Alexandra Dufresne, J.D. and Jacob Siegel

The state of Connecticut bears legal and moral responsibility for the children in its care and custody. As of August 2010, nearly 3,900 Connecticut children and youth were in the custody of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and placed outside their homes because they had been abused or neglected by their parents. Many other children and families are receiving services from DCF to avert out-of-home placements. While there have been some improvements in Connecticut's child welfare system in recent years, Connecticut still fails to meet its basic responsibilities to many of the children and youth in its care.

• DCF needs to do a much better job of caring for children -- especially children under 12 -- in families, rather than in expensive institutional and congregate care. As of August 2010, 978 children in DCF care, including 223 children under the age of 12, were placed in congregate care settings. Historically, Connecticut has had one of the highest rates of use of congregate care for young children in the nation.

• Connecticut's DCF needs to improve services for older youth in the system. Connecticut falls short of ensuring that many vulnerable older youth who "age out" of foster care get a healthy and secure start in life. Each year, approximately 90 youth turn 18 and leave the care of DCF entirely on their own, without any formal family relationships.

• The recent decision of the federal court to continue oversight of DCF is critical to ensuring accountability. Despite the fact that DCF has been under federal court supervision since 1991, the agency has failed to meet key performance objectives in providing appropriate case plans and meeting identified treatment and permanency needs.

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