention
Officers perform similar job functions as detention officers in the states listed, and
they receive higher pay. A letter will be sent to 25 Juvenile Detention Centers this week
requesting information about hiring practices and salaries for further comparison.
Dr. David Roush of Michigan State University
will begin comparing CTs standards with ACA standards on August 30, 1999. His
two-day visit will include tours of state run juvenile detention centers as well as
private detention centers, and meetings with administrative staff.
ACTION 11: Increase independent monitoring at
the New Haven Detention Center.
Reported June 23, 1999:
In addition to federal court monitoring
that has been occurring in accordance with the consent judgment, we have contracted with
the Office of the Child Advocate to provide 25 hours a week of on-site monitoring at the
New Haven Detention Center. A monitor has been selected and will start June 21, 1999.
Reported July 19, 1999:
At our request, Mr. Tom Moriarty, hired as
the Independent Monitor by the Office of the Child Advocate, has been on site at the New
Haven Detention Center since June 21, 1999. In his first report, covering June 28
July 4, he indicated, "I observed no behaviors that I would consider verbally or
physically abusive."
At his suggestion, we will record in the
detainee discipline log the actual time a child is released from room confinement.
The monitor points out some deficiencies in
the area of medicine administration. We are investigating the cost and feasibility of
contracting out all medicine administration.
Mr. Moriarty commented that DCF should be
asked to provide training with respect to the mandated reporter law and a letter has been
sent to Commissioner Kristine Ragaglia requesting the above.
ACTION 12: Establish a committee to
address detention overcrowding.
Reported June 23, 1999:
The
committee members have been appointed and the Attorney Generals Office is in the
process of modifying the consent judgment to include the facilitation of this committee by the federal court monitor Don DeVore. A
committee work plan has been developed and the first meeting is planned for early next
month.
Reported July 19, 1999:
The first meeting of the
Juvenile Detention Overcrowding Committee, chaired by Judge John Ronan, Deputy Chief Court
Administrator, met July 15, 1999. Representatives from the Chief Court
Administrators office, the Office of the States Attorney, the Office of the
Public Defender, the Attorney Generals Office, the Chief Administrative Judge for
Juvenile, other juvenile judges, members of CSSD, the Federal Monitor, DCF, and OPM were
present. Additional members to be invited are two members of the Legislature, and the
State Department of Education.
At the first meeting, a presentation was made
by Tom White, Director of CSSD Operations, who reviewed facilities, juvenile profile
statistics, current programs and services. Don DeVore reviewed his involvement with the
State of Connecticut and the terms and conditions of the Court Consent Decree. The next
meeting agenda includes presentations from Don DeVore on the use and purpose of Juvenile
Detention; national initiatives to reduce detention crowding; risk assessment as a guide
to placement in detention; case processing to improve efficiency; and implementation and
monitoring recommendations. Bill Carbone, Executive Director, CSSD, will present
alternatives to placement in detention. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday,
August 25, 1999.
ACTION 13: Enhance medical and mental
health services.
Reported August 6, 1999
Arrangements have been made to increase
psychiatric care in the New Haven and Bridgeport facilities to begin immediately. Similar
arrangements will be made in Hartford upon the psychiatrists return from vacation.
In response to our inquiry, the Yale Child
Study Center and the Yale Psychiatric Institute each submitted a proposal this week to
enhance contracted services to the New Haven Juvenile Detention Center in the long term.
Services proposed include group therapy and therapeutic interventions for detainees during
evening hours. Enhanced training is proposed to prepare detention staff to work more
effectively together and with outside consultants in maintaining order and safety;
decreasing negative psychological effects on children while detained, and providing
options for responding to the mental health needs of detainees. Both proposals will be
further reviewed by September, 1999.
We continue to work with Dr. Walter Anyan,
head of Adolescent Medicine at Yale, who is developing a model for outsourcing medication
dissemination. Upon completion, we will be meeting with Bridgeport and Hartford to propose
this as a model. We are planning implementation in all three centers as of September 1,
1999.
Reported July 19, 1999:
We have consulted with Dr.
Walter Anyan, head of Adolescent Medicine at Yale and Dr. Donald Cohen, Director of Yale
Child Study Center, who provide and supervise medical and psychiatric services at the New
Haven Detention Center. Each is prepared to offer increased hours in the short run and is
reviewing longer-term systemic changes. We expect to receive a proposal from Yale Child
Study Center within the next two weeks, which will allow Yale Child Study Center to
provide medication to detainees three times per day, seven days per week.
All providers of mental health services at
the detention centers have been contacted; budgets have been requested to increase the
services they provide at each site.
NEW:
Judicial Branch officials met with official
from the University of Connecticut Health Center to coordinate the delivery of mental
health and medical services for juveniles in detention. The creation of alternate service
delivery models have been requested by September 1, 1999.
Contracted medical and mental health services
have been expanded to include the following:
Current Practice
Expanded
These changes will take effect on or about September 1,
1999.
ACTION 14: Enhance other detention
programming.
Reported August 6, 1999
A proposal has been accepted
for immediate implementation to increase recreation activities in New Haven during the
summer. We are exploring the option of providing enhanced recreational services year round
in all three facilities.
A member of the Ombudsman Association has
submitted a proposal for an Ombudsman program. The proposal will be reviewed this week.
On Thursday, July 29, we met with
representatives of the Wheeler Clinic. We explored options for a therapeutic treatment
program for adolescents with psychiatric service needs. We will further explore contracted
school options.
Education and Training Program (ETP) has
agreed to extend his contract with CSSD for Educational Services Evaluation to include the
three detention centers, beginning with the New Haven facility.
Reported July 19, 1999:
We are reviewing activity
schedules at each detention center with special regard to the hours between 2pm and 8pm.
Educationally, we are investigating the
possibilities of incorporating year round school and of starting school earlier in the
detention cycle.
At our request, ETP, a
private consulting firm, is conducting an educational standards audit in all three
state-run detention centers, with specific concentration on New Haven, which will be completed by August 30, 1999. The
study will review policy and practice and make a series of recommendations.
We are reviewing programmatic
options for an Ombudsman Program and will develop a model in the next two weeks.
NEW:
As of August 2, 1999, an expanded
recreational program has been implemented in New Haven. Recreation activities are offered
in the morning and in the evening for five hours each day, Monday through Friday. The
program emphasizes team work and cooperative games, while engaging detention center staff
and detainees in a structured, creative environment.
The Judicial Branch has contracted with the
Connecticut Correction Ombudsman, Incorporated, to provide ombudsman services. They are
eager to participate in discussions regarding an Ombudsman program for juvenile detention
and are sending program materials.
A review of the Local Education Agency
obligations according to the Consent Decree are being reviewed and a strategy for
compliance is being developed.
ETP will evaluate educational service
delivery in the Juvenile Detention Centers, within the requirements of the mandates. ETP
will also look at educational models that are effective with detained youth.
Members of the Central Placement Team,
Long Lane administrators, DCF and Judicial representatives met on August 16, 1999 to look
at an expedited process for juveniles awaiting placement in detention.
A reminder was sent to all detention staff
regarding the "Division Policy" that states that all staff are required to
report suspected abuse or neglect to DCF.
ACTION 15: Explore funding sources to
support detention improvements.
Reported July 19, 1999:
At our request, OPM staff
have joined our weekly Judicial work group established by Judge Leuba to recommend a
comprehensive set of improvements in the detention center.
|