THEY CREATED THIS OUT OF CONTROL NIGHTMARE

 

There are rumors coming out of Connecticut Juvenile Training School about a bad situation that developed with an employee. Let us first go back in time for a recapitulation of events that management must bear the responsibility for. Several years ago at CJTS Key Stone Cops management rode rough shod over the rights of Youth Services Officers –white / black, but esp. the latter- and used another Caucasian employee as an instrument of terrorization. The YSO continually harassed employees of color, filed complaints and grievances, then used union policies to legitimize those claims put forth. In return for doing the dirty work of management intent on keeping draconian order on the plantation, the YSO was never personally confronted about behavioral issues that seemed out of proportion as time moved on. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

The YSO went through a series of events which includes past termination, reinstatement, and loss of being active on the Union agenda at CJTS. In recent months since getting hired back at CJTS the YSO denounced everyone –real or imagined- thought to be enemies i.e. management or other YSOs. And so, the shit has hit the fan. Sources within DCF Plantation report that this person who once worked for management as spy, dispenser of justice, and school yard bully is once again out on administrative leave.  People working at CJTS complained about how erratic the YSO behaved, going to every Unit building making wild accusations against staff, filing numerous complaints about residents mistreatment that were not true and creating a hostile work environment.

Now other YSOs complained of not wanting to work with the once feared instrument of management, and now there are concerns for personal safety of employees / residents. This scenario was predicted by staff at CJTS and writers of this blog years ago. People foresaw how this YSO was slowly losing control of behavioral checks regulating most other human beings. However if memory serves this writer correctly management at CJTS Plantation refused to discipline the YSO, ( who is now out of control and striking fear into the employee base ) because it was in their best interest not to do so. In other words management allowed their creation to run amok in the CJTS countryside like the Frankenstein monster in those old Universal Picture Studio movies. In one instance it was reported how the YSO, who is now shunned from the CJTS property, went to a meeting with the Superintendent and used abusive language, i.e. the top administrator heard expletives hurled his way. Holy crap.

In conclusion, let it be noted that the YSO on administrative leave cannot come within so many yards of the CJTS Plantation. Just so people get the message that trouble is on the horizon, pictures of the YSO are posted in their main operations control center. I guess now management is concerned and is taking measures to protect residents and staff.

Truth of the matter is they [ management ] created this out of control nightmare.

INGLORIOUS DEPARTURE FOR PROBLEM EMPLOYEE OR HOW THE MIGHTY HATH FALLEN

There is a saying that "what goes around comes around." And that is exactly what people are saying at Connecticut Juvenile Training School about an employee who is now out of favor with management. Let me go back in time to paint a picture for the readers of this blog. Five years ago at CJTS there were things happening to employees because management ran an oppressive system of unfair discipline, manipulation of overtime,  favoritism with scheduling and racial animus were commonplace. The last item i.e. racial animus was used as discipline to keep minorities in "their place." In order to pull this off CJTS management used a certain Youth Service Officer as their agent of doom. This YSO reported to management what other employees were doing or saying, plus when it was time to use policy and procedure the puppet employee helped write grievances.

However as time marched on at CJTS certain things happened to make the situation change for  average employees. Here are things that occurred- lawsuit against management, comments of "porch monkey" directed toward residents of color, then negative media publicity concerning management mistakes. The YSO mentioned earlier in this story fell on hard times and was no longer deemed necessary by management. All of a sudden the YSO did not have that management backing and this made the person furious. CJTS management severely disciplined the once proud and arrogant YSO to the point of termination. But just as Jesus rose from the dead, so did the YSO come back to reclaim a job that had been snatched away. Now reliable sources inform DCF Plantation Blog that the YSO in question is once again no longer on the facility grounds.

And to make matters worse, all of this is being kept hush-hush. Yet five years ago the YSO strutted around CJTS like some type of proud Peacock, dispensing justice for management.  But that was five years ago and this is now. Where is the cover of protection for that YSO now ?

Someone once wrote " and when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, never to hope again."
These are appropriate words for the fallen YSO... former tool of management.

