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Press Kit

Backgrounder
Executive Director's Bio
2006 Legislative Priorities
Current Programs and Special Projects
Mission Statement
A Brief History of CWEALF
Subject Experts
Our Success Stories

Backgrounder/Mission

CWEALF is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women, girls and their families to achieve equal opportunities in their personal and professional lives.

Target Population
CWEALF's target population consists of women and girls in Connecticut, as well as educators, employers, state agencies, policy makers and service providers. Through our three core programs (Information & Referral, Community Education & Training, and Law & Public Policy), CWEALF strives to make Connecticut a better, more equitable place to live.

Board of Directors

Jan Van Tassel, President
Exec. Director, Connecticut Legal Rights Project

Tom Ude, Vice President
City of New Haven, Deputy Corporation Council

Jacqueline O’Clair, Treasurer
Travelers Insurance

Theresa Canada, Secretary
Professor, Western CT State University

Board Members
Ken Bartschi
Attorney, Horton, Shields & Knox, P.C.

Jennifer Brown
Professor, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Susan Rand Brown
Adjunct Professor, Capital Community College

Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt
Attorney, Center For Children's Advocacy

Candida Flores
Exec. Director, La Casa de Puerto Rico

Jane W. Griffith
Attorney at Law

Jane K. Grossman
Attorney, New Haven Legal Assistance Association

Tim Hazen
Executive Director, CT Bar Association

Bettye Jo Pakulis
Executive Assistant, State Treasurer's Office

Lori Pelletier
Secretary/Treasurer, Connecticut AFL-CIO

Deborah Simmons
Professor, Manchester Community College

Rebecca L. Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor, UCONN School of Social Work

Carolyn M. Treiss
Exec. Director, NARAL

Jean A. Wihbey, Ph.D.
Dean of Academic Affairs, Northwestern CT Community College

Membership: 600

Established: 1973

Funding: State and Federal Grants; Private Donors;
Fundraising Events

Executive Director's Bio

Alice Pritchard, Executive Director

Alice Pritchard, Ph.D., has served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) since March 2000, and has been with the organization in various capacities since 1991. Dr. Pritchard is well known within the community for her expertise in women’s issues. She spearheads CWEALF’s strategic planning and programming in conjunction with the 17-member board of directors.

Over the last fourteen years, Dr. Pritchard has conducted research, advocacy, training and technical assistance on issues related to education and job training. For the past eleven years, she has led CWEALF’s research on the status of girls in education. She currently oversees CWEALF’s evaluation of the Jobs First Employment Services System – a program that provides employment and training services to individuals transitioning from welfare to work. She facilitates and participates in several CWEALF coalitions including the Hate Crimes Network, Women’s Family Law Group, Pay Equity Coalition, LMF and the CCLGBTCR.

Dr. Pritchard has authored and co-authored many academic publications and research reports and has served as a resource for both regional and national press. Dr. Pritchard received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Connecticut in 1996. Her doctoral dissertation documented the factors affecting the provision of job training services to low-income individuals in Hartford, Connecticut through the federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA).

2006 Legislative Priorities

During the 2006 Legislative Session, CWEALF will conduct research activities, participate in coalition efforts and provide public testimony on issues affecting women, girls and their families. While these are the current identified priorities, we will address any new issues or legislation as it occurs throughout the session.

1. Education and Training for Welfare Recipients & Low-Income Workers – We will support efforts to increase the availability of education and job training options for individuals receiving state assistance and other low-wage workers. Additionally, we will support funding and additional exploration for Career Ladders initiatives for certified nurses' aides and early child care workers and other fields where women are underpaid.

2. Family Law– We will oppose any legislation that would detrimentally effect women and their children as it relates to divorce, custody and child support.

3. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Civil Rights —We will support legislation that extends marriage to same sex couples and recognizes the legal relationships between couples from other states. We will oppose a Connecticut "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) or any similar legislation prohibiting marriage between same sex couples. Additionally we will work to include gender variant individuals in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws.

4. Title IX – We will support legislation that seeks to ensure Connecticut schools provide an equitable learning climate for all of our students. This legislation should address proactive measures to ensure equity as well as the lack of protections for LGBT youth and remedies for addressing issues of discrimination.

5. Family and Medical Leave – We will support efforts to provide paid family leave for individuals who must take leave for their own or a family member's serious illness, or for the birth or adoption of a child.

6. Reproductive Rights – We will oppose any efforts to restrict abortion, either in terms of restricting access or banning specific procedures.

7. Health Care – We will support legislation that addresses the lack of affordable health care coverage for Connecticut workers such as Fair Share legislation that encourages employers to provide adequate healthcare.

8. Criminal Justice/Corrections – We will support reforms in female juvenile justice programs which seek to prevent the incarceration of juvenile status offenders and delinquents and provide treatment for girls based on gender-specific best practices.

