Connecticut Pushes DDS Complaint Transparency

Connecticut advocates and parents are backing legislation that would expand transparency and oversight around abuse and neglect allegations involving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities served in the DDS/DSS-funded continuum. The push follows a Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) provider report showing the DDS provider received more than 4,000 abuse and neglect complaints in 2024, including 15 deaths. Proposed changes focus on family access to investigation materials, more frequent public reporting, and faster review cycles for internal policies and procedures.

Family Access and Faster Public Reporting

Supporters are pressing lawmakers to open DDS provider abuse and neglect investigations to families and to publish complaint data more frequently. The proposed changes described include:

• Requiring the DDS provider to provide investigation reports to parents and guardians. These reports are currently released by request.

• Mandating quarterly public reporting of complaint data instead of annual reporting.

• Increasing the cadence of policy and procedure reviews to quarterly rather than once every five years.

Backers describe the legislation as a way to strengthen oversight across the DDS/DSS-funded continuum by improving visibility into how complaints are handled and how patterns are tracked over time.

DDS Provider Cites Staffing and Privacy Concerns

Commissioner Jordan Scheff raised concerns about resourcing and privacy and rights. He noted that the DDS provider investigates and reviews thousands of reports annually and argued the provider does not have the staff to provide investigation reports routinely. Scheff also pointed to an individual’s right to decide whether information is shared with parents and guardians, raising questions about how broader routine disclosure would align with that decision-making authority.

2024 Data Shows Substantiation Rate and Provider Role

The DDS provider report includes several data points that advocates have highlighted in their push for more frequent public reporting and clearer accountability. In 2024, 43% of 4,246 allegations were substantiated. The report also shows that providers investigated roughly 70% of reports. Advocates argued the DDS provider did not sufficiently describe how it ensures corrective actions are implemented after investigations are completed, or how systemic patterns are escalated when repeated issues appear across reports.