Yesterday, the Office of the Child Advocate released a statement about Jane Doe and the condition of Connecticut's juvenile justice system in general. It is disturbing, powerful and should serve as a call to action for us all. You can read it here:
OCA found:
100 incidents of "assaultive or aggressive behavior" at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the Pueblo Unit in the past three months.
200 incidents of kids being restrained in those facilities - including dangerous prone restraints and handcuffs - in the past 13 weeks.
A number of actions toward Jane Doe that made OCA question the department's ability to act in Jane's best interest - including denying her access to a therapist with whom she'd built a relationship and publicizing Jane's alleged involvement at an incident in the Pueblo Unit. DCF's press release neglected to state that three other girls were involved in the same incident.
Overall, the statement finds a lack of transparency at DCF and a refusal to use a national Performance Based Standards program to monitor conditions within its facilities - a program the Judicial Branch uses for its facilities.
Please contact Governor Dannel Malloy and ask him to hold DCF accountable for the conditions in its facilities and the outcomes for youth in those facilities and to require them to give regular public updates about their improve efforts.
You can reach the governor on Twitter @GovMalloyOffice, by emailGovernor.Malloy@CT.gov or by phone (800) 406-1527.
**Also, WNPR ran a segment yesterday and this morning regarding recent events involving the transgender youth in DCF's custody and the Child Advocate's response. The link to the piece is here.