Katz Criticzes Courant and Court Monitor in Employee Memo.

Commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families Joette Katz took issue with newspaper coverage of another disappointing report from DCF federal court monitor Raymond Mancuso. The report comes as Katz presides over an alarming increase in child fatalities, as Hartford Courant coverage reminded readers.

Katz issued a memo to DCF employees on, Thursday, July 10th. The former judge wrote, “Many of you have read the in the Hartford Courant, which can only repeat snippets of information about where are and what we are doing to serve our children and families. In my view, the article creates a distinct impression that, because of funding and staffing deficits, the Department is not fulfilling its obligations pursuant to the consent decree or, more importantly, the commitment we make to improve the lives of our families.”

The Courant’s Josh Kovner included this devastating “snippet” in his July 9th story:

The Courant reported on June 29 that child maltreatment deaths have surged in the last 18 months. At least 22 children died of abuse or neglect from Jan. 1, 2013, through June, and DCF had open cases with 16 of those families.

Mancuso said that Katz’s emphasis on keeping kids out of institutions and in foster care or at home with their biological parents should be praised. But this approach takes a lot of effort and oversight by DCF social workers and supervisors, who are strapped.

As a result, the quality of abuse and neglect investigations, the management of cases involving needy families, and the coordination of care among multiple agencies has “regressed,” Mancuso said.

A much-delayed report by the state’s child advocate on 2013 child fatalities in Connecticut will further undermine Katz’s crumbling reputation as a competent steward of the welfare of the state’s most vulnerable children.