The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the arm of the state that is supposed to protect children who are not being taken care of properly by others. It is generally the organization that investigates abuse claims and makes determinations of where children with no other place to go should be placed, whether that is in an institutional setting, with relatives or a foster home. As with these agencies in many other states, however, there is a lack of funding and large caseloads, which make it almost inevitable that mistakes will happen. That is what a recent report claims happened to two children in Willimantic, Connecticut.
According to the report, some DCF workers are facing suspension and possible termination after the two children were placed in a home last year in which the man was on the sex-offender registry, and the woman on a registry for child abuse. The very young children, a one-year-old and a baby, were removed from the home four months after the placement when a DCF director discovered the situation. The children reportedly had not been harmed.
There have been several high profile cases recently in which decisions made by DCF have been questioned, including at least one that has led to a civil lawsuit. For people who have had loved ones affected by the terrible crime of sexual abuse, this may point out that there may be more than one party at fault. Although in this case it appears nothing happened to the children, the possibility of errors like these has not gone away. While the actual abuser certainly might be liable, in some cases, there may be other parties who also share culpability and from whom compensation may be sought.
Sexual abuse often leaves an aftermath of grief and anger that victims have to fight through. While nothing will make the pain of such incidents go away completely, holding the appropriate parties responsible may help address some of the financial consequences of such abuse.
Source: nbcconnecticut.com, “DCF Employees Suspended For Leaving Children With Sex Offender: Report,” Gabriella Iannetta, Feb. 25, 2016
