Connecticut
Rampant Neglect and Abuse at Connecticut Mental Health Center Disputed by Agency Spokesman
NEW HAVEN — An investigation by Disability Rights Connecticut has found that the Connecticut Mental Health Center failed to investigate sexual assault claims, restrained or secluded patients without proper documentation or monitoring, and allowed mice to infest its facility.
The center, run by the Yale School of Medicine and the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, is a 20-bed facility for patients suffering from serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder, sometimes combined with substance abuse.
“DRCT’s systemic findings uncovered a pervasive culture of DMHAS’ and CMHC’s failure to adequately protect and treat patients under its care,” the report reads.
The investigation outlined in the report spanned nearly three years — from April 2021 to February 2024. The organization looked at the records of 14 patients at the facility, visited six times and interviewed staff and patients.
Rachel Mirsky, the supervisory attorney at Disability Rights Connecticut, told CT Examiner that the organization decided to investigate the center after receiving multiple complaints about the conditions there.
Abuse incidents
The report describes an incident where a 25-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by a male patient on two different occasions in the spring and summer of 2021. The facility allegedly failed to investigate the assaults. The woman, who had been diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder as well as having a borderline intellectual disability, left the facility after three months.
Another woman, 23, who came into the facility with post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood sexual abuse, was allegedly assaulted three times by a male patient over the course of six months. None of the instances were investigated, the report claims. When it was time for her to leave the facility, the report states she was discharged to her family despite having told her treatment team that she had been abused by her brother, who also lived there. She returned to the center a week later after relapsing into substance abuse, and was alleged to have been sexually harassed on a number of occasions over the following six months. None of those allegations were reported or investigated, according to the report.
The report also found that a number of patients were denied essential care, including the lack of assigned psychologists and the absence of plans to support positive behavior. The report noted that the 23-year-old woman was prescribed emergency psychotropic drugs — chemical restraints — 14 times and was physically restrained on one occasion, but never received a psychological assessment or behavior plan.
The center is also accused of failing to consistently document the use of restraint and seclusion on patients, which is meant to be used only when the person or others in the vicinity are in immediate physical danger, and requires a doctor to sign a form indicating that restraints are necessary. According to the report, this documentation was regularly missing.
A 31-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia was admitted to the center in 2019. After about a year in the facility, he was discharged to a group home, where it is alleged that he attacked a staff person and another resident. He was sent to the emergency room and then returned to the center.
“The [center] social worker documented that shortly after his readmission to [the center], the father of John Doe #1 asked the social worker what would be different about his treatment this time and stated that John Doe #1’s previous stay with [the center] had lasted for one year and that he was discharged unchanged,” the report read.
During the 32 weeks he remained at the center, the man was physically restrained 14 times, chemically restrained 16 times and placed in seclusion six times, according to the report. The documentation required for these restraints and seclusions was allegedly incomplete or missing in all of these instances.
According to the report, the man was sexually abusive toward staff and other patients at least 50 times during his stay, but none of those instances triggered an investigation.
Over reliance of restraints on psychiatric patients rather than treatment was also reported in a 2019 investigation that Disability Rights Connecticut conducted on Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown.
In addition to unreported abuse and instances of restraints, the report on the Connecticut Mental Health Center found that certain patients were also regularly missing their clinical groups.
The report also criticized the facility itself, which had been beset by a mouse infestation. In September 2022, the housekeeping staff said 25 mice were captured in traps over one weekend.
“Documentation indicated that mice were present in the kitchen/dining area, lounges, and patient bedrooms. On February 21, 2024, staff reported that even though the exterminator visited the facility three times a week, they continue to see mice in patient living areas, especially at nighttime. More is needed to address this chronic and unsanitary situation,” the report noted.
The building also contains 63,000 square feet of asbestos under the floor tiles which has not yet been remediated.
State response
Chris McClure, spokesperson for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, told CT Examiner in a statement that the Connecticut Mental Health Center and all its facilities meet the “exacting and precise objective standards of care” required by the Joint Commission, and that client care was their highest concern.
