Rhode Island

Rhode Island (ⁱ/ˌroʊdˈaɪlənd/, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and the second most densely populated (behind New Jersey) of the 50 U.S. states; its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean (via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound) to the south.

On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and later, was the fourth to ratify—February 9, 1778—the Articles of Confederation between the newly sovereign states. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, and initially refused to ratify it. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the thirteenth and last state to ratify the Constitution.

Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families

The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) is a state agency of Rhode Island, headquartered in Downtown Providence. The agency provides services for children and families

Juvenile corrections

The agency is responsible for the state's juvenile corrections. The Rhode Island Training School (RITS) is a secure residential facility for juvenile delinquents. RITS is located in Cranston.

A previous facility, with separate facilities for adjudicated boys and girls, was constructed in the 1960s. By the 2000s there were so few girls adjudicated in Rhode Island that they lived together in one unit and shared day schedules with boys. In the 2000s the state ordered the construction of a new RITS building. In 2009 Governor of Rhode Island Donald Carcieri proposed that Rhode Island Housing, a state agency that is set up like a corporation, buy the former RITS site in Cranston.

June 2013 foster care death and abuse

In June 2013, a child's arm was broken at DCYF facility Harmony Hill School and a toddler in foster care was found dead. Following these incidents, The Providence Phoenix asserted that those in power in Rhode Island so that foster care abuse and deaths can be prevented.

Gina Raimondo

Gina Marie Raimondo (born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, businesswoman, venture capitalist, and the 75th Governor of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Raimondo, a member of the Democratic Party, is the first female Governor of Rhode Island. Prior to her election as governor, she served as the General Treasurer for the State of Rhode Island and was the second Rhode Island woman to serve as Treasurer. She was selected as the Democratic Party candidate for Rhode Island Governor in the 2014 election. Raimondo won the election with 41% of the vote, in a three-way race, on November 4, 2014. She is the first Democrat to be elected Governor of Rhode Island since Bruce Sundlun in 1992.

Early life and education

Gina Marie Raimondo was born May 17, 1971 in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where she later grew up. Of Italian descent, she is the youngest child of Josephine (Piro) and Joseph Raimondo’s three children. Her father worked for a watch company. Raimondo graduated from La Salle Academy, as one of the first girls allowed to attend the Providence Catholic Institution, where she would go on to be valedictorian.