HARTFORD, Conn.— The state’s child advocate blames “the utter collapse of all safeguards” for the abuse and near-starvation of a toddler who was under the care of the Department of Children and Families.
A scathing report by the Office of the Child Advocate, released October 4, outlines how the child welfare agency last year placed a boy, a little more than a year old at the time, in Groton with relatives who had a history of prior abuse and neglect allegations, a criminal past, no employment income and suspended driver’s licenses.
Various workers involved with the boy’s case told investigators they had been unaware of the foster parents’ history. Records also show caseworkers rarely saw the boy awake.
During the five months the boy lived with the relatives, he received almost no medical care or developmental support. Referred to in the report by the pseudonym Dylan, he later was described by a new relative foster mother as “just skin and bones.”
Then 19 months old, Dylan was unable to walk, talk or feed himself. He was so undernourished he had poor muscle tone and head control. There were broken bones in his arms, a burn, multiple bruises, abrasions and sparse hair on the back of his head, a sign he had been lying on his back for significant periods of time.
“Dylan’s near-death from starvation and abuse —a stunning event in a state-monitored placement for a child — could occur only as a result of the utter collapse of all safeguards,” the child advocate’s report said.
The Department of Children and Families said the boy has recovered from his injuries. But Child Advocate Sarah Eagan noted how he is living in his fifth foster home and still faces many obstacles.