“While we appreciate the hard work and input of DRCT, and while we continue to review their report, the agency has numerous concerns with DRCT’s findings and recommendations; which include subjective criteria, calls for systems change when robust risk management, quality assurance, and critical incident reporting are already in place, and citation of isolated events that have since been remedied,” McClure said.
But Mirsky told CT Examiner that, while the department says it has oversight from the Joint Commission, which accredits and sets standards for these facilities, she questions the quality of the Joint Commission’s assessments.
“We have looked at reports from the Joint Commission and there we have found things that they did not find,” Mirsky said.
McClure noted that the department disagreed with the organization’s findings and said senior leadership was “made available to DRTC throughout to discuss the material.”
But Disability Rights Connecticut is now asking for an outside agency to oversee the center and other facilities run by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Of the six inpatient psychiatric hospitals that the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services runs in Connecticut, only one — Whiting Hospital — has independent oversight from the Department of Public Health, Mirsky explained.
“If [the Department of Public Health] or a similarly situated agency went in on a regular basis … people would have the ability to file complaints with them at any time,” Mirsky said. “If they get complaints, they can say, alright, we’re going to go in, we’re going to investigate. That’s not happening. We went in to investigate because no one else really is.”
The organization is also asking for the creation of a system to monitor reporting and investigations of abuse and neglect claims, a system to monitor quality of care and require reviews of restraints and seclusions.
“CMHC and its staff remain focused on the safety and care of their patients, engaging in ongoing monitoring and quality improvement for the clinical care they deliver. The center takes all feedback seriously and employs it in its ongoing efforts to improve the care that it delivers,” Yale said in a statement.
Maureen Lyons, of the Joint Commission, told CT Examiner that the commission reviews complaints. Although the commission works with organizations like CMHC to “identify potential risks to patient safety and improve quality of care,” only a “governmental entity” can require a facility to shut down, she said.
Connecticut may become a ghost town if lawmakers fail to address affordability concerns — and the warning signs are becoming harder to ignore.
A new AARP survey of residents aged 45 and older shows deep concern about rising living costs. Respondents cited housing, utilities, and medical care as major financial pressures, fueling broader worries about long-term financial security and the ability to afford retirement in Connecticut.
The numbers are sobering: 72% of respondents say they are concerned about the cost-of-living, up from 66% in 2023; more than half worry about being able to retire in Connecticut; and 33% report difficulty affording healthcare.
Those anxieties are translating into real financial strain. Nearly half say they have tapped into savings to cover rising costs. Forty-two percent have stopped saving for retirement altogether. Thirty-six percent struggle with monthly bills. Thirty percent have difficulty affording food. Thirteen percent report skipping medications due to cost.
These are not marginal concerns. They represent warning signals from a key demographic in one of the nation’s oldest states. Connecticut’s median age is 41.2, the seventh highest in the country. Meanwhile, the 35-to-49 age group declined by 13.1 percent between 2010 and 2022 — more than any other age group.
Older residents are increasingly relocating to states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas. The reasons are familiar: lower taxes, lower housing costs, and lower energy bills.
Despite a relatively high average annual income, Connecticut residents face some of the highest property taxes, income taxes, and corporate taxes in the country. At the same time, the state struggles with elevated housing costs and some of the highest utility rates nationwide. For retirees, the financial math often simply doesn’t work.
In the AARP survey, 92% of respondents agreed that the state government should prioritize utility rate and regulatory changes. That is telling.
Energy policy illustrates the broader challenge. Over the past several decades, Connecticut has adopted increasingly ambitious renewable energy mandates, including Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). This measure severely restricts utilities’ ability to find the cleanest and most efficient means of providing electricity. While environmental goals are important, restricting utilities’ energy sourcing options has contributed to higher costs.
The Public Benefits Charge, a state-imposed fee on electric bills that funds various renewable energy programs, has become another driver of high rates. When policy costs are layered onto utility bills, households feel it immediately.
Connecticut’s long-term emissions goals are ambitious. But energy policy must balance environmental objectives with cost and reliability. In Alternatives to New England’s Affordability Crisis, a coalition study of New England’s energy market found that a more diversified portfolio, including nuclear and natural gas, could significantly lower costs while maintaining reliability and reducing emissions.