PLANTATION EMPLOYEES AND DUBIOUS TRAININGS

The word has gone out that Connecticut Juvenile Training School employees are engaging in dubious trainings off grounds at Dave & Busters. Now it must be noted that the Department of Children & Families has this wonderful training facility in Hartford on Hudson Street that people use. However, now CJTS management in their wisdom, allows trainings at Dave & Busters where it is alleged employees drink and play arcade games-more than seek education. Sources within the CJTS Plantation confirm that after trainings at D&Bs employees come to work the next day lethargic ( i.e. possibly hung over ) or without demonstrating any knowledge to improve the workplace environment.

All of this is going on at CJTS that is reeling from recent allegations of racial animus toward employees of color, class action lawsuits filed in 2010, plus no confidence votes in Key Stone Cops management. It is beyond belief that such hijinks continue to occur in spite of negative publicity about white staff calling residents "porch monkeys" or refusing to acknowledge there are racial problems at that facility. Well, going to educational trainings is not that bad, especially if those attending can wet their whistle with beverages from the bar.

Maybe CJTS employees are singing that blues song while at D&Bs, "one Bourbon one Scotch, one beer."

WHY SO MANY PLANTATION EMPLOYEES GO TO THESE TRAININGS

In a previous DCF Plantation blog story the subject of agency trainings came up primarily because of emails to dcfplantation@gmail.com from Connecticut Juvenile Training School employees. Sources indicate that groups ranging from 10 -15 employees from CJTS attended several trainings at a place named Dave & Busters in Manchester, Ct. This high level of attendance regularly by CJTS & plantation employees is indeed puzzling until we look at what is claimed happens at these conclaves.

 Sources report Dave & Busters is known to be a local watering hole [ serving liquor ] for residents in the area. Also complaints to this blog highlight that CJTS employs and administrators are keen to drink while keeping required training to minor levels. To make matters worse it is possible the State of Connecticut just might be paying for liquor under the guise of professional development during training. This -if true- is just another example of how life on CJTS Plantation is not supervised adequately by administrative staff. What the hell, maybe the supervisors in charge of the trainings are to busy trying to buy one shot of Johnny Walker or Gordon's gin, and not look out for staff in their care. What was the song by John Lee Hooker ? I think it went like this " one bourbon, one Scotch and one beer."

TAXPAYER WASTE, FALSE TRAININGS, AND THE PLANTATION

Sources have reported that there are problems at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. [ what else is new?] The recently opened girls facility named Pueblo House has two residents [ after all that money was spent ] with overtime shifts for staff included. What is irritating to sources is how incompetent management waste taxpayer's money by having nursing staff, clinicians and a fully paid female supervisor on hand at Pueblo House - when it is located right next door to CJTS. At a time when the State of Connecticut is seeking to reduce its budget, others are riding the gravy train of getting money out of the state cornucopia. Also it is reported how supervisors at Pueblo House and CJTS set up trainings for staff at places where there are dining facilities for the express purpose of eating good food while engaged in very little training. To be honest it is reported how very little training takes place while staff and supervisors with cavernous maw consume large quantities of food, then bill the State of Ct. All of what is being described points back to the failure of CJTS management to focus on real issues with those hired to supervise the place. Why is the main Superintendent at CJTS always sequestered in the office while those lower on the administrative scale indulge in exploiting taxpayer dollars ?  If we were to dig deeper into this morass of Key Stone Cops management it would show more than this is going on.

For example how a former Unit Leader went to an administrative post [ in Operation ] for which that person is not qualified to run and effectively screwed up daily flow of procedures and people. When other Operations people did not report for work, the new hire [ at least to that post ] could not function- in spite of years of being a state employee at CJTS. Sad, sad, sad indeed is this comedy of errors on the plantation.

WHITE ACTIVIST LETTER AND COMMUNITY LEADER HENRY BROWN

Protests and direct action, including civil disobedience, are dramatic forms of negotiations. The activist starts from a position that is far from the position held by the opponent, and seeks to present a tough, “no-compromises” stance in order to force the opponent to move as far as possible toward the activist’s goal. The activist does not start the process with a hand shake and does not allow herself or himself to be intimidated OR charmed into relenting on the goal until convinced that nothing more can be gained for that round.

Henry Brown forgot that, when he somehow agreed to participate in an HPD charade designed to “show” an untrained civilian how hard it is to make split second decisions in fictional scenarios. With zero preparation, the Rev. Brown found himself overwhelmed by the choices he had to make to diffuse a domestic incident, followed by several simulated “crime stops” in the community at large. He gets “shot” in the domestic and eventually “shoots” under stress at someone holding a weapon that he couldn’t identify (it was not a firearm).

