The troubled Department of Children and Families will remain under federal oversight, according to a ruling Wednesday by a federal judge.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration had gone to court in an effort to end 20 years of federal rule over the way the state cares for thousands of troubled and neglected children in state custody.
The state had filed a motion in federal court that, if approved, would have ended the oversight of the state's long-troubled child welfare system, saving the state millions of dollars in future lawyers' fees and court monitoring costs. So far, the state has spent more than $10 million on such fees in the case - plus hundreds of millions of dollars in increased spending each year for a huge department that has grown to 3,400 employees.
The oversight currently stretches to about 6,000 children in state custody and foster care, plus thousands more cases that are investigated each year for possible child abuse.