Connecticut
Mechanical failure closed East Haddam Bridge
The East Haddam Bridge was closed on Thursday morning because of a mechanical failure, according to CTRoads.org.
The bridge was closed to vehicles and boat marine traffic.
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Connecticut
Frigid cold temperatures to start the day
We have a very cold start to Friday with feel-like temperatures around -10 degrees with little relief in sight.
There is a cold weather advisory in effect until 11 a.m.
Temperatures will remain low throughout the day , with highs ranging from 10-20 degrees.
Overnight will remain calm and clear with brutally low 0-15 degree temperatures.
The weekend starts out a bit warmer, with highs near 20 degrees.
The coastal storm that was nearby continues to push out to the ocean and misses us.
Connecticut
Child welfare advocate: Connecticut’s DCF must improve, get more funding
The revelations continue on day two of the probable cause hearing for Jonatan Nanita, one of three people connected to the death of 11-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia.
Something revealed through testimony was that a Department of Children and Families (DCF) worker, who was working with the family during a sibling’s neglect case, checked on Mimi via a video call.
Except that the person on the other end of the call was not Mimi, who was believed to have been dead for a year by that point. Instead, the social worker unknowingly spoke with a woman in her 20s pretending to be the 11-year-old.
NBC Connecticut spoke with Sarah Eagan, the state’s former Child Advocate and now head of the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford, about the incident.
“That’s hard to reconcile, right?” Eagan said. “The timeline is really important […] as to when folks should have discovered–whether through the school system, child protection system, or other–what happened to Mimi Torres.”
Eagan said this case helps underline how DCf, while no longer under federal oversight, still faces major challenges.
“It’s not because they’re not trying,” Eagan said. “They need a lot of help to turn that ship around.”
Eagan recently wrote an op-ed, highlighting two reports about the DCF issued last summer; one by the state, another by the federal government. One of the reports outlined more than 3,000 incidents of children in DCF custody going missing over two years.
The other report stated the state didn’t meet the safety and well-being benchmarks of children involved with DCF.
“This is a system, in my view, that is really on the brink workforce-wise, service-wise, foster care availability-wise, practice-wise–and that really has to concern us as stakeholders,” Eagan explained.
Eagan said the biggest way to help fix the issues is with more funding.
“If we want to hold DCF accountable for fulfilling the state’s legal obligation to ensure the safety of children like Mimi Torres, they need the tools,” Eagan said.
She said millions more are needed, probably tens of millions. Eagan highlighted the upcoming short legislative session, during which budget adjustments can be made, which could be helpful.
Connecticut
Chilly temperatures continue for Thursday
While today is fair, it will be very cold and breezy.
The highs today are in the lower 20s with winds making it feel like single digits.
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By tonight it will be windy and brutally cold.
Wind chill “feels-like” is near negative 15 degrees.
The Sunday storm will give us glancing blow with a chance of some snow in Eastern CT and cold winds statewide.
Chilly temperatures will stick around for next week.
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