Restraining a foster youth – video image.

Health Impact News Editor Comments

Statistics and studies clearly show that children left in families, even troubled families where “abuse” is alleged, than when they enter the foster care system. (See: Foster Care Children are Worse Off than Children in Troubled Homes – The Child Trafficking Business.) These very disturbing videos of foster care children being abused in Connecticut clearly show how ineffective Child Social Services has become all across America.

It is time to abolish this system, by cutting off the federal funding, and allowing communities to work with troubled families and keeping children with their families.

Conn. Child Advocate Releases DCF Surveillance Videos Showing Illegal Restraint, Isolation

By CASSANDRA BASLER
WSHU Public Radio

Excerpts:

Connecticut’s Office of the Child Advocate released an investigative report in July saying children were being illegally restrained and secluded at the two juvenile detention facilities run by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). On Sept. 15, the Child Advocate decided to release confidential surveillance videos that show children attempting suicide after staff secluded them during an emotional crisis.

In a web conference, Child Advocate Sarah Eagan read from staff incident reports while playing video footage from the Pueblo Unit, the DCF girls’ detention facility. One staff described how a girl was dragged from the hallway by five staff members and locked in a room with one small window, out of view.

“Another staff [member] walked around outside the building to look inside the window,” Eagan said. “The resident was observed with her shirt tied tightly around the neck, her face bright red and her head swaying.”

Eagan says the girl was then taken to a hospital. That incident of self-harm was one of eight incidents documented in the surveillance videos released on Tuesday.

The Child Advocate’s report found that, over the course of a year, boys and girls at the facilities tried to injure or kill themselves at least 55 times.

Eagan said she couldn’t rely on DCF reports alone to count all incidents of suicidal behavior. In some cases, she found these incidents documented in a child’s nursing notes, but there was no staff incident report filed to DCF at all.

Below are videos from the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys (CJTS) and the Pueblo Unit for girls. Please be advised that these videos are graphic in nature and show children being forcibly taken down, placed in solitary confinement and attempting self-harm.

WARNING: The following videos contain graphic content. They are being used by permission, courtesy of The Connecticut Mirror.

Read the full report here.