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Senate Bill 292 ~ “An Act
Concerning Homeless Youth”
Written by John R. Cottrell,
Chief Operating Officer
The Council of Churches of
Greater Bridgeport, Inc.
For the past year and a half I have
been participating as a member of The Connecticut Team
for Runaway and Homeless youth. The Connecticut Team
for Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) is a coalition of
state and private agencies and service providers who
work with homeless and runaway youth, a population
otherwise known as “the invisible population.”
We advocate for systemic changes to
address the needs of runaway and homeless youth in CT.
Examples of Advocacy Efforts Include:
·
Collection of available data regarding
CT’s runaway and homeless youth population.
·
Support for the “Stuck Kids” Act (P.A.
09-96): includes the requirement that DCF report the
number of children in their care who have runaway or are
homeless.
·
Creation of a webpage devoted to youth
homelessness in CT (http://www.cceh.org/youth.htm).
·
Trainings/Seminars on runaway and homeless
youth legal issues and advocacy.
·
Participation in a Homeless Youth Summit
with Classical Magnet School Action Team.
Our most recent accomplishment was
getting Senate Bill 292 “An Act Concerning Homeless
Youth” raised before the Connecticut General Assembly.
The purpose of the bill is to authorize the Commissioner
of Children and Families to administer, within available
appropriations, a program of outreach, shelter and
transitional living services for homeless youth. The
Bill, was written in an effort to define the population
and outline specific services which need to be in place
to serve these young people.
On Tuesday March 2, 2010, I had the
opportunity to testify before the Select Committee on
Children regarding Senate Bill #292. The following is a
copy of that testimony.
Testimony Regarding Raised Bill
No. 292 – An Act Concerning Homeless Youth.
March 2, 2010
My name is John Cottrell. I am the
Chief Operating Officer for the Council of Churches of
Greater Bridgeport. Since 1978, the year I began
working at The Council, the Janus Center for Youth in
Crisis has served children and families in the Greater
Bridgeport area. A major focus of the Center is on
serving runaway and homeless youth. Our primary goal is
not only to assist these youth to obtain stability, but
to also keep children out of state systems and maintain
families.
Our Basic Center Program consists
of four main components: 24 hour mobile crisis
response, immediate intervention and support, temporary
respite care in one of our host homes, and aftercare
support once the young person leaves our care. These
cover four of the five service components outlined in
the bill.
The Janus Center for Youth in
Crisis strives to ensure easy access to services needed
by youth who “live” on the streets due to extenuating
circumstances, do not attend school on a regular basis,
and are not involved with any traditional services or
who are resistant or don’t know how to access
traditional services.
I feel it is important to point out
the while The Council of Churches is licensed by DCF as
a Child Placing Agency, we currently receive no state
funding for our services. Our revenue comes from
federal grants, local municipalities, foundations,
churches and individual donors.
Our staff process approximately
four hundred referrals each year. The majority of these
calls involve families who are experiencing serious
conflicts which if left unattended would likely result
in the young person leaving the home. In most cases,
with early and immediate intervention, separation can be
avoided. The most difficult cases are those where the
young person has already left the home. That is where
the actions outlined in this bill become so important.
Amber was a 17 year old teen from
Trumbull who was closing in on her eighteenth birthday.
She had called Janus Center’s 24-hour crisis hotline
because her mother had kicked her out of the house after
they had gotten into a huge altercation. Amber was not
only homeless; she was also four months pregnant. When
the full assessment and intake was performed, it was
noted that Amber was suffering from a bi-polar disorder,
but could not take any medication because she was
pregnant.
A meeting was immediately arranged
with her mother. During the meeting, it became quite
evident that Amber and her mother were not interested in
reconciling. The mother expressed that although she
loved her daughter, she could not take being physically
assaulted anymore. The mother said because of Amber’s
inability to take medication for the treatment of her
bi-polar disorder, she feared for her safety.
The case manager needed time to
explore alternative living arrangements that would best
suit Amber and the unborn child. Amber was adamant that
she did not want to go into a DCF emergency placement
based on an experience she had several years earlier.
Fortunately, Amber and mom agreed to a respite stay in
one of our host homes. After a three week stay, Amber
was able to be referred to Mi Casa, which is a program
that caters to teen mothers.
Fortunately for Amber the Janus
Center is one of a very few programs in Connecticut that
has successfully maintained most of the services
outlined in Raised Bill no.292. Sadly, many of the cases
don’t turn out this way due to either the lack of
services or roadblocks that may prohibit organizations
from providing the needed help. This bill, for the
first time to my knowledge, would provide a definition
for young people in this situation. It outlines the
services that should be in place to respond to the
immediate needs of homeless youth and calls for an
annual evaluation of the services and systems put in
place.
I believe that with a focused
effort, fueled by the activities addressed in this bill,
many communities in Connecticut could and would put
together plans and activities in an effort to address
this very vulnerable and mostly invisible population.
Respectfully submitted,
John R. Cottrell, Chief Operating
Officer
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