2023 session priorities
The following priorities highlight focus areas for CCADV to strengthen both statutory and administrative policy and practice that help domestic violence survivors to achieve safety and stability. The policy priorities seek to address the large number of complex factors that impact the ability of both the survivor and the family as a whole to live a life free from violence.
secure vital funding for victim services
CCADV is joining with over 30 other VOCA-funded victim service providers to call on Governor Lamont and the General Assembly to allocate funding in the amount of $13.175 million in FY24 and $20 million in FY25 to address cuts in federal VOCA funds. According to the Judicial Branch Office of Victim Services, Connecticut’s VOCA state administrator, this is the amount of funding needed to keep victim services, including domestic violence services, flat-funded across the state through state fiscal year 2025.
For years Connecticut, like many other states, has relied heavily on federal funding available through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund to support a variety of victim services. Critical domestic violence services have been funded by VOCA grants, including in both court-based and community-based settings, as well as the entire statewide domestic violence hotline. Unfortunately, it appears as though VOCA is no longer a stable funding source.
VOCA currently funds approximately 127 direct service positions across CCADV and our 18 member organizations. The impact of a 50% cut on VOCA-funded domestic violence services in Connecticut would be devastating. It would mean a loss of $3,772,000 annually, or $7,544,000 over the biennium, resulting in the reduction of staff and subsequently services to victims.
VOCA FUNDING REDUCTION FACTSHEET
Other priority issues
Address the growing public health crisis of maternal deaths due to IPV by requiring all birthing hospitals in Connecticut to distribute information to postpartum patients about the increased risk of intimate partner violence following childbirth. CCADV will work collaboratively with birth hospitals and their association to offer training and education to all providers tasked with distributing this information to patients.
Enhance the criminal justice response to domestic violence by bringing together all key stakeholders under one advisory council that will assess and provide guidance to the criminal justice response in a holistic manner, with an eye towards innovative, cost-effective enhancements that meet the needs of survivors. The council would report findings and recommendations annually to the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.
Strengthen economic justice, self-sufficiency, and access to safe, affordable housing by being a vocal proponent of change for a myriad of economic barriers that often compound the effects of domestic violence. This will include addressing separation from shared “family plan” utility contracts without penalty, creating mechanisms to provide relief from coerced debt, prohibiting individuals convicted of certain family violence felonies from ever seeking alimony from their victims, expediting the return of security deposits, sealing eviction records, and both expanding and strengthening access to critical safety net programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, and Care4Kids.
FULL 2023 POLICY PRIORITIES
