Former Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz has been nominated by Gov. Dannel Malloy as the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Since her nomination, Katz has spent considerable time meeting with DCF employees in an effort to gain additional insight into the agency.
Although her nomination has not yet been officially approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, Katz has already formed a team of experts to determine the current strengths and weaknesses of the often criticized agency. Inexplicably, the team does not include any attorneys who are in the trenches on a daily basis such as a Commission on Child Protection (CCPA) attorney or an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) who represents DCF in child protection matters.
Katz is considering the idea of reorganizing the current management structure at DCF by eliminating multiple levels of decision makers in an effort to improve relationships between DCF and the families it is intended to serve.
As a mentor to four children in foster care Katz has learned first hand that DCF needs to listen more to families and children.
Any further thoughts on how to improve DCF?
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