The Connecticut Department of Children and Families is tightening its telework policies for social workers following increased scrutiny from the state’s Child Advocate, lawmakers, and the public.
The changes include a new policy barring newly hired social workers from working remotely during their first six months on the job and requiring that all social workers receive formal supervision in person.
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The announcement comes three months after Connecticut Child Advocate Christina Ghio issued a sweeping letter outlining concerns about DCF’s case practice, supervision and child safety.
State employees covered by the state’s telework agreement may work remotely up to 80% of the time with approval. Ghio argued that the level of remote work is not consistent with best practices in child welfare, particularly for inexperienced workers handling high-risk cases.
“The biggest thing, we believe, is all of the natural supports that newer workers, less experienced workers, get in the workplace where you go out to a visit, and you come back, and you talk to the neighbor, you know, your office neighbor, and they give you feedback, they help you process what you just saw. All of those natural supports really have gone away because of the telework, and it just makes it harder to ensure that there is supervision.” Ghio told NBC Connecticut Investigates in April.
In a July 29 response to Ghio’s recommendations, DCF Commissioner Susan Hamilton said telework primarily allows employees to begin their workday from home rather than reporting to an office first. Social workers are still expected to conduct in-person home visits and other mandatory field work.
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Hamilton said DCF already considers employee performance when approving telework requests and can revoke remote work privileges when expectations are not met.
The letter also acknowledged challenges surrounding recruitment and retention. Hamilton wrote, “The department continues to prioritize workforce support through training, supervision, and efforts to strengthen worker safety.”
She also said DCF continues to monitor staffing levels and caseload trends.
Data analyzed by NBC Connecticut Investigates shows nearly half of Connecticut DCF workers were carrying workloads above the agency’s target utilization as of May 1, 2026. More than 100 workers were assigned workloads at least 50% above target.
The data also show workers in the Hartford and New Britain area offices had among the highest average workload utilization rates in the state.
While Hamilton agreed with many of the OCA’s recommendations, she said several of the issues identified predated her appointment as commissioner and pointed to several reforms already underway to strengthen child safety and accountability.
