DCF Reform Legislation (P.A. 26-26)

In response to tragic events that have impacted children in Connecticut,

I supported a Department of Children and Families oversight bill. It

strengthens protections for kids and increases oversight of DCF. I also co-

sponsored an amendment to protect children living in homes with people

convicted of certain serious offenses. Some highlights of the bill:

• Allows emergency placements with relatives or close family friends (fictive

kin) even before full licensing, when it’s in the child’s best interest

• Requires written justification when DCF denies or ends these emergency

placements

• Requires DCF to document to the court that any non-relative placement is

in the child’s best interest

• Launches a public, real-time dashboard so families and the public can see

how DCF is performing