By Lisa Backus
The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The fentanyl crisis that has killed thousands of Connecticut adults and 12 children under the age of 5 since 2020 nearly claimed another life earlier this month at a local park, officials said.
A one-year-old child had to be revived from opioid poisoning after picking up a piece of plastic in New Britain’s Martha Hart Park on July 14, according to the state Office of the Child Advocate, which receives information on fatal and nonfatal drug poisonings in the state.
It was the second time in two years a young child who was in a public space suffered what officials believe to be fentanyl poisoning without being in the proximity of a caregiver who was using drugs, said Assistant Child Advocate Brendan Burke.
“It could be any park, any public space, it could be anywhere because people are using drugs everywhere,” Burke said. “Any time a child has access to that kind of paraphernalia and puts it in their mouth, it’s a life-threatening event. This is the second reported incident in the last two years.”
Since 2020, a dozen children under the age of 5 have died from fentanyl poisoning and another 33 children have recovered after being administered naloxone, a drug that stops an opioid overdose. In nearly all of the cases, the children, including toddlers and infants, had caregivers or others who were using fentanyl in the home, according to arrest warrants.
In the New Britain case, the one-year-old and their caregiver who live in a neighboring town were visiting the park when the adult gave the toddler a cookie, Burke said. The child dropped the cookie and instead picked up a piece of plastic and went unconscious almost immediately, Burke said.
“It really speaks to the fact that these kids are mobile and they put things in their mouth,” Burke said.
The child survived after being treated by responding paramedics with naloxone, he said. It is believed that the child put the plastic in their mouth and ingested a trace amount of fentanyl, which can be deadly for an infant or a toddler, Burke said.
“We know how little fentanyl can cause an overdose in adults; even trace amounts can kill a child,” he said.
New Britain police were not asked by any parent, guardian or state agency to investigate the poisoning, according to Deputy Police Chief Adam Rembicz.
Burke stressed that the incident could have happened in any public space. “We’re not talking about a place where it would be suspected,” he said. “It can happen anywhere and all you need is a kid to pick it up.”
Here’s an overview of what naloxone is and how responders are helping curb the opioid epidemic:
A similar incident occurred in 2023 when an older child ingested what was believed to be fentanyl while outside on a stoop, Burke said.
His office and the state’s Child Fatality Review Panel, which looks at all unnatural deaths of children age 17 and under, are recommending that naloxone be readily available to all residents throughout the state.
The panel was instrumental in forming an Accidental Ingestion Workgroup with a variety of stakeholders connected to child welfare to brainstorm ways to prevent accidental ingestion, including identifying strategies for ensuring effective substance abuse treatment for caregivers and raising public awareness and safety supports for adults and their children.
The idea for the workgroup came from a report issued by Sarah Eagan , the state’s child advocate, in 2023 examining the deaths of 97 children age 3 and under from preventable causes over a three-year span from 2019-22.
The relatively new phenomenon of children under five ingesting opioids prompted changed in how case workers with the state Department of Children and Families deal with families with young children who are dealing with substance abuse issues and actively using drugs in their home.
The changes came after the Salem death of a toddler named Kaylee who succumbed to fentanyl poisoning one day before a DCF caseworker was scheduled to do an in-person visit at her home in February 2022.
The key to saving young lives is to have naloxone readily available at home and in public, Burke said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, naloxone is safe for everyone, including infants and toddlers and women who are pregnant and experiencing an opioid overdose.
“Naloxone has to be available readily by everyone,” Burke said. “That’s what saved this child,” he said of the New Britain case.
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