A legislative task force worked charged with identifying ways to improve Connecticut’s response to incidents of domestic violence released their final report of recommendations to the General Assembly. The Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence consisting of a bipartisan group of 20 state legislators including State Representative Gerald Fox III (D-Stamford) unanimously approved their report, which includes items in the areas of human services, education, and the judicial and criminal justice systems that they recommend be improved.
“The need for better domestic violence victims’ support services, and a more effective law enforcement and legal system have grown dramatically in recent years,” said Fox, who serves as Vice-Chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee. “In our report we’ve identified areas of the system that require improvement, particularly in the areas of protection and prevention services for victims.”
Among their recommendations, the group urges the state to expand staffing at domestic violence shelters to allow them to remain open 24 hours a day, loosen penalties for victims of domestic violence who need to terminate their housing leases, enhance employment protection for domestic violence victims, add teen dating and domestic violence to school curriculums, and ensure that funding from the state’s marriage license surcharge is being adequately distributed to domestic violence shelters in a timely matter.
They are also recommending several changes to the judicial system, such as implementing a GPS monitoring system for the most high-risk domestic violence offenders, improving the enforcement of protective orders, extending the persistent offender look back period from five to ten years and include out-of-state offenses, improving information sharing in family violence cases among appropriate state agencies, and making the judicial process more user-friendly for survivors.
The task force began their examination in November 2009 and held a series of meetings at which they heard testimony and suggestions from domestic violence advocacy groups, survivors, police, prosecutors, state court and prison officials, educators, and family support counselors. The group will continue its work and plans on preparing a second set of recommendations prior to the 2011 legislative session.
The task force’s report can be found its website at http://www.housedems.ct.gov/DV.
