March 31, 2025
Developmental Disabilities Advocacy
Developmental Disabilities Advocacy
March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. It is a time to talk about on developmental disabilities and highlight the ways our communities come together to create inclusive and accessible environments. CCA works to make sure that every child and young person has a full, enriching, and joyful life. That means advocating for kids with developmental disabilities to get all the services they need in the educational, DCF, health, and juvenile justice systems.
CCA’s Yale New Haven Hospital Medical-Legal Partnership (YNHH MLP) recently represented a high school student with developmental disabilities who was also a refugee. In his home country, he never had the opportunity to attend school. After a referral from an agency that supports refugees, our first step was to help his father get him enrolled in school. Later, his father learned the program he was placed in was not an appropriate fit, and he was being restrained in a chair. The MLP represented the student through the special education process and got the school to place him in a new school environment where he can learn and thrive.
For information about CCA’s Yale New Haven Hospital Medical-Legal Partnership contact CCA Attorney Sarah Mervine. For more information about CCA’s Disabilities Rights Project, contact Attorney Bonnie Roswig.
Disability Advocacy in Response to Federal Changes
In recent months there has been significant growth in health care and social service providers reaching out to CCA with questions about how recent substantial changes on the federal level will impact children’s access to education and related services for children with chronic medical conditions or disabilities. To effectively support families, providers need to be equipped to advocate for children. CCA will offer training to providers to help them understand the law, changing regulations, and services. This will enable them to advocate for the children they serve and allow CCA to reach more children.
CCA’s 2025 Legislative Advocacy
The Connecticut legislative session is in full swing, and CCA attorneys have testified on dozens of initiatives impacting children’s health, safety, and wellbeing. Our lawyers are meeting with key legislators and fighting for necessary improvements to Connecticut’s system of disability support services, special education, behavioral health care, and housing support for vulnerable youth. A few key issues CCA is working on at the legislature include:
Increasing investment in children’s Medicaid
Connecticut Medicaid rates for children’s behavioral health services are so low that children are going without the needed care in the community, with thousands of children every year waiting for care either at home or languishing in hospital Emergency Departments. CCA is speaking up for children’s legal right to necessary services under federal law.
Ensuring children with disabilities have a meaningful opportunity for education
Too many school districts in Connecticut rely on placing children with disabilities in alternative, self-contained, or private, out-of-district educational programs. Some children are forced to wait months at home for basic schooling due to districts’ inability to support them. CCA is advocating for more equitable funding for education, greater oversight by the state Department of Education of children’s legal right to an education, and more accountability for districts’ investment in community-based programming for students with disabilities.
Strengthening access to and safety of services for children with Autism and other developmental disabilities
Autism service clinics, which typically provide Applied Behavior Analysis services, are under-resourced and unlicensed in Connecticut, creating long waiting lists for necessary care and a lack of oversight for how care is delivered. CCA attorneys proposed legislation to address inadequate reimbursement rates for Autism services and ensure inspection and safety standards in the clinics where some of our most vulnerable children are served.
Improving supports and services for children at risk of homelessness
CCA attorneys are partnering with legislators to shine a spotlight on the needs of older youth, including LGBTQ children, who are falling into homelessness even while receiving services from state agencies. CCA is working to ensure accurate data are collected and reviewed regarding the numbers of these youth and their specialized needs. CCA is also advocating with partner agencies to reduce evictions and increase housing stability for children and families.
Strengthening protections for abused and neglected children
CCA attorneys are advocating for more support for older children who have suffered abuse and neglect and remain at risk of homelessness, institutionalization, and death. CCA is also advocating for greater investment in the state’s foster care system, with reimbursement rates for foster families stagnant for almost two decades. The lack of foster homes is depriving children in need of safety and security.
For more information and updates on CCA’s 2025 legislative advocacy, visit our website.
Youth Voice
Q+A from Nazir, Speak Up! Youth Member
Nazir is a senior in high school and a member of CCA’s Speak Up! youth group. He gave an inspiring speech at CCA’s Black History Month breakfast on February 21st at Southern Connecticut State University. For his senior year Capstone Project covering Juvenile Justice in Connecticut, Nazir used his experience in the Speak Up! Youth group over the past year to inform his project. Below is a short Q+A from Nazir about his time working with CCA and learning more about juvenile justice.
