Lawmakers press DDS on 4,000+ abuse and neglect allegations; advocates call system "not safe"

Commissioners and advocates on Thursday told a joint Human Services and Government Oversight Committee hearing that a recently released Department of Developmental Services report documenting more than 4,000 abuse and neglect allegations and 15 deaths raises urgent questions about oversight and follow-up.

Commissioner Jordan Sheff said the agency welcomes scrutiny and credited three main drivers of the higher report count: reopening after COVID increased public exposure; expanded mandated‑reporter training led more staff and providers to flag potential incidents; and new claims‑based detection tools have identified events that previously went undetected. "I'd much rather be in a situation where we are over‑reporting and under‑substantiating than the other way around," Sheff said, arguing that improved reporting shows more eyes and ears are watching vulnerable residents.

Advocates and committee members pushed back on two related points: who conducts investigations and whether the state reliably verifies providers’ corrective actions. Sarah Eagan, executive director of the Center for Children's Advocacy, said the system remains unsafe for a highly vulnerable population and highlighted repeated federal and state audit findings that detection and follow‑up remain uneven. Tom Cosker of Disability Rights Connecticut described cases in which the same individual faced repeated allegations and urged stronger monitoring of repeat incidents.

DDS officials described multiple layers of oversight. Katie Rock Burns, the agency’s chief operating officer, said provider investigators must be certified through the department’s training and that the division of investigation reviews and signs off on provider‑led probes. For complex or criminal matters, DDS said it defers to or coordinates with police or the Office of the Inspector General and sometimes funds independent investigators.

Lawmakers also focused on the report’s outcomes. Committee members asked what "not substantiated" means; DDS answered that the label does not deny the existence of an injury but indicates the investigators could not attribute it to a specific staff person or agency flaw. Of the 15 deaths flagged in the reporting period, DDS said 10 were substantiated as neglect or programmatic neglect, none were substantiated as abuse, and none were referred for criminal investigation.

On data, DDS officials described a partnership with a vendor (referred to in testimony as Pulse Light and the platform Aura) that ingests Medicaid claims from the MMIS system and other feeds to surface patterns—such as repeated emergency‑department visits—that may indicate unreported abuse or neglect. Staff acknowledged limits: not all hospitals bill Medicaid promptly, Medicare data are not integrated yet, and claims lags can delay detection. DDS said it is implementing WellSky to digitize corrective‑action tracking so that follow‑up can be documented and monitored more reliably.

Committee members asked whether provider‑led investigations create conflicts of interest. Sheff said the department decides when to insert itself, place a provider on enhanced monitoring, or require an external investigator. Several lawmakers and advocates said those guardrails are important but not yet sufficient and urged statutory reporting changes, improved public or family‑facing disclosure of programmatic findings, and more robust follow‑up to ensure corrective actions are completed.

The hearing closed with committee chairs asking DDS for additional, de‑identified demonstrations of the data tools and for more detailed reporting on repeat offenders, corrective‑action verification and family notification protocols. The committee signaled continued oversight and follow‑up this summer and into the next legislative session.