New Haven

Investigation details alleged flaws by DCF prior to infant's opioid-related death

DCF closed the case of a New Haven family just three weeks prior to the opioid-related death of the family's infant.

NBC Connecticut

The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) released an exhaustive and detailed report Tuesday, revealing deficiencies by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) that may have contributed to a New Haven child’s death.

Ten-month-old Marcello Meadows died June 28, after ingesting a combination of drugs, including fentanyl.

The OCA said Meadows was the 11th child to die of fentanyl intoxication in Connecticut since 2020.

“This is not a one off. This is a situation that Connecticut has faced over the last few years,” OCA Assistant Child Advocate Brendan Burke said.

Investigating how the Department of Children and Families handled the family’s case leading up to the baby’s death, the OCA said it found several shortfalls.

“It’s very concerning that the systems in place were put there to protect and ensure a safe environment for Marcello and a tragedy happened,” Burke said.

Among the key findings, the OCA said case records show no initial plan for reliable fentanyl testing of either parent as part of Marcello’s safety plan. The report said there was a lack of documentation and response to positive fentanyl screens and inadequate safety planning.

Just three weeks prior to the child’s death, DCF said they closed a case with the family, despite some warning signs.

“Marcello’s mother tested positive for fentanyl on three occasions, and very little was done to reassess the situation,” Burke said.

Addressing the case closing, DCF issued a statement saying in part:

“The Department assessed - along with an intensive in-home provider - the children in the home as being safe and thus ended its involvement with the family.”

Since the baby’s death, DCF said it has conducted an internal review. Within the past six months, they say they made several adjustments including adding supervisory support and holding fentanyl triage meetings to address the growing epidemic.

“We thought it was new territory 2 1/2 years ago and we thought we were on the peak of it but unfortunately we are not,” DCF Deputy Commissioner of Operations Michael C. Williams said.

DCF said it continues to review opportunities to improve. In a statement, they listed the following:

  • Assessing child safety in families where substance misuse and, particularly when fentanyl is present.
  • Expanding access to/enhancing fentanyl testing.
  • Continuing to engage and include contracted and non-contracted providers involved with a family in the DCF teaming process to ensure coordinated communication and information sharing.
  • Addressing provider staff turnover by working with the department's provider community to develop solutions.
  • Strengthening engagement of fathers and promoting more comprehensive assessments of fathers as an integral component of case planning.

Moving forward, the OCA and DCF said they will collaborate to make the system stronger.

“Our practice will continue to shift based upon what we continue to learn,” Williams said. “We do know that we have more to learn from this.”

Marcello’s mother, Alexandra Polino, was arrested in September and faces manslaughter charges. Her next scheduled court appearance is Feb. 28.

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