Q: What inspired you to get involved with CCA’s Speak Up! Program?
A: I had met Stella [Rose] when she came to my school and she told me that she had a group with other teens where we would do community events and help troubled teens and it caught my attention.
Q: What have you learned during your time with Speak Up!?
A: I learned how to work better with people and learned to be a leader in specific settings.
Q: How do you think other youth could benefit from the type of work Speak Up! does?
A: I think they could benefit from speak up because it helps you work with people and see situations from other peoples perspectives.
Q: What changes would you like to see in Connecticut?
A: I would like to see crime go down and less people locked up in prisons.
After his moving speech at CCA’s Black History Month breakfast Nazir and the Speak Up! youth group were invited to CSSD to speak with staff in the central office who work in juvenile systems.
Youth Voice at the JJPOC
Youth from CCA’s Speak Up! Program presented their views and recommendations on the challenges Connecticut youth face at a special session with the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee (JJPOC) on February 27th. Hosted by Tow Youth Justice Institute, JJPOC members were in the audience in a unique format as youth from around the state and those incarcerated at Manson Youth Institution shared their valuable perspectives.
CCA in the News
“Sky-high emergency room numbers tell us CT needs a new vision for children’s mental health”
In her op-ed featured in the Connecticut Mirror, CCA’s Executive Director Sarah Eagan, emphasized that the high number of children and youth lingering in Emergency Departments awaiting behavioral healthcare is a symptom of a larger issue. While improving access to mental healthcare is critical, Eagan argues that it isn’t the only solution. She stresses that we need to adopt a holistic approach that prioritizes children’s basic needs while fostering a vision for health, education, and wellness. This will ensure that all young people have equitable opportunities to achieve good health, receive a quality education, and successfully transition into adulthood. Click here to read the full article.
“Waterbury man’s decades in captivity prompt concerns that homeschooling is hiding abuse in CT”
In the wake of the horrifying case of a young man held captive since childhood, allegedly via a “pretense” of homeschooling, CCA is advocating for needed reforms to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children permanently removed from school. CCA’s Executive Director, Sarah Eagan, is quoted in this article from the CT Insider. Click here to read the full article.
“‘Shocked by these figures’: Restraint and seclusion increased in CT schools last year”
As restraint and seclusion of children with disabilities continues to rise in Connecticut’s schools, CCA is advocating for urgent reforms to address these traumatizing incidents, which occur most frequently with elementary school age children who have developmental disabilities. CCA’s Executive Director, Sarah Eagan, is quoted in this article from the Stamford Advocate. Click here to read the full article.
CCA Trainings
Pro Bono Training in Bridgeport.
The Director of CCA’s Immigrant Children’s Justice Project, Attorney Sabrina Tavi, held a full-day training for attorneys with Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI) and Building One Community (B1C) on Connecticut Probate Court practice for guardianship and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases. The Honorable Judge Mary Sommer also attended the training and is a longtime participant in CCA’s Pro Bono project. For Know Your Right’s resources for immigrant children and families, click here.
CCA in the Community
Fighting for Connecticut’s Kids
CCA’s Black History Month celebration breakfast, Fighting for Connecticut’s Kids, was hosted by Southern Connecticut State University in its Adanti Student Center. Welcoming 100+ guests, this event aimed to raise awareness of the needs and challenges facing CT’s most vulnerable youth, to inspire action through the personal reflections and wisdom shared by State Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem Mullins, and to lift up the incredible voices of CCA’s Speak Up! program. This year by Nazir, a Speak Up! participant shared his personal testimony on the power of fighting for CT’s kids.
CCA is so grateful to the event’s keynote speaker, Chief Justice Raheem Mullins, to Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, and to the many legislators, community partners, supporters, friends and CCA Board Directors for joining us! We are indebted to our Board Officers Reginald Harwell and Valencia McLeain-Goodridge for ensuring the success of CCA’s 2025 Black History Month breakfast, and to our Presenting Sponsors, Wiggin and Dana LLP, and our Event Sponsor, the Tow Youth Justice Institute.
