The catalyst for the coverage is the recent controversy that has erupted around the siting for a new detention facility for female juvenile offenders in the city of Bridgeport. Though our Union hasn't taken a position on where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) should build the center, we have long advocated for appropriate placement and effective transition services for the girls it would serve.

In testimony to the legislature's Judiciary Committee last year, Roland and several fellow Union members addressed this need by supporting several proposed criminal justice reforms. One of points key points he made then that still holds true today is that bricks and mortar alone won't keep our communities safer.

The legislation we supported ultimately did not pass in 2008, and though another bill was introduced in the current session, it went the way of many other bills pre-empted by the economic crisis.

This latest article expose how little things have changed over the past two years, despite the increased awareness of the need for reform in the wake of the Cheshire home invasion. It also shows how far we have to go in order to make the changes needed so that the people of Connecticut can expect corrections and juvenile services to actually make our communities safer.

The bottom line is that Governor Rell and her administration are failing to provide needed supports for our state's female youth in distress. Girls are often housed in a correctional facility with adult inmates, because there is no juvenile facility, such as the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, for them.

And this problem was created when the Rowland Administration -- which Governor Rell served as Lieutenant Governor -- closed the Long Lane School in Middletown.

The cycle of shuttering vital public services begun under the previous administration has continued unabated. But now that Governor Rell has decided not to run again in 2010, we have a chance to reverse course.

Our members working in DCF and Department of Correction (DOC) facilities work hard everyday to provide the best care and a safe environment with increasingly limited resources. As the economic crisis drags on, we must speak out as Roland has done and demand the leadership the people of Connecticut deserve in these difficult times.