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Citation Against DCF Reversed By Court
By COLIN POITRAS
Courant Staff Writer
December 7, 2007
The state Supreme Court on Thursday reversed
a contempt citation against the Department of Children and Families
for failing to provide court-ordered psychiatric care for a troubled
girl who had been removed from her family.
The state's high court sided with DCF's contention
that Superior Court Judge Thayer Baldwin Jr.'s initial court orders
to "ensure the [child's] well-being" and "provide appropriate services"
were too vague to support a finding of contempt.
But Chief Justice Chase Rogers, in writing the
court's opinion, said the ruling should not be construed as an endorsement
of the department's treatment of the child, known as Leah S., who
was removed from her parents in April 2003 because DCF failed to
properly deal with her serious mental health needs.
"Though we are compelled to reverse the judgment
of contempt ... we note nevertheless that the filing of the contempt
motion served as an effective catalyst for the department, which
shortly thereafter placed Leah in residential treatment, began to
facilitate Leah's reunification with her twin sister and provided
enhanced support service to [her parents]," Rogers wrote. "Such
a catalyst should not have been necessary."
Susan B. Carr, the Waterford attorney who sought
the contempt citation on behalf of her client, Leah S.'s mother,
said she was disappointed by Thursday's ruling in that it failed
to hold DCF - with its abundant knowledge, resources and expertise
- to a higher standard of competence and care than ordinary parents
on the street.
"I think it takes away some of the accountability
the department should have," Carr said.
But Sarah Eagan, a staff attorney with the
Center for Children's Advocacy in Hartford, said the ruling was
beneficial in that it confirmed DCF's "profound and extensive" obligation
to children in state foster care and clarified that lawyers and
judges in juvenile courts have to be very specific when they seek
or issue orders for services or care.
Although DCF social workers recommended Leah
be placed in a special therapeutic foster home or residential treatment
center because of her depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal
and homicidal thoughts, the agency instead placed her in four non-therapeutic
homes where her condition deteriorated over seven months, court
records show.
Carr filed a motion for contempt in November
2003 contending that DCF's actions were not helping Leah and were
hurting the mother's chances for reunification. Baldwin found the
agency in contempt in September 2004. DCF appealed. The agency filed
a second appeal when the state Appellate Court upheld Baldwin's
ruling in 2006.
"Department social workers have very difficult
jobs, and if they have to guess about a court holding them responsible
for an order that fails to set out specific required actions that
only makes their responsibilities more daunting," DCF spokesman
Gary Kleeblatt said. "We are pleased the Supreme Court found that
this is not a fair standard."
Contact Colin Poitras at cpoitras@courant.com.
Copyright 2007, Hartford Courant.
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