LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR OWN

The DCF Plantation blog recently received several reports about how white management at Connecticut Juvenile Training School treats non- people of color differently than the natives. This blog staff writer heard from reliable sources the following story. A white female was hired a year ago to work 2nd shift as Youth Services Officer at CJTS. From all accounts the young white female did not relate well with incarcerated residents and appeared weak in area of disciplinary measures. Then one day this same female ended up teaching Safe Crisis Management techniques to CJTS staff. Now SCM is designed to teach YSOs how to use proper restraint techniques on residents when situations arise for it. In other cases when YSOs do not workout as employees the management staff ends employment (usually this means folk of color terminated). However when a white person is employed and has difficulty working with residents other measures are found in keeping them on the job. Now let me be clear in saying that these words written above come from YSOs of color who feel slighted about this white female getting preferential treatment (or so it seems). There is a pattern YSOs claim of white employees getting different treatment than people of color.

In order to make their point YSOs brought the following story to my attention. Several years ago the State of Connecticut was making budget cut backs and this extended to CJTS letting go administrative staff. Well a black male and white male were slated for possibly losing their job. White administrators at CJTS tried to keep the white management person on the job while terminating the black male. The black male then sited his years in military service as reason for staying at CJTS. Clearly the white manager had less time of being employed; the CJTS hierarchy kept the black manager but created a job description for their white male buddy. In other words whites looked out for their own in this scenario and with the SCM trainer too.

It is clear that not only are white management types treating YSOs with harsher disciplinary measures but other forms of hocus pocus go on daily. In the final analysis people of color are treated differently while whites are looking out for their own.