Tuesday, July 01, 2003

The State's Costs Of Dealing With Troubled Kids, Wounded Families (Connecticut)
London Day story focused on a young woman who became a ward of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families - " ... Connecticut faces a major budget crisis, with a deficit in the fiscal year that begins today estimated at $1 billion. Republican Gov. John G. Rowland and Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly have thus far failed to agree on a new tax-and-spending plan, and lawmakers on Monday were working on a stopgap bill to keep the state running. As legislators work to slow state spending in the face of layoffs, deficits, slumping revenues and increased demand for services, [this] case is only the latest example cited by DCF critics who say the agency could better control costs and improve care for children. Too often, they say, programs are not properly evaluated for effectiveness, and too little money is spent on community-based programs that would keep children at home and prevent costly problems later."