Gov. Lamont nominates new child advocate. Why it’s a ‘vital role’

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday the nomination of Christina Ghio as Connecticut’s new Child Advocate.

Sarah Eagan served in the role from 2013 until her resignation in September 2024. Ghio initially joined Eagan in the Office of the Child Advocate as her deputy in 2022. Since Eagan’s resignation, Ghio has been the Acting Child Advocate.

Ghio’s nomination for Child Advocate, a position charged with investigating state agencies that handle the care of Connecticut’s most vulnerable children as well as the deaths of children, comes at a time when the state is grappling with the shocking death of Jacqueline ‘Mimi’ Torres-Garcia, a child whose family was previously investigated by the Department of Children and Families.

“Christina is an outstanding choice to lead the Office Of The Child Advocate,” Eagan said. “I have known Christina for over two decades, and she brings tremendous compassion, integrity, and good old fashioned know-how to the urgent work at hand — ensuring that the most vulnerable children in the state are safe and thriving.”

The previous head of DCF, Jodi Hill-Lilly, announced that she was leaving the agency in August, and Lamont has yet to announce a nomination to permanently fill her post. Hill-Lilly had served as Commissioner of DCF for less than two years.

Earlier this year, lawmakers drafted a bill that would have changed the nomination process for Child Advocate considerably by taking the power to nominate a candidate away from Lamont. But after pushback from the governor, a version of the bill ultimately signed by Lamont merely adjusted the timeline for reappointment and required more transparency about the work of the child advocate.

At the time, Eagan supported the original version of the bill, which was intended shift the nomination away from the governor to address the inherent friction of the role with the executive branch, since the Child Advocate must investigate and often criticize the Lamont administration or any future administration.

“I think, from a good governance standpoint, the [original] bill is a no-brainer,” Eagan said at the time.

At the time, Rob Blanchard, a spokesperson for Lamont’s office, said that shifting the appointment out of the governor’s hands would move the position outside of the executive branch, and “it could lose key investigative powers that allow it to effectively scrutinize state-run programs and intervene in cases of child endangerment,” Blanchard said.

Ghio’s nomination instead follows the same process Eagan went through: Lamont chose her from a short list of nominations by the Office of the Child Advocate Advisory Committee, and the nomination will now go to lawmakers for confirmation.

Ghio told the Connecticut Mirror on Monday that she is grateful for the opportunity to do this work.

“It is a unique state agency with an ability to effectuate system change for children,” Ghio said. “Like my predecessors, I remain committed to the independent oversight that we provide, and our office will continue to do that work. That’s really at the core of what we do, is ensure there is effective oversight of all state services for children.”

Lamont praised Ghio’s work and said she was “extraordinarily qualified” to take on the job.

“I make this appointment at a time when we are all reminded by recent tragedies involving young people in our state of the vital role of this independent office, including its current investigation into the unconscionable circumstances surrounding the untimely death of Jacqueline ‘Mimi’ Torres-Garcia,” Lamont said in a press release. “As always, in addition to their own internal reviews, our state agencies are committed to providing information that will assist the child advocate in identifying recommended changes to laws, policies, and practices that will help prevent such tragedies from occurring again.”

Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton and the co-chair of the legislature’s Committee on Children, said that she looks forward to working with Ghio.

“There are many things ahead of us as we are dealing with the events that have unfolded around Waterbury and around New Britain,” Maher said, referencing two recent cases of extreme child abuse in which parents appeared to use the guise of homeschooling as a cover up. Those cases have renewed calls for oversight of homeschooling in Connecticut. “Her experience and background working in the Office of the Child Advocate will be invaluable as we move forward.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/10/28/gov-lamont-nominates-new-child-advocate-shes-not-new-to-the-job/