HARTFORD — Several children who were in foster care died in Connecticut in the last month, leading to some serious questions.
The Office of the Child’s Advocate is investigating why and how three children in the care of the state died.
“These deaths are enormous tragedies,” said Faith vos Winkle, of the Office of the Child’s Advocate. “When the state steps in to take on the parent role, we need to make sure we’re doing it as effectively as we can, keeping kids as safe as we can.”
The children include Michael Shore, 14, who was killed while walking on Route 8 in Naugatuck; Michael Citron, 13 months, who was found unresponsive in a Bridgeport home; and Noah McCoy, 6, who was ejected from a pickup truck on Christmas morning after it hit black ice.
Police say that Shore had some type of emotional interaction that caused him to get out of a car and try to cross Route 8 in Naugatuck on December 22. He was hit by a northbound car, and then thrown into the southbound lane and hit by another car.
“We’re in the early stages of reviewing the cases,” said vos Winkle. “When we look at a case like Michael’s, we want to know was he getting the support and services he needed? Did he have the right foster care match, considering his family history? Was the boy getting everything he needed to stay regulated and supported — everything necessary to his well-being, since arriving in state care?”
According to the OCA, Shore’s father, Michael Shore Sr., of Plainville, was arrested in May 2016 on more than 100 counts of sexually assaulting two girls under the age of 18 over a six-year period. He has pleaded guilty to those charges and will be in court next on January 20.
“Because these were children in foster care, who died in an untimely way, they will look into the full circumstances that led up to their deaths,” vos Winkle said.
According to police and the OCA, Noah McCoy, 6, died on Christmas morning in a crash on I-91 north in North Haven. He was in a pickup truck with two other kids and a 23-year-old woman, who was driving. However, McCoy was the only one not wearing a seatbelt, so when the truck hit black ice and flipped over several times he was ejected. He died on Wednesday from the injuries he sustained.
No information was provided on what caused Michael Critron’s death in a Bridgeport home, and the medical examiner is apparently still investigating.
The OCA says all three cases were submitted to the Child Fatality Review Board to be looked at.
“The child fatality review process rests within [our office], so all untimely and unexpected deaths of children are reported to us and the medical examiner,” vos Winkle added.
