Yesterday was an important day at the State Capitol.
I was joined by my Committee on Children Co-Chair Sen. Ceci Maher, Governor Ned Lamont, Department of Children and Families Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly, and others to announce major reforms to the Short Term Assessment and Respite (STAR) homes system.
Last fall our committee held a legislative hearing on concerns surrounding STAR homes and concluded the model could no longer serve children in crisis. We knew we had to act - fast.
So over the past six months, Sen. Maher and I have collaborated with DCF and other stakeholders to revamp and update the existing service model to be more in-tune with the highly specialized needs of this small subset of children.
What we've created is a new model - branded as the Specialized Trauma-Informed Treatment Assessment and Reunification (STTAR) Enhancement Plan - which provides critical changes to the children's behavioral health system.
The components of the new plan include:
Enhanced staffing/supervision/staff training and development
Reduced census of homes
Enhanced therapeutic recreational programming
Development of two intensive transitional treatment centers
Timely access to PRTF for youth in crisis
Perhaps the most important part of this announcement is that through the re-allocation of funds from within current budget appropriations, these substantive changes will be put in place immediately, so our children can start to receive this necessary care as soon as possible.
As legislators, it is not our job to follow the status quo. It is our job, and our responsibility, to always look for ways to improve our communities, and this is one such example.
