Of the thousands of words
When he arrived on the scene, Sununu said, DCYF was in crisis. Two short years later, according to the governor, huge strides have been made in reforming the agency and “the single most comprehensive child protection bill this state has ever seen” has been enacted. Thirty new caseworkers have been added and funding put in place. Sununu urged lawmakers to build on these successes “to ensure our system never goes down that difficult path again.”
Mission accomplished?
Not so fast. The first annual report of the new state Office of the Child Advocate tells a different story. Established by law to provide independent oversight of DCYF in the wake of the tragic deaths of two toddlers in the child protection system in 2014 and 2015, the office’s mission is to “assure that the best interests of children are being protected.”
And that’s not happening, according to the advocate, Moira O’Neill.
“The very essence of child welfare and juvenile justice is the interest of the child,” the report declares. “… Yet the law and its interpretations stop short of children’s best interest. We defer to the interests of other parties. The definitions of abuse and neglect are themselves vague and disempowering of caseworkers seeking to protect children. In the interest of children, that must change.”
The report raises many other troubling issues, the tenor of which is conveyed by the following:
■ A backlog remains of 2,000 overdue assessments of reports of suspected child abuse and neglect, despite this having been frequently identified as an area where DCYF needs to improve.
■ Even when children are in protective care, inattention to their exposure to psychological maltreatment persists, with devastating effects.
■ No assurances can be given that the needs of children in residential care are being met, “or even that they are safe,” because DCYF does not monitor them for safety. “Children continue to be missing each day, alone and exposed to risks.”
■ Although the majority of children housed at the Sununu Youth Services Center have substantial mental and behavioral health needs, “emphasis on their risk of violence drives daily routine.” These unmet needs translate into risk of injury for both children and staff.
■ Although five more children “known to DCYF” died this past year, neither the agency nor the Child Fatality Review Committee undertook reviews for the purposes of learning from those deaths and improving the system.
The advocate’s report offers many recommendations to the Legislature, DCYF and the courts to remedy specific deficiencies, some of which likely will be expensive to implement. But perhaps the most urgent plea for change is for New Hampshire to follow the lead of other states and establish an accessible, comprehensive system of care that intervenes early to prevent abuse or neglect, and to pre-empt delinquency before it takes hold.
The time has come, the advocate writes, “to stop waiting for children to appear bruised and battered before we step in to help.”
In fairness, everyone understands that the inaugural addresses of governors who have just been re-elected, as has Sununu, are in large measure seen as opportunities for self-congratulation. So be it.
Even so, it would have been appropriate for him to acknowledge that what has been done so far to improve and support DCYF, while admirable, at best scratches the surface of what needs to be done to protect New Hampshire’s vulnerable children. That acknowledgment would have conveyed to the Legislature and to the officials of his administration the sense of urgency that will be required if lasting change is to come.