HARWINTON, Conn. — The Department of Children and Families has decided to close the troubled group home in Harwinton according to officials.
Sen. Lisa Seminara, who represents Harwinton and serves as Ranking Senator on the Committee on Children, said in a statement that Bridge Family Center's Short-Term Assessment and Respite Home – also known as STAR – was closing.
"The decision was made not to maintain a Short-Term Assessment and Respite (STAR) home in Harwinton. Along with our community partners, we continue to review all aspects of our service provision for those children and families we serve. Alternatives for this site will be proposed at a later time." said DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes
The facility has raised alarm bells for state lawmakers and local law enforcement.
Since November 2022, there have been numerous reports of teenage girls at the shelter being involved in unsafe incidents which has led to a high volume of first responder calls and a quick reaction from the CT Department of Children and Families.
The shelter is for girls ages 14 to 18. Known as Short Term Assessment and Respite or STAR, it is a place for girls who have had trouble at home or at their foster homes.
In 2021 and 2022, staff at the shelter were arrested for alleged maltreatment of the girls.
The issues were so bad, that Harwinton Ambulance sent a letter in June of this year to lawmakers and Dorantes. Paramedics received emergency calls up to twice a month from the shelter.
Seminara said in a statement,
“This is a positive step, and it comes on the heels of a year’s worth of troubling incidents which have jeopardized public safety on multiple levels. Harwinton officials and state law enforcement officials have repeatedly raised alarm bells about how the entire system needs to be revamped. The girls and boys in this program are extremely vulnerable. What we need now is a serious discussion about policies which can get to the root of the problem: How do we make state government more accountable to these children, and how do we fix what is broken? Last month, I urged Governor Lamont to convene a panel that would dig into these issues and consider recommendations made by the Office of the Child Advocate.
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