|
|
|
April 29, 2010 Barca Restaurant Hartford
|
|
|
|
Thank you to those whose generosity enables us to help vulnerable kids across Connecticut.
|
Patent Attorney Alison Mohr has devoted extraordinary energy and resources to CCA's work . .
Nell Pach, Editorial Intern with CCA, has contributed many of the articles published in this newsletter. Thank you, Nell, for your great work and continued support! | |
|
|
 Center for Children's Advocacy and GHLA File State Complaint on Behalf of Hartford Special Education Students
Special Education Services Required by State and Federal Law not Provided for Hartford Students
2550 Main Street Academy is Hartford's public school for middle and high school students with special education needs, including behavioral health issues and learning disabilities. Opened at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, the program was created after the Center for Children's Advocacy filed a Complaint in June, 2009 with the State Department of Education (SDE) regarding the lack of appropriate educational and related services and the shortcomings of the physical facility at the Hartford Transitional Learning Academy at Hartford Magnet Middle School (HTLA-HMMS). Upon investigation in response to the original Complaint, SDE found violations of state and federal special education law in addition to state disciplinary and school hour requirements.
The new program at 2550 Main Street does not resolve many of the issues that were noted in the initial Complaint by attorneys and educational consultants from the Center for Children's Advocacy.
By law, special education students in Hartford Public Schools are entitled to a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE), provided without discrimination based on their disability. Additionally, special education students have the same educational guarantees as students attending regular classes, such as protections against bullying and sexual harassment, limitations on types of discipline and annual school hour requirements. read more
|
Open Courts Pilot Allows Public Access to Juvenile Cases
CCA Instrumental in Passage and Implementation of Legislation that Created Pilot Project to Shine a Light on Oversight of Court Proceedings for Children at Risk of Abuse and Neglect
The Child Protection Session at the Middlesex Judicial District Courthouse in Middletown is the site of a new pilot program that allows public access to Juvenile Court proceedings. Beginning February 17, 2010, members of the public and the press are able to attend these previously closed proceedings.
Pursuant to Public Act 09-194, Chief Court Administrator Barbara M. Quinn established the pilot program in Middletown with the assistance of the Juvenile Access Pilot Program Advisory Board and the Rules Committee of the Superior Court. Judge Quinn co-chairs the board with Attorney Sarah Eagan, director of the Center for Children's Advocacy's Child Abuse Project, who was appointed by House Speaker Chris Donovan.
The Center for Children's Advocacy was instrumental in securing passage of this important legislation. Initially written and introduced by the Center in 2004, the proposal underwent much discussion, many revisions and re-introductions in subsequent legislative sessions. read more
|
 CCA Continues Advocacy on Behalf of Connecticut's Homeless Youth
Center for Children's Advocacy and Partner Organizations will Introduce Legislation to Improve Services for Homeless Youth
Following Maine, New Jersey and Nevada, and legislation on the national front, the Connecticut Team on Runaway and Homeless Youth is proposing legislation to advance coordinated services for homeless youth in the state.
Homeless youth are the "invisible" population in Connecticut and there is much we don't know about them: How many homeless youth are there? What agencies are they involved with? How long are they homeless?
We do know - from homeless providers, social workers, lawyers, and teachers who see homeless youth on a regular basis - that we have a problem. Their invisibility is due in part to the fact that many are moving from house to house with friends or relatives. In one Hartford magnet high school, 12.7% of the students had experienced homelessness at one point. Agencies who report to a national data base pursuant to the federal Runaway & Homeless Youth Act report that Connecticut had more than 269 homeless youth in fiscal year 2008/09.
As we begin to identify this population, we acknowledge that there are only 13 shelter beds for youth who are not involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and 4 programs that provide street outreach to homeless youth (none of which are in Hartford). While the Judicial Branch provides short term CARE Centers for runaway children and youth, entry into these Centers requires that the youth be court-referred and reunification with a particular person in the community identified prior to admission.
The legislative proposal entitled the Connecituct Homeless Youth Act addresses some of the current problems by requiring DCF to coordinate services between state agencies, asking DCF to contract with providers to provide outreach, emergency shelter and transitional living for homeless youth, and requiring data collection.
For more information about the Connecticut Team on Runaway & Homeless Youth or about the Homeless Youth Act, go to www.cceh.org/youth or e-mail Stacey Violante Cote, Director, Teen Legal Advocacy Clinic, Center for Children's Advocacy.
|
Center for Children's Advocacy and CLS Close Bridgeport's Illegal Night School Program and Secure Appropriate Education Services for HIgh School Students
 Until this month, Bridgeport high school students with poor attendance, behavior problems, or serious academic difficulties were often transferred to the "At-Night" programs operating in each of Bridgeport's three high schools. These programs, which primarily relied on an internet-based curriculum and required students to work independently with minimal teacher support, offered only two-thirds of the yearly classroom hours required by state law.
"Most of the students referred to these programs did not believe they had any choice in the matter," said Center for Children's Advocacy Attorney Josh Michtom, "and they didn't know that they were not receiving the education they are entitled to by law."
