Clean Slate in Connecticut: Implementation and Sustained Momentum

As of today, more than 150,000 people have benefitted from Connecticut’s Clean Slate law that went into effect three years ago. For us in Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, that’s not just a statistic–its a testimony. 

Our organization, Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT) — a collective of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and civic organizations representing more than 30,000 people across New Haven and Fairfield Counties — has kept Clean Slate front and center these past several years because we believe, without apology, in the power of second chances.

We have seen success, setbacks, and everything in between. But Connecticut is a state that is small enough to know each other, and stubborn enough to keep showing up. Thanks to the dedication of stakeholders like Governor Lamont, Commissioner Ronnell Higgins at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), Mark Sperl of the Criminal Justice Information Sharing System (CJIS-CT), The Clean Slate Initiative, directly impacted advocates, and my colleagues at CONECT, we delivered on a promise.

Why Clean Slate Resonates With The Faith Community

In CONECT, our faith does not stay inside our sanctuaries. It walks out the door with us. It sits in committee hearings, shows up at press conferences, and organizes congregations across all lines of difference. This is the commitment and conviction at the heart of our work: that prayer is inseparable from justice, and that the faith which gathers us in our houses of worship are meant to govern how we move in the world the other six days of the week.

Clean Slate is, for us, an act of faith.  In my tradition, observing the practice of fasting during this season of Lent, it is doing what Isaiah prophesied as the fast that God has chosen, “to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke” (Isaiah 58:6).

When 150,000 of our neighbors are no longer defined by the worst moment of their lives, that is our faith made visible in public. Clean Slate is a step toward repair, justice, and wholeness — values deeply rooted in CONECT’s faith traditions; our belief in redemption, renewal, and the sacred dignity of every human being; and central to our call to love and serve. It’s been an immense privilege to be a part of and see it come to fruition.

The Work Continues

This moment calls for celebration, but not complacency. As implementation continues, we remain committed to supporting the next steps, including vital conversations about how the state can ensure that individuals actually know their Clean Slate status. Having a Clean Slate without knowledge or access is an incomplete promise.

A Growing, Nationwide Movement

Our focus was Connecticut, but the horizon is much wider. Our neighbors in New York passed their own Clean Slate Act in 2023. Illinois signed theirs at the start of this year. Connecticut has not simply participated in this movement, we help lead it, and our implementation offers a model for other states to follow.

Most importantly, I am filled with hope by the growing momentum to carry Clean Slate into all 50 states. When all of us are set free, our communities are made whole. Clean Slate is a win for all of us.