@new_england_unfiltered: A 17-year-old girl spent seven months at Connecticut’s Solnit Children’s Center in Middletown. Her clinicians determined she was ready for discharge. A probate judge agreed she no longer met the legal criteria for confinement and ordered her released. There was just one problem. The Department of Children and Families had nowhere appropriate to send her. According to attorney Josh Michtom of the Center for Children’s Advocacy, the teenager subsequently spent time in an emergency foster home, DCF offices and hospital emergency departments. She reportedly went without education or therapy while waiting for placement. After an emergency appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court, DCF found a residential placement. It lasted three days before she returned to an emergency department. The investigation also revealed troubling conditions at Solnit. Independent monitors reported that 48% of registered nursing positions were vacant in September. They continued documenting environmental hazards, staffing shortages and delayed repairs. State lawmakers have demanded corrective plans. Meanwhile, a legislative committee created to oversee DCF has not yet met, and its recommendations aren’t due for another 14 months. WHY WE’RE WATCHING: A court determined this child shouldn’t remain hospitalized. The state responsible for her welfare still couldn’t provide an appropriate place to live. Governor Ned Lamont acknowledges serious problems. Officials cite shortages of suitable placements and increasingly complex behavioral health needs. Those explanations don’t change the teenager’s circumstances. Connecticut has managed to create a system where children can be too well to remain hospitalized and still have nowhere safe to go. #ConnecticutNews #DCF #ChildWelfare #MentalHealthCare #GovernmentAccountability

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Thursday 15 October 2026 13:06:15 GMT