DCYF tells Senate committee prevention work grew while deeper-end placements fell; kinship and DS settlement changes cited

For the record, Allison Kreutzinger, representing the Department of Children, Youth and Families, told the Senate Human Services Committee on the first day of its 2025 session that DCYF’s work ranges from prevention programs to juvenile rehabilitation and juvenile justice partnership.

The agency “puts equity up at the front and top,” Deputy Secretary Chief of Staff Jenny Hedden said, and its central intentions include reducing the number and rate of children in out-of-home care and creating successful transitions to adulthood for youth in the system.

DCYF officials told senators the state is doing more prevention work — voluntary home visiting and combined in‑home services delivered by community providers — while continuing to manage the child protective services (CPS) intake, investigation and family‑assessment pathways. Allison Kreutzinger said the agency serves about 3,000 families annually in voluntary home‑visiting programs and that combined in‑home services are delivered through community providers after a family comes to the department’s attention.

The department showed the committee that total children in out‑of‑home care dropped from more than 9,000 in 2018 to just under 6,000 in 2023. “We think that decline ultimately…