Politics & Government

Senate Creates new Task Force on DCYF, Family Care Networks

In a State House release, the task force is said to have been created in response to "continued challenges facing DCYF and the nonprofit networks" that serve children in state care.

A new Senate task force has been created created to "ensure that oversight and public accountability are maintained" during ongoing contract negotiations between the state Department of Children Youth and Families and its network of service providers.

The task force, comprised of a group of senators who have an interest in child welfare, was formed to help get the a fair and reasonable contract sealed up as quickly as possible. 

But Senate leaders, including President Teresa Paiva Weed, of Newport and Jamestown; and Lou DiPalma, who represents District 12, encompassing Middletown, Little Compton, Newport and Tiverton, say there's a long-term thought process behind the task force.

“The members of the task force are dedicated to increasing the state’s capacity to provide services for children,” DiPalma said, who will serve as co-chairman of the task force. “We need to create effective solutions and partnerships that keep our children in Rhode Island, rather then sending them to out-of-state placements that isolate them from their families and that can be prohibitively expensive.”

In a State House release, the task force is said to have been created in response to "continued challenges facing DCYF and the nonprofit networks" that serve children in state care.

The nine-member task force will meet throughout the summer and fall and will take testimony from the governor's special advisory team along with nonprofit networks and other experts.

Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Providence), is chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and helped produce a report on issues relating to the DCYF last November. 

Rhode Island is the third-highest ranked state in the country for placement of youth in group homes and residential treatment facilities and has been grappling with severe budget shortfalls. Heading into the budget season this year, it was looking at a budget shortfall of $3.2 million. 

"The Senate wants all children in state care to flourish through the support they receive. This does not happen by itself," Miller said. "It results from sound contractual relationships between the state and our family service provider agencies that focus on performance indicators and outcome measures that the Senate has long advocated for.”


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