November 21, 2024
CCA’s Statement on the Presidential Election
CCA Remains Steadfast in its Advocacy for Vulnerable Children
In the wake of the recent election, and with unpredictable changes ahead, CCA remains steadfast in our support and advocacy on behalf of children, including immigrant and refugee children, LGBTQ+ youth, and children with disabilities. CCA will remain a bulwark against policies that harm vulnerable children, and we will continue to advocate for public policies that eradicate deprivation and discrimination. CCA’s mission is to advance and secure children’s rights to be healthy, educated, and safe. We appreciate your fellowship and support in building a world that is nurturing, just, and accountable, that honors the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and that protects the most vulnerable children from harm. The work continues and we can’t do it without you.
CCA’s 2025 Key Priority Areas
Next Year’s Key Priority Areas
At the Center for Children’s Advocacy we believe in the power of children’s voice to transform systems that support their health, education, and safety. As advocates for children and systems change, CCA envisions a community where children’s legal rights are protected, particularly highly marginalized children, their wellbeing is prioritized by policymakers, and public systems honor the inherent worth and dignity of every individual. In 2025, in addition to our mission-driven core work, CCA’s key priorities include:
• Promoting health equity by increasing timely identification and access to services for children with developmental disabilities and children with mental health treatment needs
• Promoting a structure to ensure transparency and accountability for the state child welfare system and improving impacted children’s access to high quality legal representation
• Securing passage of legislation to strengthen supports for children returning from detention and incarceration.
• Advocating for children’s education rights by ensuring access to high quality services in the least restrictive environment and appropriate oversight by the State Department of Education
CCA’s New Executive Director: Sarah Eagan
Sarah Eagan
Having been at the Center for Children’s Advocacy for six weeks as the new Executive Director, I can share that CCA’s staff is hard at work around the state, sleeves rolled up, providing legal help and resources to an ever-growing number of children and families in need. In recent weeks, CCA attorneys and staff have addressed concerns about youth homelessness, children in foster care without adequate services, children with special health care needs denied access to medical transportation, children and families experiencing housing instability or unsafe housing conditions, and children with disabilities in need of greater support in school. Our work seeks not only to help the individual child and family, but to address systemic concerns that impact children’s wellbeing. We believe all children deserve the opportunity to flourish, to be healthy, educated, and safe. Childhood deprivation, be it related to food, housing, education, or healthcare, is not an inevitability, it is a policy choice. And that’s a choice we can change with your help. Thank you for all of your support in this time of great uncertainty and need. We appreciate you and cannot do this work without you.
October 17th Welcome Benefit
On October 17th, CCA Ambassador, Marcia Howard, opened up her beautiful home to CCA and our Hartford community to help welcome and honor our new Executive Director, Sarah Eagan. It was a wonderful evening as Sarah got to meet over 40 guests. We shared the voices and vision for CCA’s next 25+ years together, and announced a 1:1 Board driven match for all new gifts through the end of the year!
Welcome Working Lunches in Bridgeport and Stamford
We recently visited for in-office working lunches with the attorney teams at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, PC in Bridgeport and Silver Golub & Teitell LLP in Stamford. We were grateful for their warm welcome to our team and Executive Director, Sarah Eagan was pleased to share her vision for CCA and offer an opportunity for the firms’ members and partners to learn about CCA’s impact in Fairfield County protecting and promoting the legal rights of CT’s most vulnerable children and youth, and the opportunities CCA offers for personally engaging with our work.
Your Support Is Critical
Each year CCA has to raise over $3 million dollars through a combination of earned income, foundation grants and individual and corporate giving. Our work is not just about fighting the legal barriers in one case: it’s about fighting the conditions that are creating them. Turning things around for kids is only possible with your support. We can’t do it alone.
Can we count on you to help us give more children a voice this year? All increased gifts between now and the end of the year will be matched 1:1 – up to $25,000 – thanks to the generosity of our Board of Directors. The need is real. Double your gift’s impact today!
CCA In The Community
CCA’s Speak Up! Youth Group
At Sigourney Square Park in Hartford, our Mobile Legal Office set up at the Fall into Autumn community event to engage teens on topics they care about. This event was sponsored by the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association (AHNA), and we intend to collaborate with them further. Our initiative aims to connect with teens and address the issues most relevant to them, as this area experiences a significant number of teen arrests compared to other parts of the city.
Save The Date For CCA
Black History Month Breakfast, February 21st, 2025
Please Save the Date of Friday, February 21st, for CCA’s Black History Month Breakfast!
We are honored to announce our Keynote Speaker is Chief Justice Raheem Mullins and we are grateful to Dr. Kelvin Rutledge, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Southern Connecticut State University for hosting. At this in-community event, CCA will celebrate the achievements of Black Americans during Black History month as we recognize that we can accomplish even more when we create opportunities for all.
We also seek to highlight the accomplishments of Black Americans while underscoring what can be accomplished when support our most vulnerable children and advocate on behalf of their health, education, and safety.
We will be sharing more details about this important in-community event in the early new year!