In the fall of 2009, CCA Staff Attorney Josh Michtom spoke with Catherine Williams, an attorney in Connecticut Legal Services' Bridgeport office whose work focuses on education law. Both lawyers had teen clients who had been referred to Bridgeport's At-Night programs, and both were concerned about the effectiveness and legality of the programs. They were especially concerned that students who should be evaluated for special education were not receiving those evaluations or appropriate support in the night programs.
"For many kids, placement in the At Night programs accomplished the opposite of the original objective of those programs . . read more
|
 Increasing Kinship Care for Abused and Neglected Children
Recent federal and state laws aim to increase the number of abused and neglected children placed with appropriate and caring relatives. In Connecticut, such emphasis is badly needed, as the state kinship care rate of 14% lags far behind the national average of 24%.
Federal Fostering Connections to Success Act
Kinship Care Provisions
The federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 became Public Law 110-351 on October 7, 2008. "Fostering Connections" was heralded by many advocates nationwide as the most important child welfare reform legislation in a decade. The Act seeks to promote the well-being of abused and neglected children in foster care by mandating practices designed to improve health, educational and permanency outcomes for children in state agency care. With regard to kinship care, Fostering connections requires states "within 30 days after the removal of a child from the custody of the parent" to "exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of the child." The child welfare agency must also notify relatives of their options to "participate in the care and placement of the child" and advise them of their right to become foster parents and the services that are available for children placed in foster care.
Additionally, Fostering Connections codifies existing federal regulations which provide that states may waive non-safety related foster care licensing standards for relatives seeking to become foster parents. read more, including TIPS for lawyers on redress for the state's failure to timely assess a relative placement
|
|
Dr. Sarah Schlegel Appointed Medical Director of CCA's Medical-Legal Partnership Project
 The Center for Children's Advocacy's Medical-Legal Partnership Project (MLPP) has appointed Sarah Schlegel, M.D. as the project's Medical Director.
The MLPP, a medical-legal collaborative that improves the health and welfare of low-income children and their families, provides legal assistance on site at hospitals and medical clinics serving greater Hartford's poorest neighborhoods.
Dr. Schlegel will work with MLPP attorneys to develop a training curriculum for resident and attending physicians and will consult on medical-legal issues, including developmental disabilities, educational curriculum, and diagnoses.
|
|
CCA 2010 Legislative Initiatives to Improve Outcomes for At-Risk Youth and their Families
The Center for Children's Advocacy is working on numerous legislative initiatives this session, including proposals regarding child welfare, juvenile justice, truancy and services for homeless youth. A brief outline of the Center's proposals appears below:
Child Welfare
Educational Stability CCA is working with child welfare partners to promote passage of a bill that would permit children who have been removed from their homes due to allegations of abuse and neglect to stay in their current educational placement even if they are moved by DCF to another town.
Criteria to Prevent Unnecessary Out-Of-State Placements Connecticut places hundreds of children in out-of-state residential placements each year, making it very difficult for them to maintain permanent ties with friends, relatives or other caregivers. CCA seeks to establish strict criteria prior to any child being placed out of state.
Access to Records for Children's Counsel CCA seeks to assist counsel for children in accessing important information about their juvenile court client. Counsel should be able to access, by virtue of appointment, all educational, medical and therapeutic records that pertain to the child.
Differential Response System CCA proposes that DCF implement Differential Response, an evidence-based practice to reduce the disproportionate number of minority families involved in the child welfare system. Families whose risk for ongoing abuse and neglect concerns is deemed low would be referred to supportive, community-based services.
Juvenile Justice
School Resource Officers CCA seeks legislation which would require training for school resource officers in specific areas that would provide guidance on appropriate student interaction.
Automatic Juvenile Erasure This law would require (with exceptions) automatic erasure of juvenile records two years (or four years, in the case of a serious juvenile offense) after the child's discharge from supervision or commitment.
Disproportionate Minority Representation CCA seeks to highlight and create a plan to reduce disproportionate minority representation in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Push Out CCA proposes legislation that would amend Connecticut General Statutes 10-67 to tighten criteria by which students can be referred to adult education.
Truancy
Reduce Habitual Truancy CCA draws on recommendations issued by the Legislative Families With Service Needs Advisory Board to propose legislation designed to reduce the number of children who habitually miss school.
Homeless Youth
Homeless Youth Act This legislation would define homeless youth, require a comprehensive program of services for homeless youth, and mandate relevant data collection.
Sheff Open Choice Schools Legislation would confer authority to the Commissioner of Education to require districts in the Sheff region to accept Open Choice students and would provide incentive money to districts who accept these students.
Health
Utility Shutoff New legislation would amend Connecticut General Statues 16-262c(b) to extend year-round prohibition of utility shutoff to any household with a child under the age of two.
For more detailed information on CCA's 2010 legislative initiatives, please contact:
Child Welfare: Sarah Eagan
| |
|
|
|
For more information about the Center for Children's Advocacy, please visit our website at www.kidscounsel.org. |
|
|
