More than a year after launching its internal review, Connecticut's child welfare agency is still finalizing a report on how it handled the case of a Waterbury man allegedly held captive by his stepmother.
A lawyer for the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) testified at a hearing last month that a report examining any potential missteps by DCF workers who interacted with the victim's family was completed last year.
However, it remains an unfinished draft, attorney Lynn Hebert said — more than 14 months after the man's story of being held in captivity surfaced.
DCF has faced questions about its handling of the case after the alleged victim set fire to his home in February 2025 in what police described as a desperate bid to win his freedom.
DCF previously said it lacked sufficient evidence to remove the victim from the home, despite investigating six reports about his well-being over the course of nearly a decade.
Connecticut Public last year asked the agency to provide its internal assessment showing how it reached that conclusion. DCF denied the request, saying the documents are confidential child protective records.
DCF asked the state's Freedom of Information Commission to dismiss a pending complaint over the request. It argues the commission doesn't have jurisdiction to consider it.
Answering questions from a hearing officer last month, Hebert said DCF's bureau chief of continuous quality improvement was closely involved in the qualitative review of the Waterbury case, which produced a draft report she estimated was fewer than 50 pages.
"It walks through the case and outlines what occurred, what didn't occur, and makes the conclusions that inform our statement," Hebert said, referring to a two-page statement the department released in July 2025.
The statement briefly explains why DCF didn't remove the victim from the home, and notes the agency conducted "a detailed review of all records, reconstruction of the policies and procedures in place two decades ago (many of which have since been updated), and interviews with current staff who worked on the case."
Hebert testified she doesn't know why the document produced through the qualitative review isn't finished. A DCF spokesperson declined to answer additional questions.
"We will not comment further on confidential case records," the spokesperson said.
Undernourished, abused and neglected
Police allege the victim's stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, kept her stepson captive in a small room that was locked from the outside from the time he was around 11.
When firefighters discovered him last year, the victim, who was 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighed 68 pounds and suffered from severe muscle atrophy, according to authorities.
Sullivan has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and assault. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on DCF's involvement with the family.
A conservator for the alleged victim notified the state earlier this year that he may file a legal claim against DCF for failing to properly investigate his well-being.
The victim told investigators his family pulled him out of school in fourth grade after school officials contacted authorities about his behavior, including eating food out of the garbage because he was hungry.
In a notice filed with the Claims Commissioner's Office, the conservator wrote that DCF would have discovered the boy was "confined to the home, undernourished, abused and otherwise neglected" had DCF fully investigated the complaints it received.
DCF said previously that staff conducted announced and unannounced visits to the home between 1996 and 2005, even dropping by after-hours on some occasions to speak with family members.
They also interviewed children at the home, but the kids didn't disclose abuse or neglect, according to the agency.
"Based on the information available and the statutory requirements in place at the time, we did not have sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations or remove the child from the home," reads the summary provided by the agency last year.
'What information did we have?'
Connecticut Child Advocate Christina Ghio said her office's investigation into the Waterbury case remains in progress.
Ghio said in the past, DCF's own qualitative reviews helped the agency learn from critical incidents.
"When you have a tragedy, it's so important to step back and have a really objective look at what actually happened," she said. "What information did we have? What information was available that we didn't have? How are we looking at the information we had, and what sort of biases impacted our look at that information?"
The Waterbury case is among a string of high-profile incidents involving children connected with DCF that prompted lawmakers to act this year.
One new measure adopted by the House and Senate aims to better protect the safety of children taught at home. It stipulates children can't be pulled from school for homeschooling if any adult living with them is on the state's child abuse and neglect registry, or currently under investigation for child abuse or neglect.
It also requires most parents to complete a form each year saying whether their child will enroll in public school, attend a nonpublic school or be taught by parents.
Lawmakers also adopted a series of reforms to DCF, including measures that require staff to consider children's opinions during home visits when investigating child abuse or neglect, and enact new procedures when children who meet certain criteria are taken out-of-state by a parent.
The bill also establishes a new Child Welfare Policy and Oversight Committee, and a mentorship program for newly hired social workers at DCF.
