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| Schultz being transferred from top post at troubled detention center archive |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/23/2002 |
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The top official at the Long Lane School for girls has requested and been granted a transfer because allegations over his leadership have hindered his ability to lead. The state Department of Children and Families said it was transferring acting Long Lane Superintendent Michael Schultz to his former position as director of quality improvement projects at the agency's headquarters in Hartford, The Hartford Courant reported Friday. The department, in a statement released Thursday, said it was moving Schultz at his request. However, DCF officials said they did not have concerns about his performance or abilities. The department has expressed full confidence in Schultz and, reportedly at his request, is launching an investigation into the allegations against him. The agency said Schultz denies any allegations of wrongdoing but requested the transfer. ''I came to this facility to improve the quality of service and I am not willing to compromise those efforts,'' Schultz, 48, said in the agency's statement. The Courant reported earlier this month that 12 Long Lane clinicians complained about Schultz's conduct and performance when he was briefly assigned there in 2000. The clinicians alleged Schultz harassed female employees and was sometimes demeaning and bullish toward staff. Some questioned whether Schultz's appointment as Long Lane's acting superintendent in July was appropriate given his prior history there and knowing the school's sensitive, gender-specific programs. The Middletown school has been under fire for failing to properly supervise the approximately 30 girls living there and keep them safe. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein raised concerns about lapses in management and supervision after investigating a 15-year-old girl's attempted suicide there on Sept. 20. On Thursday, new allegations surfaced that a DCF hot line complaint had been lodged against Schultz for making a girl at Long Lane feel uncomfortable when he was alone with her. Later Thursday, the department said it had received no complaints or reports of a ''sexual nature'' regarding Schultz and either staff or girls at Long Lane. Some hot line complaints are dismissed if they fail to meet a minimum state standard for opening an investigation. It was unclear Thursday who would become Long Lane's new acting superintendent. The department is planning to close Long Lane and move the girls to other residential programs by the end of 2003. |
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