Current Programs & Special Projects

The Information and Referral Program (I&R) is a unique legal program which assists over 2,000 people a year. We provide women and their families with educational resources including legal information, easy-to-read booklets, counseling and referrals to attorneys and other agencies to help them help themselves. CWEALF is the only organization in Connecticut that does not maintain salary eligibility requirements before providing assistance. These services are also provided in both English and Spanish. Through increased knowledge, women gain the skills they need to navigate an often complex and overwhelming legal system. CWEALF's I&R program helps women become, and remain, economically self- sufficient, empowering them to advocate for themselves and their families.

Through CWEALF's Community Education and Training Program, we provide trainings and workshops throughout the state each year. We offer a variety of educational resources, including trainings and workshops for educators, state and municipal employees, business managers, parents and students. We speak on sexual harassment, child support, gender equity in education, gender discrimination and many other topics. Our trainings are offered in Spanish each year.

Through CWEALF's Law and Public Policy Program, we work with state officials, women's organizations, business leaders and attorneys to help improve policies affecting women and girls. This past year we worked to improve the collection of child support payments, challenge discriminatory health care practices and ensure that girls have equal athletic opportunities in Connecticut's high schools.

Outreach Population
CWEALF's target population consists primarily of women and girls in Connecticut, as well as educators, employers, state agencies, policy makers and service providers.

Participants in our programs are very diverse in terms of race, gender, ethnicity and income level. Over 30% of the people we serve through our programs are Spanish-speaking or bilingual.
CWEALF serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, educating them about the law and their legal rights.

Mission Statement

CWEALF is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women, girls and their families to achieve equal opportunities in their personal and professional lives.

We educate individuals through direct contact to navigate the legal and social service systems effectively by:

* explaining the law in easy to understand terms
* developing and disseminating booklets on specific legal rights
* making referrals to attorneys and other service providers

We provide training, technical assistance and resources to employers, schools, and community organizations by:

* educating individuals and organizations about legal rights and responsibilities
* increasing awareness of gender inequities
* offering practical applications and solutions

We work to improve laws and policies that affect women, girls and their families by:

* identifying critical issues through research and client contact
* focusing public attention on those issues
* recommending, advocating and implementing reforms

We are guided by our commitment to feminism, diversity, empowerment, personal responsibility and self-sufficiency, compassion and respect, collaboration, professionalism and self-assessment in all of our actions and programs.

A Brief History of CWEALF

CWEALF was incorporated on August 17, 1973 making it one of the oldest women's rights organizations in the country. Launched in the wake of a successful lobbying effort that resulted in the passage of Connecticut's Equal Credit Act, it was originally a women's rights law firm staffed by attorneys who saw a need for feminist lobbying and lawyering.

During its first decade, CWEALF focused on litigation, participating in cases involving equal pay, equal credit, and gender discrimination. As time went by, however, the number of requests for assistance far exceeded CWEALF’s capacity to respond. CWEALF board and staff therefore decided that they could not litigate individual cases except those that were likely to have a broad impact on the law.

CWEALF also developed an information and referral service that serves as an educational resource and remains as a necessary and unique service in Connecticut. Staff realized that even if they could not provide legal representation to every woman who called, they could provide information on their rights.

These early activities are remarkably similar to those in which CWEALF is engaged today. The problems are more subtle and often more insidious than in 1973, but they require the same dedication to women and justice. Today, CWEALF educates women and girls about the laws that our founders helped to establish and challenge while ensuring that the system maintains the spirit and the requirements of the laws that protect, and provide for, women’s equality.

Subject Experts

CWEALF staff members are highly knowledgeable in their specific areas of expertise and are readily available to comment on issues, including:

Family Law
• Divorce
• Custody
• Child Support

Educational Equity
• Academic programming
• Athletic equity
• Sexual harassment

Employment Law
• Discrimination (age, pregnancy, pay equity)
• Workplace rights/supports (FMLA, unemployment)
• Welfare reform and job training
• Workforce development
• Sexual harassment

LGBT Hate Crime Laws (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)

Our Success Stories

In the past few years alone . . .

• CWEALF’s Information & Referral Program assisted over 2,000 callers with family & employment law issues.

• CWEALF staff trained over 4,300 people in the areas of sexual harassment and gender equity in workplaces and schools.

• CWEALF established the LGBT Anti-Violence Project to educate individuals and state and local police to identify and report hate crimes.

• CWEALF distributed a Title IX sports information booklet and poster to schools across the state.

• CWEALF sponsored a special technology education program in four school districts to promote technical careers for female students.

• Invited to speak at the National Conferences on child support enforcement/advocacy.

• Appeared on national television program – The O’Reilly Factor – to discuss sexual harassment issues.

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