(photo) Sen. Seminara: “Highly disturbing” CT investigative report is call to action

November 21, 2023

(photo) Sen. Seminara: “Highly disturbing” CT investigative report is call to action - CT Senate Republic

For Immediate Release

Sen. Seminara: “Highly disturbing” state investigative
report is call to action

Sen. Lisa Seminara, the Ranking Senator on the Human Services Committee and the Committee on Children, today issued the following statement in reaction to a state government investigative report which found that state-certified caregivers failed to properly supervise a developmentally disabled teenager in the moments before he sexually assaulted a disabled woman at a group home.

“These findings are highly disturbing. They demand action, accountability and reforms. We as state lawmakers must pass stronger protections for intellectually disabled residents living in state-licensed housing across Connecticut and take steps to prevent future lapses. Clearly, there are systemic problems in state government agencies charged with caring for vulnerable residents. I have sounded the alarm about other recent cases involving vulnerable residents under state care, including a DCF- funded shelter in Harwinton and the tragic death of two-year-old Liam Rivera.  I urged Governor Lamont in a letter last month to convene a panel that would dig into these issues and consider recommendations made by the Office of the Child Advocate.  I will work with lawmakers on a bipartisan basis to fix what is broken.”

Attached photo:
Sen. Lisa Seminara (center) speaks at a May 4 meeting of the legislature’s bipartisan Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) Caucus during The Arc of CT’s family hearing day.