The General Assembly is currently considering a bill to establish a workforce that would advance nuclear energy technologies. That is a conversation worth having. Energy decisions that improve affordability and reliability would directly address the concerns raised in the AARP survey.
Affordability, however, extends beyond energy. Government spending and taxation play a central role in everyday costs. When taxes and regulatory burdens increase, those costs ripple outward — affecting housing prices, transportation costs, and grocery bills.
Even proposals framed as targeting large corporations can affect consumers. For example, H.B. 5156, would impose retroactive costs on fossil-fuel producers. Industry groups estimate it could raise gasoline prices by nearly 33 cents per gallon. For families already struggling with food and medical bills, even incremental increases matter.
Gov. Ned Lamont has spoken about the need for growth and reform to strengthen Connecticut’s future. Growth, however, requires a competitive cost structure.
If lawmakers truly believe affordability is the top issue this session, structural reform, not temporary rebates, is required. That means reassessing the tax and regulatory environment that drives costs higher.
Connecticut’s affordability challenge is not inevitable. It is the cumulative result of policy choices. If those choices are not revisited, the state will continue to lose residents, particularly those in their prime earning years and those approaching retirement, to more affordable alternatives.
The survey results are not just statistics. They are signals. Lawmakers would be wise to take them seriously.
Connecticut is set to receive more than $154 million aimed at improving health care in rural communities.
The funding comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Rural Health Transformation Program, according to a community announcement.
The Connecticut Department of Social Services will lead the initiative, partnering with other state agencies to implement projects across four core areas: population health outcomes, workforce, data and technology, and care transformation and stability, according to the announcement.
The program will include several innovative projects, such as a mobile clinic pilot with four primary care and four dental vans, a health workforce pipeline through the Area Health Education Center and UConn Health Center, and community health navigators.
“Rural Connecticut has unique challenges, and its residents deserve the same access to high-quality care and support as anyone who lives anywhere else,” Lamont said. “This investment allows us to tackle those challenges head-on – from expanding mental health services and building a stronger health care workforce to modernizing our technology infrastructure and connecting residents to the services they need. This is about making sure every corner of Connecticut has the opportunity to thrive.”
The program was developed through extensive public engagement, including more than 250 written comments, meetings with health care providers, local government officials and community organizations, as well as in-person and virtual listening sessions held across the state, according to the announcement.
Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner of the state Department of Social Services, highlighted the program’s long-term vision.
“This program reflects our commitment to building systems that work for rural residents over the long term,” she said in the release. “We are excited and grateful to CMS for this opportunity to make sure that our investments are coordinated, impactful, and built to last.”
The program aims to bring health care closer to rural residents while supporting the workforce that provides care, said Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health.
“Every person in rural Connecticut deserves good health care close to home, and the people who provide that care deserve real support too,” Juthani said. “This funding helps us bring care to where people are and build the healthcare workforce our communities need. When we invest in both, we give everyone a better chance at staying healthy.”
Additional information about the Rural Health Transformation Program, including opportunities for public engagement, will be made available as implementation proceeds.
For more information, visit the Connecticut Department of Social Services website at ct.gov/dss.
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
When a house has been loved for generations, its walls tend to hold stories. In the case of one family residence in Darien, Connecticut, that sentiment was taken quite literally. On the casement between the living room and kitchen are ticks that denote decades of growth, a quiet record of childhoods unfolding in real time. Several of those measurements belong to the home’s newest steward—the original owners’ daughter—who was ready to put her own mark on the property.
Eager to see what she could make of the 1930s structure, she and her husband tapped British-born designer Becca Casey of Connecticut-based Becca Interiors to breathe new life—and old soul—into the interior. For Casey, being entrusted with that kind of emotional patina was a privilege she didn’t take lightly. “The greatest challenge was ensuring that the new extension had synergy with the original house while bringing together the couple’s different tastes and honoring the home’s history,” Casey says of the 2,400-square-foot space.
That delicate balance shows up everywhere, from tailored silhouettes and clean lines for him to pattern and color for her. Nowhere is that nuance more evident than in the property’s oldest room, a long, beam-lined living space that once sat largely unused. Casey swathed it in an atmospheric mural, transforming it into a multi-zone haven centered on the fireplace, with moments of repose throughout where the family can gather to play a game or enjoy a book.
