- 1977 ~ The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges selected Connecticut as one of 25 jurisdictions in the country to be part of a foster care study. Preliminary results were reported in 1979, and they were devastating. Connecticut children, who had been placed at birth in foster homes, with little or no contact to biological parents, were still foster children after a dozen or more years. The average length of stay in foster care was over five years, and the greater the number of placements, the more likely was the child to be referred to as delinquent upon entering adolescence.

- 1979 ~ Children in Placement, Connecticut, Inc. was founded by Connecticut Judge Frederica Brenneman, an advocate for children and a trailblazing Harvard Law graduate, in response to this gap in the child protection and court systems and her own views over the years from the Bench. Children In Placement, a nonprofit, was established to monitor the court progress of children and be an independent voice for minors in foster care.

- 1980 ~ The national Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was passed mandating judicial findings related to efforts of parents and the state to reunite the family.  It was incumbent upon the Court to set expectations for parents as benchmarks, and mechanisms had to be found to ensure consistent review regardless of changes in the judge, DCF caseworkers, or attorney assigned. 

CIP began monitoring in the Hartford Superior Court for Juvenile Matters.

CIP’s program involved training volunteer Monitors and providing them to the court to monitor court ordered expectations for parents in child abuse cases.

- 1992 ~ Children in Placement grew to cover nine Superior Courts across Connecticut.

- 1994 ~ As a result of CIP’s success for children, growing reputation and the support of Chief Court Administrator, Judge Aaron Ment, CIP became a statewide agency/program. A Connecticut law was passed requiring the Connecticut Judicial Department to contract with CIP to promote permanency planning for children in all their courts.

- 1995 ~ As part of the above law, CIP trained community volunteers could be judicially appointed as CIP Guardians ad Litem to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in Connecticut’s juvenile courts. 

CIP partnered with the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA) as one of three urban initiative grantees nationwide to enhance its monitoring role by designing a statewide volunteer guardian ad litem program — training volunteers to assume a direct advocacy role on behalf of abused children.

- 2017 ~ Children in Placement separated from CASA so as to continue to provide services in both the Connecticut Probate and Superior Courts. CASA does not work in Probate.

- 2018 ~ Children in Placement introduces a new program in Hartford, Youth Sponsors, to create one-on-one relationships with at-risk young adults, ages 13 – 24, helping them to acquire skills and resources to positively navigate and transition into adulthood as they age out of DCF services and programs.

- 2021 ~ Children in Placement gave over 13,000 hours this year on behalf of more than 300 vulnerable children. CIP recruits, trains, and manages over 150 GALs and 19 Youth Sponsors.

- 2022 ~ Children in Placement introduced new logo new to accompany the CIP tagline of Advocacy and Empowerment for Connecticut’s Children. This logo better shows the values and vision of the nonprofit’s work with Connecticut’s most vulnerable children.

The visual captures CIP’s goals of helping children reach their dreams (circle), with the support (heart) of CIP volunteer GALs and Youth Sponsors. CIP’s aim is to help each child they serve reach their full potential (star). 

The 5-points on the star represent CIP’s commitment to provide each child:  individual assessment, appropriate services, education, safe, secure homes, and a stable transition into adulthood.