LEGISLATURE’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TASK FORCE TO UNVEIL FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

HARTFORD- State Rep. Terrie Wood of Rowayton and Darien and the rest of the Legislature’s Domestic Violence Task Force released their final recommendations today to the legislature.

 
The task force, chaired by State Representative Mae Flexer (D-Killingly, Plainfield, Sterling), was created by Speaker Donovan late last year with the purpose reviewing and formulating the State of Connecticut’s response to the issue of domestic violence.  This included reviewing budget implications related to domestic violence; evaluating trends and research pertaining to social conditions, support services, education, early intervention, and court procedures; and ultimately assembling a set of legislative recommendations on how to best prevent and address family violence and meet the needs of survivors.

Rep. Terrie Wood said, “I was proud to be a part of this task force, we put together some very good recommendations. I am particularly pleased with the teen dating and domestic violence school curriculum portion. Domestic violence education needs to start early with children so we can stop patterns of violence as teens begin to date.”

 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 for 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.

The task force is also recommending numerous 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. In addition, the group has asked the legislature to examine the issue of criminal threatening and whether stronger penalties are warranted. 
During the past four months, the task force held a series of meetings and public hearings at which they heard testimony from domestic violence advocacy groups, survivors, police, prosecutors, state court and prison officials, educators, and family support counselors.

Rep. Terrie Wood represents the 141st General Assembly District covering Darien and Rowayton. She serves on the following legislative committees: Education; Environment and Appropriations.