CT Policymakers! Be a Voice for Change

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CCADV is the voice
against domestic violence across Connecticut.

 
We lead a statewide network focused on advocacy, outreach and education.
Our work transforms political, economic and social responses to end domestic violence in CT.

A key component of this work is advocating with local, state and federal policymakers to create and implement strong legislative and administrative policies that move us towards our vision of a world free from all forms of violence.

 


 

We're familiar faces in the halls of Connecticut’s Capitol building. We’ve worked closely with state lawmakers to move Connecticut to the forefront as a national leader on strong, survivor-centered laws.

 

We became the third state to explicitly address coercive control in civil restraining orders and family court matters, providing meaningful protections for the very real, non-physical violence that survivors often experience. We worked closely with our partners in law enforcement to demonstrate the value of a dominant aggressor provision to the state’s mandatory arrest law, resulting in a reduction to our historically high dual arrest rate. We defeated lobbying efforts by the NRA and ensured that firearms would be removed from the hands of abusers while under an ex parte restraining order.

We do this work every day to create a world where no person lives in fear.

 

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

Make Your Voice Heard
Tell policymakers how they can better protect victims + survivors of DV.

 

Past legislative
session summaries

View recent changes in state laws related to domestic violence services and survivor needs.

2022 | 2021 | NO 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

For questions about CCADV’s policy initiatives, please contact Liza Andrews, Director of Public Policy & Communications, at (959) 202-5003 or landrews@ctcadv.org.