West Hartford-based Probate Court Administrator Beverly K. Streit-Kefalas has appointed the Honorable John J. McGrath, Probate Judge of the Windham-Colchester Probate District, as Administrative Judge for the Northeast Regional Children’s Probate Court (NERCPC). He began the position July 1 and will serve as both Windham-Colchester Probate Judge and Administrative Judge for the Children’s Court simultaneously.

“I’ve always had a calling to work with children and am honored to be in this new role,” said McGrath who, before becoming an attorney, taught English at a private school to eighth- through 12-graders. “So many things can lead to a child being in an incredibly vulnerable situation. It’s a privilege to have the ability to help by making decisions that ensure they stay with family, whenever possible, and that always they are in a safe, nurturing and supportive home.”

Like Connecticut’s five other regional Children’ Courts in Hartford, Meriden, New Haven, New London and Waterbury, NERCPC handles adoptions, guardianships and parental custody applications, among other child-related matters. Children’s Probate Court staff work closely with representatives from the state Department of Children and Families and other child development professionals to develop the best care plan for the child, as well as to provide needed family support and monitoring.

A long-time Windham resident, Judge McGrath has served as Judge of Probate for the Windham-Colchester District since January 2011. He is a former member of the Windham Board of Selectmen and Board of Education. Still a practicing attorney, he and his wife Barbara are partners at McGrath & McGrath in Willimantic.

A graduate of Yale University and the UConn School of Law, McGrath has served on the Connecticut Probate Assembly’s Ethics, Procedures Review and Rules committees.

“I appreciate all the work my predecessor, Judge Shad, did in this position,” McGrath said about retired Probate and Administrative Judge Leah Pollard Schad, whose term ended June 30. “One of the challenges of living in the ‘Quiet Corner’ of the state is that people are very spread out, so one of my priorities will be to work with the other Probate Judges to figure out how, structurally, we can serve those in the region even better than we already do.”

The Northeast Regional Children’s Probate Court has two locations in Putnam and Willimantic. The NERCPC site in Putnam is at 508 Pomfret Street. Open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, it serves the towns of Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Eastford, Killingly, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Sterling, Thompson and Woodstock.
The NERCPC in Willimantic is at 979 Main Street. Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, it serves the towns of Chaplin, Colchester, Coventry, Hampton, Lebanon, Mansfield, Scotland, Tolland, Willington and Windham.

Located in West Hartford, the Office of the Probate Court Administrator was established in 1967 to provide oversight and administrative support for Connecticut’s Probate Courts. The office is charged with developing legislation, regulations and policies to improve the Probate Court system, as well as for establishing uniform Probate Court procedures.