Around the home, Casey’s eye for nuance is unmistakable. She wields color, pattern, and shape with equal aplomb, expertly marrying form with function in a way that’s both timeless and fresh. A hidden television disappears behind drapery-lined cabinetry, the inner skeleton of an armchair is displayed like a work of art, a vintage dining table reveals a plaque from the husband’s hometown (a serendipitous discovery that made the piece instantly meaningful). In the end, reviving the dwelling wasn’t about reinvention for Casey—it was about the possibility that a new chapter can bring. The result is a space that, according to Casey, feels “quietly refined and effortlessly lived-in”—an elegant meeting point between memory and modern family life.
FAST FACTS:
Designer: Becca Casey, Becca Interiors
Location: Darien, Connecticut
The Space: A 1930s colonial with six bedrooms, across 2,400 square feet.
LIVING ROOM
Bare windows and a transportive wallpaper nod to the pastoral landscape.
The living room is the oldest space in the house, so Casey wanted to honor its bones while streamlining the layout for modern functionality. Custom Dmitriy & Co. sofas—linen on the top, patterned French mattress tufting at the base—typify the union between “his” and “her” tastes.
Sconce: Woven Shop. Lamp: Visual Comfort & Co. Chair: custom.
Table: custom, Becca Interiors. Chairs: Pottery Barn.
A traditional English roll armchair was tucked into a corner at the request of the husband, whose wish list included a spot to read. Aiming for a “layered floor plan,” with distinct areas for the family’s many needs, Casey added a game table as a visual anchor with a direct sight line to the main entryway of the home.
DEN
An original stone fireplace anchors the family-ready space.
Pendant: Woka. Coffee table: LF Collection. Sconce: Hector Finch.
Coffee table: LF Collection. Rug: Woodard Weave. Chik blinds: Joss Graham.
Drenched in French Gray paint by Farrow & Ball and grounded by the original stone fireplace, the den is carefully choreographed to support togetherness, with a custom sectional and hidden TV.
DINING ROOM
The sun-drenched space looks out to the backyard pond.
Paint: School House White, Farrow & Ball. Chairs: Maison Louis Drucker. Table: antique. Tablecloths: Zara Home, Cabana Home. Pedants: Lightology.
Part of the new addition, the serene dining room is flooded with light, thanks to expansive floor to (almost) ceiling windows. Layered textiles keep the antique table—a happy find, originally made in the husband’s hometown—geared toward casual meals.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
Salvaged beams mimic the look of the originals in the living room.
Paint: Shaded White, Farrow & Ball. Rug: Lulu and Georgia. Bedding: The Company Store. Dresser: English Farmhouse Furniture.
Inspired by Belgian interiors, the elevated placement of the fireplace isn’t just a design flex—it’s an experiential choice that puts the flames right at eye level when lounging in bed. Beside it, two vintage English armchairs stun with their exposed interior, a Becca Interiors signature touch.
PRIMARY BATH
Natural materials were chosen for their ability to patina over time.
Mirror: Rejuvenation. Floor tile: Arto. Wall paint: Slipper Statin, Farrow & Ball. Sconces: O’lampia.
In the primary bathroom, wellness comes through atmosphere rather than gadgets. A Drummonds soaking tub is positioned for prime pond views, with a gray-green base (Drop Cloth, Farrow & Ball) that reinforces the room’s soothing palette.
WORKSTATION
Smart features make family management a cinch.
Roman shade: Hunter Douglas. Desk paint: Studio Green, Farrow & Ball. Chair: Soho Home. Rug: Merribrook Collection. Flushmount: RW Guild.
To make the most of a hall nook, Casey crafted a compact desk where the wife, a teacher, can grade papers. Labeled drawers store art supplies, while a floor-to-ceiling cabinet (at side) acts as a hub for deliveries.
About the Designer
Becca Casey is the Principal Director and founder of Becca Interiors. Raised in the countryside of Southwest England, her earliest influences were rooted in history, nature, and the quiet beauty of rural life. These foundations continue to shape her design philosophy today, one that blends heritage with modern sensibility while honoring craftsmanship and the beauty of daily life at home.
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