West Hartford, CT - Douglas C. Dalena, currently Stamford’s legal affairs director and former counsel to Governors Ned Lamont and Dannel Malloy, this week received the Daniel F. Caruso Public Service Award, presented by the Office of the Probate Court Administrator and the judges of the Connecticut Probate Assembly at their annual meeting.

“Doug Dalena served as a critical link between the Probate Court system and the executive branch during the most challenging moments of the coronavirus pandemic in our state,” said Probate Court Administrator Beverly Streit-Kefalas. “It is a point of immense pride that Probate Courts continued operations when the pandemic was in its early stages, and throughout each subsequent surge in infection rates. Mr. Dalena was a true partner in helping protect due process rights and Probate Court oversight in support of the vulnerable populations we serve.”

As Deputy General Counsel to Governor Lamont until January 2022, Mr. Dalena coordinated the legal framework for the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic while advising state agencies on implementing workable legal solutions across a host of policy areas. Collaboration with Mr. Dalena ensured input in measures that provided Probate Courts with the tools needed to continue to serve the public while protecting both the public and the courts’ health and safety.

Connecticut’s Probate Courts assist thousands of low-income seniors to age in place in their own homes; supervise the care and finances of individuals who cannot care for themselves; support individuals with mental health conditions to live in the community instead of being institutionalized; and help thousands of children stay in familiar surroundings with family and friend guardians rather than being placed in foster care.

Probate Courts save taxpayers more than $2.1 billion each year by avoiding more costly state services.

The award is named for the late Probate Judge Daniel F. Caruso, a former state representative who served in the Fairfield Probate Court for more than 20 years before his sudden death in 2018. Judge Caruso received the public service award posthumously in 2018; it was subsequently renamed in his honor. For more information about Connecticut’s Probate Courts, visit ctprobate.gov.

Attached (left to right): Beverly K. Streit-Kefalas, Probate Court Administrator; Doug Dalena, Daniel F. Caruso Public Service Award recipient; Hon. Evelyn M. Daly, incoming President-Judge, Connecticut Probate Assembly; Hon. Michael R. Brandt, outgoing President-Judge, Connecticut Probate Assembly.