DCF NEEDS URGENCY

The Hartford Courant

Maybe the death of 7-month-old Michael Brown could have been avoided had the state Department of Children and Families more aggressively tackled problems highlighted by a report on the agency five years ago. We'll never know.

But we are sure the system for recruiting foster families will have to undergo significant reforms if DCF is going to meet a court-imposed deadline of 850 additional homes in two years.

Michael died May 19 from injuries authorities say were inflicted by his foster mother, Suzanne Listro. Ms. Listro is a longtime employee of DCF and had been licensed as a foster parent in February, despite having been the subject of two investigations of abuse involving her 3-year-old adopted son. She now stands accused of first-degree manslaughter.

In a public statement last month, DCF Commissioner Susan Hamilton acknowledged that the investigations of Ms. Listro weren't thorough and pledged to institute several reforms.

That drew a sharp response from the state's child advocate, Jeanne Milstein, and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who noted that DCF officials were warned about two of the problems in a 2003 report on the agency. Ms. Hamilton was DCF's legal director at the time.

In light of Michael's death, one observation in the report is especially poignant: "The number of times allegations of abuse or neglect are unsubstantiated or substantiated and closed without . . . action . . . reflects a lack of comprehensiveness and depth in the family studies undertaken by department line staff."

It's impossible to know whether Michael would be alive today if DCF officials had implemented reforms sooner. But the question that haunts is: What if they had?