Lawmakers say they’re working on reforms to a child welfare agency that’s been in the spotlight for the past 12 months.  

Rep. Corey Paris (D-Stamford), who co-chairs the Children’s Committee, said that the reform package could include training, oversight, and even more funding for staffing and resources.  

“When the state steps into a family’s life, the bar has to be set extraordinarily high and right now, quite frankly, there are places where we need to do better,” Paris said Friday.  

The legislature begins its session on Wednesday.  

His comments came as the mother and aunt of Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia had court dates this week, both charged in Connecticut with the death of the 11-year-old girl.  

New Britain police found her remains in October, but believe she may have been dead for as long as a year before that.  

DCF had been monitoring Torres-Garcia, raising questions about whether it had done enough to protect her.  

That incident came roughly eight months after a 32-year-old man named “S” claimed he started a fire in his Waterbury home to bring attention to decades of neglect and abuse.  

He and his family also had contact with DCF.  

Sen. Jonathan Perillo, (R-Shelton), agrees with Paris that lawmakers need to look at reforms.  

He wants to see an end to virtual visits, an issue in Torres-Garcia’s case.  

Both lawmakers said they’re talking with DCF about what other changes are needed to avoid similar occurrences.  

Paris was vague on details, though, saying he’s still trying to build a consensus with Republicans, advocates, and DCF. 

The lawmakers said the problem is deeper than the two high-profile incidents.  

A state auditor’s report in June raised concern that DCF lost track of children 3,700 times between fiscal years 2021 and 2023.  

Lawmakers could also look at more oversight of homeschool families.  

Many states require homeschool families to bring their children for an annual visit to a local school, checking in with a mandatory reporter. Connecticut does not.  

Interim Child Advocate Christina Ghio renewed calls in March to change that, saying abusive families can minimize contact with mandatory reporters by claiming they are homeschooling their children.  

That’s what happened when Matthew Tirado died in 2017, and that allegedly happened in the case of “S.”  

Rep. Jennifer Leeper (D-Fairfield), who co-chairs the Education Committee, said lawmakers are looking into the issue, though no proposal has been drafted yet.  

She said she’s trying to find a balance, but she wants to ensure that state laws ensure children are safe and are getting a quality education.  

“Almost every other state has a more robust system to ensure children’s both well-being and also educational attainment and that those families, too, are enjoying a really meaningful and flexible and self-directed homeschooling experience,” she said.  

Perillo said the legislature should focus on DCF reforms.  

“DCF is the authority here, and DCF has been the home of systemic problems for decades,” he said.  

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.

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.