Monthly CJ Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Call Notes- March 10, 2026

Please find detailed notes and an overview from March’s Statewide Call. We do not record these calls. Please join the next call for full details. Our next and final statewide criminal justice reform call for this session will be on April 21, 2026, at 11:00 AM on Zoom. You can register for the monthly calls here. 

Speakers: 

• John Bailey, CT Capitol Group, Lobbyist

• Caleb Lee, Head of Research and AI/Data Analytics, OpenDoor

• Susan Reynolds,  Organizer for Seniors in Hartford Organizing for Power (SHOP)

• Diana Martinez, Executive Director, Chicks Ahoy Farm 

Speakers

John Bailey II, T-Corps Capital Group

• Shared update on where the Legislature stands as public hearings wrap up and committees move into fast decision‑making. 

• Major issues dominating recent media coverage, including ICE and the Big “Beautiful Bill,” are shaping committee priorities. 

• At this point in the session, organizations should focus on targeted legislator follow‑up, district‑based outreach, and preparing substitute language and alternatives for their bills.

• Bills voted out of committee with a price tag may also need to clear Appropriations, which can delay or undermine equity‑focused proposals. 

• Joint Favorable deadlines are quickly approaching, so tracking bills and activity is critical, and things can change hourly.

Caleb Lee, OpenDoor, calebjjlee@gmail.com 

• Caleb graduated from Yale University. While there, he worked with the Yale Prison Education Initiative, partnered with New Haven nonprofits, and began developing an artificial intelligence tool to empower and support formerly incarcerated people as they reenter their communities. 

• OpenDoor allows users to ask questions about housing, food resources, healthcare, and more, and get answers centered on their experience, focusing on dignity and opportunity rather than surveillance, punishment, or monitoring.

• Caleb is looking for people to test the platform (which may run a little slow for now), and let him know how it works! Test it out and email him ideas or tips, calebjjlee@gmail.com. 

Susan Reynolds, Seniors in Hartford Organizing for Power (SHOP), susan@chicksahoyfarm.org 

• SHOP is organizing to address quality-of-life, mobility, and access issues for older adults. SHOP meets monthly with older adults who reside across Greater Hartford. 

• They are currently training members and conducting research to create two fact sheets.  The first will feature resources and assistance for older adults dealing with elder abuse. This issue was chosen as a priority via a Facebook poll of SHOP members. The second sheet will center on research and one-on-one conversations conducted with older adults about their issues with the CT Transit’s buses not lowering “the ramp” for people at bus stops.  

• Contact Susan@chicksahoyfarm.org for more information on SHOP and to attend their next meeting.     

Diana Martinez, Chicks Ahoy Farm Inc., diana@chicksahoyfarm.org 

• Diana shared that FREE CT has successfully raised SB 497: AAC Protecting Food Security for Veterans and Others and Mitigating Federal Cuts to Nutritional Assistance. The bill addresses food security by providing transitional assistance to people facing SNAP cuts and work restrictions resulting from federal legislation. 

• FREE CT organized to add a provision within SB 497 that would reverse a drug-war era rule that has kept people with probation and parole violations on their records from accessing SNAP benefits. SB 497 will both allow people with violations to be eligible for SNAP and will eliminate the question on SNAP applications that deters people from applying. 

• We expect a Public Hearing before the end of March 2026. Diana encouraged people to use the tool on our website to contact legislators in support of SB 497.  

Thank you once again to all of our presenters for your outstanding work on the criminal justice system in Connecticut. Our next statewide criminal justice reform call will take place on Tuesday, April 21st, at 11:00 AM on Zoom. You can register for the monthly calls here. If you would like to present on future Statewide Calls, please email me diana@chicskahoyfarm.org.