Connecticut Fined With $12M In Neglect Case Settlement

Connecticut Fined With $12M In Neglect Case Settlement

Introduction

Connecticut is expected to pay $12 million to resolve a dispute involving a neglected 14-month-old boy who was placed with a cousin who had charges of abuse by the state's child protection department in 2015. The youngster was extremely starved and physically tortured as a result of his ordeal.

The planned court settlement comes a year after the Connecticut Department of Children and Family was fully free of federal jurisdiction after three decades.

The agency's deputy commissioner of operations attempted to reassure members of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee that the placement of the child, now eight years old and suffering from serious medical and developmental challenges, did not reflect the agency's policy at the time or currently.

The deputy commissioner described the circumstance as a "dump and run," which did not meet the agency's requirements for putting a kid in kinship foster care, a programme that tries to place at-risk youngsters with family members rather than strangers.

The agency, represented by the Connecticut Attorney General's Office, is requesting that the settlement negotiated with the boy's adoptive parents be approved by the Connecticut legislature. While members of the Judiciary Committee passed identical House and Senate measures approving the settlement on Wednesday, sending them to both houses for final approval, they made it clear that they are not pleased with the agency or the idea of paying such a huge legal settlement.

According to a deputy attorney general, while the state seldom accepts guilt, investigations revealed that this instance was unusually heinous, and the state might be responsible for up to $20 million.

Officials from the Department of Children and Family withdrew the kid from his parent's care due to neglect concerns and put him with the boy's mother's cousin, without collecting information about the woman's background, which included a criminal history and previous claims of mistreatment. In addition, the lady exhibited "widespread warning indicators," such as failing to satisfy Department of Children and Families foster licensing standards or consent to drug testing. She also reported the boy's inconsolable weeping to police and expressed her frustration to Department of Children and Family employees.

Five months later, the youngster was taken and left with another relative, who took him to the emergency hospital, where he was discovered to have several healed scars and wounds on his feet, untreated fractured bones in both arms, and a retinal hemorrhage. The kid was also unable to speak or feed himself, was very malnourished, and had signs of catastrophic brain damage.

The relative was eventually caught and pled guilty to endangering a youngster. According to the state Attorney General's office, the complete legislature has the option to reject the settlement, but they do not have to affirmatively approve it.