Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families has been under a microscope this year. Following the deaths of several children who had contact with the agency, including 11-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-GarcÃa, who died of malnourishment and abuse, the state legislature passed a sweeping package of child welfare reforms that significantly expanded support for foster parents in Connecticut. Starting July 1, 2026, those reforms are now in effect.
Here is what you need to know:
What: House Bill 5004, a package of two dozen provisions expanding oversight of DCF and increasing financial and practical support for foster parents in Connecticut.
When: July 1, 2026.
Why: Three high-profile cases exposed systemic failures at DCF. Eleven-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-GarcÃa died of malnourishment and abuse while DCF had involvement with her family. Eve Rogers also died under similar circumstances. In April 2026, a child in DCF care asked a caseworker to be placed in foster care during a home visit. The worker said no. The child died by apparent suicide less than an hour later. The Office of the Child Advocate called the pattern of failures alarming and described workers and children in a near-constant state of crisis.
What Do the New Laws Do?
Among other changes, foster parents will now receive $625 as soon as a child is placed in their care.
Previously, foster families were given little notice before a placement. Maintenance care payments had not increased for foster families in a decade, and had not increased for kin caregivers in two decades. New grants included in the legislation are designed to fill that gap.
House Bill 5004 includes two dozen provisions in total, ranging from new grants for families to new oversight for the agency. The bill also created a new 32-member Child Welfare Policy and Oversight Committee, which will make recommendations about DCF operations and policies.
Several trainings will now be mandatory for DCF employees, covering topics including cultural sensitivity, perinatal mood and anxiety, and human trafficking. A new public-facing website will be created with updated information and reports on DCF, in direct response to public demands for accountability.
The bill also requires more accountability when children in DCF care leave the state, including welfare checks by the child welfare agency in their new location. This provision responds directly to the case of Torres-GarcÃa, whose mother covered up her death by telling a DCF social worker that the child was visiting a relative out of state.
Why Foster Parents in Connecticut Have Been Struggling
The new financial support is overdue. On any given day, there are almost 3,500 children in foster care in Connecticut, many of whom need permanent homes. Parents who open their homes to those children have been doing so without a meaningful increase in support for years, even as the cost of living has climbed and the needs of children entering care have grown more complex.
The deaths that prompted this legislation were not isolated failures. They were the visible result of a system under strain. In April, the Office of the Child Advocate described in an urgent public letter the apparent suicide of a child who died within an hour of asking a DCF worker to be placed in foster care. The worker said no. The child was left with their parent. That case is now under investigation.
Child Welfare Law Specialist from the Office of the Child Advocate, Christina D. Ghio, also described in her letter that workers and children are in a near constant state of crisis, noting that children’s behavioral health needs are not being addressed, foster parents lack support, and children are losing hope. The Center for Children’s Advocacy called for immediate action to address DCF workforce gaps and support foster parents and social workers.
What Support for Foster Parents in Connecticut Will Look Like Now
The new laws build on an existing, if underfunded, foundation of support. Foster parents in Connecticut receive a tax-free monthly stipend for food, clothing, childcare, and other necessities, with the amount based on the level of care, age, and needs of each child. Connecticut Department of Children and Families also provides healthcare coverage for children in foster care.
Organizations like Family and Children’s Agency offer monthly training and support groups for foster parents on topics including attachment, trauma, behavior, cultural diversity, and mandated reporting. Wheeler Health runs a four-week virtual licensing training program and offers reunification and therapeutic family time services for families navigating the system. The Connecticut Alliance of Foster and Adoptive Families is also available to help prospective and current foster parents understand the process and access resources.
The new $625 placement grant and increased maintenance care payments will not solve everything. But they signal something important: that lawmakers recognize foster parents are partners in the child welfare system, not volunteers who should simply absorb whatever the system asks of them with no additional support.
What Still Needs to Change
Passing a law is not the same as fixing a system. DCF has new leadership under Commissioner Susan Hamilton, who has pledged transparency and urgency. But families, advocates, and newly confirmed Child Advocate Christina Ghio say that more must be done.
The oversight committee created by House Bill 5004 will need to do real work. The mandatory trainings will need to be followed through on, and the culture inside an agency that led to a children’s deaths will need to change in ways that no single bill can legislate.
Connecticut’s foster parents have been showing up for children in the state’s most difficult circumstances for years, often without adequate support. These new laws are a step toward changing that. The children in Connecticut’s foster care system deserve a system that shows up for them just as consistently.
How You Can Help
If you live in Connecticut and want to support foster youth directly, the most impactful thing you can do is get involved. You can become a foster parent, a respite caregiver, or a mentor through your local DCF office or a private provider agency. To learn more about how to get started, check out our guide here.