Providence, R.I. – Governor Lincoln D. Chafee announced today his appointment of Kevin Aucoin as Interim Director of the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF). Aucoin will serve in the role temporarily while the department conducts a national search for a permanent director. Margaret Holland McDuff, Chief Executive Officer of Family Service of Rhode Island, will lead the search along with Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Steven M. Costantino. “Kevin Aucoin is well known and well respected in Rhode Island for working tirelessly on behalf of the young people and families of our state,” Chafee said. “I am confident that he can lead DCYF through the period of its national search to find the brightest and most capable candidate to head one of our state’s most important departments.” Kevin Aucoin has worked in the legal office of the Department of Children, Youth & Families since 1983, focusing on the prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases in Family Court. Since 2001, he has been Associate Director of Legal Counsel of Legal Services, acting as the senior legal advisor to the Director on all matters relating to DCYF. In addition, he has served as legal advisor to DCYF administrative and management staff on issues pertaining to policy, contracts and labor matters. This responsibility also includes providing consultation to administrators and senior staff on issues relating to child welfare, juvenile justice and children's behavioral health. In January of 2009, Aucoin became Acting Superintendent of the Thomas E. Slater Training School, where he is responsible for managing the day to day operations. He facilitated and oversaw the Training School’s move to new facilities in January and March of 2009. Aucoin is also responsible for the overseeing the day-to-day conditions of confinement for youth in the facility, and for providing oversight for the delivery of programs and services for young people. In addition, Aucoin directs the operation of the Training School’s educational program, the delivery of medical and clinical services, and the supervision of youth who are detained within the facility. Under Aucoin’s leadership, the Training School has undergone a system transformation and has emphasized and expanded its community focus. The school’s staff has worked diligently under Aucoin to reconnect youth with the community at large, an effort which has resulted in a notable decline in the school’s population as well as a significant reduction in the average length of stay for youth in the facility. The Department of Children, Youth & Families was established by the state legislature in 1980 by merging children's programs previously administered by four different state agencies. The Director of DCYF is also a member of the RI Children's Cabinet, which addresses cross-departmental issues relating to children’s needs and services. Rhode Island is one of a small number of states that integrate the three major public responsibilities for troubled children, youth and families – Child Welfare, Children’s Behavioral Health, and Juvenile Corrections – in one agency.
