Freedom of Information Request - Emails Related to Gender-Affirming Care

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "gender-affirming" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "gender affirming" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "puberty blockers" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "puberty blockers" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "puberty blockers" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "blockers" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "blockers" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "blockers" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hormone replacement therapy" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hormone replacement therapy" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hormone replacement therapy" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "HRT" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "HRT" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "HRT" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hrt" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hrt" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "hrt" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "histrelin acetate" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "histrelin acetate" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "histrelin acetate" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "leuprolide acetate" and "suicide" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "leuprolide acetate" and "mental health" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

Any and all emails sent to or from staff members of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, between dates January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022, containing both the terms "leuprolide acetate" and "mental illness" in the same email or in an attachment to an email.

I kindly request that the information be provided in an electronic format, delivered by email attachment or secure file-sharing platform. If this is not possible, please provide them in USB flash drive or CD-ROM.

I request that, if possible and pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-212(d), fees be waived as I believe this request part of a journalistic effort that is in the public interest, and since any recovered materials will be made public. My prior work on gender-affirming care has been published in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, and other major outlets. This request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I am open to discussing any reasonable modifications to this request that would help expedite the process or clarify its scope.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 4 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,
Jesse Singal

Hi Denise,

Thank you for your response, looking for clarification.

Please conduct this search on all email addresses of staff employed by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services during the listed period, of January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022.

Thank you again for your help with this matter,

Sincerely,
Jesse

I am, thank you.

Thank you for this follow-up. Yes, I am requesting that every email box of every staff member employed during this time frame be searched.

Thank you for your help with this matter,

Sincerely,
Jesse

To Whom It May Concern,

Given the significantly reduced scope of this FOI request compared to the initial request, please remove the date limitations, searching the requested terms in emails sent outside of the January 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022 date range, as well as within it.

Attached below are an initial list of employees whose email boxes I would like searched:

Nancy Navarretta
Samantha Tynan
Michael Michaud
Dana Begin
Shannon Wegele
Rebecca Petersen
Monica Tujak Brill
Andrea Iger Duarte
Arthur Mongillo
Karin Haberlin
Allison Eagelson
Jim Siemianowski
Luiza Barnat
Melanie Richard
Theo Pinnow
Sarju Shah
Allison Eagleson
Celeste Cremin-Endes
Terence McCarthy
Stacy Mesyna
John Thomas
Brian Pasqurell
Kate Connor
John Ward
Dawn Robinson
Mary Kate Mason
Tran Tu
Christine Viski
Andrea Clay
Andrea Danko
Denise Falcone
Stephanie Welch
Dianne Fritz
James Pretty Jr
Kathy Langlais
Lisa Zurolo
Robin Cox
Ondria Lucky
Connor Douglas
Allison Mercey
Mary Turnquist
Mary Solla

Thank you for the help,

Sincerely,
Jesse

Hi Elizabeth,

Please search in the date range January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2022 date range.

Thank you for your help,
Jesse

Hi,

Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Jesse