In the process of “humbling” himself from a walk in a beat cop’s shoes, he threw away any remaining negotiating power. How will he lead his next march? How will he hold HPD “accountable” the next time an unarmed youth is hit with a taser or worse? He has been used by the police department to diffuse the growing attention on police violence and terrorism in low income, resource -poor neighborhoods populated largely by black and brown families.

Since the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson (and a number of other shocking police killings that seemed to follow on its heels), true activists have risen up to demand a hard, honest examination of the racism that runs through police policies and training. They are looking for cities, states, and the nation as a whole to open their eyes to the permission we have given for an officer who is scared, angry, or just plain caught off guard to violate the rights and personal safety of people on the street – especially on the streets of black and brown communities. They are demanding the right to judge the actions of the police force that is supposed to “serve and protect” them. They stand in opposition to the increased violence and militarization of local departments.

None of these goals will be reached with tactics that start with empathy for the opponent. Succumbing to that form of co-optation is a sure path to NOTHING CHANGING. There may be good men and women among the Hartford police force. There may be bad people on the street. It may be hard and dangerous work to be a cop. Those are not the issues. The issues are that the current system of policing encourages aggressive, pre-emptive, violent actions on the part of the police officer and sets him or her above the laws of the community in nearly every case. The issues are the increasing cache of military weapons available to local police and the lack of awareness of this trend on the part of the average citizen. The issues are that the very worst of the abuses of power are happening in the black and brown communities and that it is immoral to allow it to continue.

 

There may come a time for dialogue and partnership between the community and the police force. But that time must wait until the balance of power has swung mightily in the direction of the community. Surely the police and political leaders are nervous and anxious to quell the rising tide of protest and demands for change. But that is all the more reason to stand firm at the distant pole of justice and not give anything up, especially not the strength that comes from righteous anger.

 

 

This letter was sent to DCF Plantation blog by a white activist wishing to remain anonymous.

WHITE ALLIES COMMENT ON SO CALLED BLACK COMMUNITY & POLICE RAPPROCHEMENT

 

In the #blacklivesmatter movement people are protesting negative treatment of people of color by law enforcement officials all over America. However there are obstructionists in Hartford, Connecticut trying to make it appear as if there are no problems between Hartford Police Department and community. In order for such a ruse to work certain props are required, trotted out black leadership smiling like Sammy Sunshine in Little Rascals movies, white activists from out of town to present organizing skills for the people, and willing police officers to have dialogue. Now that the stage is set with necessary props the play can begin. And in Hartford the narrative being spun like spiders web is, “community and HPD are in the midst of rapprochement.” We have been bombarded with media campaigns depicting some sort of community support for police… community leaders on the steps of City Hall clapping in support of police.

 Sanitized public forums where people talk to city officials, and most recently black leaders actually participating in simulated scenarios to experience what police go through while responding to everyday situations. It is this last point that white activists responded to. After a television segment came out last week showing a black man at HPD with protective gear on pretending to engage in tense situations came out, people were scratching their heads in disbelief.  Several militant white activists commented on what they saw as “what a piece of propaganda” or “this is a joke.” One female activist replied “beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Do not be so conciliatory when there is still so much to be fought for.” Some of the comments about what white allies witnessed by this black leader during his HPD visit cannot be printed due to the liberal use of profanity, however you get the point. These long time advocates for justice understand, there is fierce fighting taking place for the [ Hartford ] public narrative, surrounding the aftermath of nationwide protests – after deaths of Michael Brown… Eric Garner- over police oppression. The word rapprochement is defined in Webster’s New Basic Dictionary as “a renewal of cordial relations, as between two governments.” Now when have people of color in Hartford been on good footing with HPD ? It has been a very long time since police and community met as equals. However black moderate leaders seem to be pushing that there is some sort of rapprochement “renewal of cordial relations” between police plus people of color. For white allies in the fight for egalitarian rights the latest episode of false rapprochement, with a black man leading the charge, stinks like old fish heads rotting in the June sun for three days. At least their voices only confirms the suspicion of black obstructionists being used as willing props for old Massa in Hartford.