Thinking Beyond the Funding Cliff: Sustaining Behavioral Health Services for Children
CCA Executive Director Sarah Eagan was invited to speak at the New England Children’s Behavioral Health Network symposium: Thinking Beyond the Funding Cliff: Sustaining Behavioral Health Services for Children, hosted by Bradley Hospital on February 12th. Attorney Eagan shared policy recommendations concerning the children’s behavioral health crisis in Connecticut, and the state’s continued over-reliance on hospital Emergency Departments to deliver care to children in need. CCA is currently advocating for systemic reform of Connecticut’s Medicaid plan for children to ensure that kids get the timely, appropriate care they deserve.
Unitarian Society of Hartford
At the recommendation of former Assistant Attorney General, Joe Rubin, the Social Justice Council of the Unitarian Society of Hartford voted and selected CCA to be the recipient of its monthly Good Neighbor Offering program in March. Executive Director, Sarah Eagan, was welcomed to the congregation on March 9th and spoke about CCA’s mission and our work representing immigrants, children in foster care, and children with disabilities. CCA is grateful to the Society and to Joe Rubin for his long-standing and valued partnership with CCA’s Pro Bono project.
Upcoming Events
Utility Clinic: Helping Clients Avoid Termination of Lights and Heat: 5/8/2025
CCA will be hosting a spring Keep the Power On utility clinic on May 8th in New London at The Place for CommUNITY Well Being, 74 Garfield Ave, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Our series of Keep the Power On clinics is a collaborative program between CCA and our in-community social services agencies and partners who support the vulnerable children and families who cannot afford their utility bills, and on an on-going basis are forced to choose between eating and lights and heat. We host these clinics to ensure that our families can access the utility protection and utility payment programs for which they are eligible and avoid facing the trauma of termination of utility service. For more information, please contact CCA Attorney Bonnie Roswig.
Spring for Kids 2025: June 3rd
Spring for Kids 2025, CCA’s Flagship Fundraising event, will take place on June 3rd at 5:30pm at the Yard Goat Club at Dunkin’ Park. Join us for an inspiring evening of remarkable stories as we honor this year’s Champions of Children, Barbara Dalio and Dalio Education, Krystal Rich, Erin Williamson, and Yvette Young, members of the Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team, and the 2025 Sustainability Award Honoree, the Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation. Please contact Eileen Brennan for more information.
Jennifer Wheeler
Jennifer Wheeler, JD is the new staff attorney with CCA’s Medical-Legal Partnership Project at Yale New Haven Hospital. Attorney Wheeler began her legal career in international law as a fellow at the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon before transitioning to work as a writer. She has advocated for children through her research and writing on gun violence and has experience working in Connecticut public schools. Attorney Wheeler is also the director of a local youth organization that helps children connect with their communities through service projects.
She is excited to continue advocating for children in need in her new position as an attorney with CCA’s Medical-Legal Partnership at Yale New Haven Health.
Attorney Wheeler received her B.A. From NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was an Institute for International Law and Justice scholar.
Renee Bea
Attorney Renee Bea is the newest member of CCA’s Board of Directors. Attorney Bea is a partner at Slarskey LLC, a boutique commercial trial law firm in New York. Her practice focuses on investor, financial products, intellectual property, and fiduciary disputes. Prior to teaming up with her law school classmate at Slarskey LLC, Attorney Bea founded a law firm in San Francisco, California, where she maintained a similar practice until she and her husband, Sebastian, relocated from the Bay Area to Darien, Connecticut in 2017. Prior to launching and building out these two law firms, Attorney Bea spent a decade practicing law at two of the most notable trial law firms in the country: Quinn Emanuel Urquhardt & Sullivan LLP and Jones Day.
Attorney Bea was born in Guatemala, and most of her extended family continues to reside in Antigua and Guatemala City, where her grandfather founded law schools at Landivar and Marroquin Universities. Inspired by her grandfather, Attorney Bea cultivated a passion for education and the economic empowerment of underprivileged people, especially women. Renee finds meaning in mentoring young professionals and advocating for policy initiatives that create opportunity for the next generation.
Attorney Bea graduated from Santa Ynez Valley High School in Santa Ynez, California, earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. Attorney Bea also serves on the Board of Trustees of Greens Farms Academy, an independent school in Westport, Connecticut.
