Homeschoolers Targeted Over State’s Deadly Mistake

Children in a classroom raising their hands to answer a question while a teacher stands in front

Connecticut lawmakers are exploiting the horrific starvation death of an 11-year-old girl to expand government surveillance over homeschooling families, even though the child was already under state supervision when she died and bureaucrats accepted a fake video call instead of checking on her in person.

Story Highlights

AbleChild filed emergency testimony opposing Connecticut’s “Mimi bill,” which would create a statewide reporting pipeline tracking families who withdraw children from public schools
Mimi Torres-García died of starvation while already known to DCF, which closed her case in May 2024 and later accepted a video call where a 22-year-old woman impersonated the deceased child
Mimi’s estate is pursuing a $100 million wrongful death claim against DCF for alleged negligence and failure to follow safety protocols
The proposed legislation punishes law-abiding homeschool families instead of holding accountable the state agency that had all the authority and information needed to save Mimi’s life

Government Failure Repackaged as Homeschool Problem

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families had extensive involvement with Mimi Torres-García and her family for years before the 11-year-old’s remains were discovered in a plastic storage bin in late 2025. DCF interacted with Mimi as recently as September 2022 during an investigation involving her younger siblings, determined the children were safe, and closed the case in May 2024—just months before her death. Yet state legislators are now pushing the “Mimi bill,” which would require schools to report every withdrawal to state education agencies, who would then notify DCF, creating a massive data pipeline targeting families who choose alternatives to public schools.

DCF Accepted Fake Video Instead of In-Person Check

The most damning failure came when DCF conducted a video welfare check after concerns were raised about Mimi’s safety. A 22-year-old woman later testified that she impersonated the child on that video call at the mother’s request—after Mimi had already died from starvation in fall 2024. Former DCF workers confirmed this violated standard protocol, which requires physically seeing the child in person for safety checks involving high-risk families. The autopsy revealed Mimi weighed just 27 pounds at death, showed marked emaciation with almost no body fat, had only one blueberry in her stomach, and tested positive for non-prescribed amphetamines. Her mother, aunt Jackelyn García, and the mother’s ex-boyfriend now face criminal charges including child abuse and unlawful restraint.

Accountability Avoided Through Legislative Sleight of Hand

AbleChild’s March 6 emergency testimony argues that Mimi “did not die in an unknown home the state could not find” but inside a family long known to DCF and the courts. The nonprofit contends that expanding withdrawal-reporting would not have saved Mimi because DCF already possessed extensive history and data on the family, had recent prior contact, and still closed the case. House Speaker Matt Ritter supports legislation addressing both homeschooling and DCF’s role, while House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora backs targeted oversight only for families with active DCF cases, opposing broader homeschool regulation. Thousands of protesters previously mobilized against sweeping homeschool oversight at an earlier Capitol hearing, demonstrating fierce grassroots opposition.

Pattern of Negligence Rewarded With More Power

Mimi’s estate filed notice for a $100 million wrongful death claim against DCF, alleging negligence and systemic failure to protect her despite the agency’s statutory power to investigate, monitor, and remove children from unsafe environments. Veteran child welfare attorneys note this case fits a pattern of alleged missteps in Connecticut’s child welfare system. AbleChild demands a full timeline of every DCF contact, report, and decision in Mimi’s case, independent investigations of agency conduct, and real consequences for officials who signed off on her safety. Instead of accountability, the proposed legislation would expand the very agency’s surveillance powers while scapegoating families exercising their constitutional right to direct their children’s education—a textbook example of government growing its reach by covering up its own failures.