Collateral Damage: The DCF Chronicles

DCF Chronicles, Systemic Failures, Child Deaths, Advocacy, Accountability, Connecticut Paul Brown DCF Chronicles, Systemic Failures, Child Deaths, Advocacy, Accountability, Connecticut Paul Brown

How Connecticut DCF, a custody court, and a school withdrawal let an 11-year-old vanish

Police found Jacqueline Torres-Garcia in a plastic tote behind an abandoned New Britain house in 2025. Records show DCF closed a case months earlier after a video check. The story tracks the school withdrawal, the missed in-person visit, and the custody decisions that left no neutral eyes on her.

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DCF Chronicles, Investigations, Arizona, Foster Care Failures, Medical Neglect, Child Deaths, Oversight and Accountability, Court and Legislation, Group Homes, Public Records Paul Brown DCF Chronicles, Investigations, Arizona, Foster Care Failures, Medical Neglect, Child Deaths, Oversight and Accountability, Court and Legislation, Group Homes, Public Records Paul Brown

How Arizona DCS and Catalyst Community Corp lost a child they were paid to protect

Fifteen-year-old Christian Williams had Type 1 diabetes and was in Arizona DCS custody at a Catalyst group home in Mesa. Emails warned that missed insulin “will result in his death.” A DCS-contracted worker asked for a nurse. An emergency team met. Nothing changed. On July 7, 2024, staff framed a medical crisis as misbehavior and delayed 911. Christian died three days later of diabetic ketoacidosis. Licensing took no action. This investigation follows each warning, each decision, and the policies that should have protected him.

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