Connecticut Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

Advocacy Center

State advocacy for the 2026 session

The Connecticut Long Term Care Ombudsman Program wants to make sure that as we enter the 2026 legislative session, our legislators, public health officials, and key decision makers across the state are able to hear from their constituents regarding issues that matter to them. We created this page as a central resource to help streamline that process. We encourage readers to check this page regularly for updates as we work to provide weekly tracking logs of long term care related bills, and to use the resources below to make your voices heard.

We recommend confirming committee public hearing schedules for priority bills and taking opportunities to let your legislators know how you think they should vote on the issues that matter most. For a quick overview of the federal legislative process, visit Learn how federal legislation moves through Congress . For Connecticut specific information, visit Read the Connecticut guide on how a bill becomes law (PDF) . To receive updates by email, you can Subscribe to Long Term Care Ombudsman Program email updates .

Connecticut General Assembly starting points

Key committees for long term care legislation

Public hearing agendas and sign up information

Public hearing agendas are the most reliable way to find bills scheduled for testimony and learn how to participate.

Daily legislative record

Journals are the official daily record of actions taken by each chamber.

LTCOP weekly bill tracker

During each legislative session, the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program tracks and highlights priority bills related to individuals receiving long term services and supports in settings such as skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and residential care homes. The tracker is updated weekly and is available here: Open the LTCOP weekly bill tracker .

Helpful CGA guide: Build your own bill tracker using the CGA website (PDF)

Contact your elected officials

2026 Connecticut legislative session overview

The 2026 Connecticut Legislative Session is scheduled to convene on February 4, 2026, and adjourn on May 6, 2026, as an even numbered year short session of the Connecticut General Assembly. During the session, the General Assembly is likely to consider legislation addressing healthcare oversight, long term services and supports, workforce stability, and accountability across regulated care settings, while operating within the state’s constitutional spending cap. Committees of jurisdiction, including Aging, Public Health, and Human Services, are expected to play a central role in advancing policies that support aging in place, strengthen oversight of nursing homes and other long term care providers, and improve access to home and community based services for older adults and people with disabilities.

LTCOP 2026 legislative agenda summary

The Connecticut Long Term Care Ombudsman Program 2026 legislative agenda focuses on strengthening resident rights, improving accountability across long term care settings, and modernizing statutory protections to reflect resident experience and evolving models of care. Core priorities include enhancing protections related to transfers and discharges, expanding and enforcing resident rights concerning technology, visitation, and freedom from retaliation, and strengthening oversight of nursing home ownership, management, and staffing practices.

The agenda also emphasizes promoting resident dignity and quality of life through updates to financial protections, advancing quality measurement initiatives that center resident and family experience, and reinforcing transparency in facility operations and reporting. Additional priorities address resident safety during facility closures, evacuations, and transitions of care, as well as alignment of state law with federal resident rights standards.

Through these legislative efforts, the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program will continue to advocate for policies that uphold dignity, safety, choice, and self determination for individuals receiving long term services and supports, while elevating resident voices and supporting their participation in shaping laws that directly affect their lives.

Advocacy history and past priorities

Explore the Advocacy Over the Years timeline

Review past milestones, key bills, and legislative priorities championed across previous sessions.

Federal advocacy priorities

The Connecticut Long Term Care Ombudsman Program supports federal legislation that protects resident rights, strengthens safety, and promotes dignity in nursing homes. Current priorities include caregiver access protections and stronger nurse staffing standards.

Essential Caregivers Act of 2025: H.R. 6766 and S. 3492 (119th Congress)

As resident leaders, we are reaching out to urge support for the two Essential Caregivers bills introduced in the 119th Congress: H.R. 6766 and S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. These bills recognize a lesson made painfully clear during the COVID 19 pandemic: family members and trusted support persons are not merely visitors. For many residents, they are essential to health, safety, communication, and emotional wellbeing.

Essential Caregivers Act of 2025: bill pages and one pager

What the Essential Caregivers Act would change

  • Protect a resident’s ability to designate an Essential Caregiver.
  • Maintain in person access during public health emergencies with reasonable infection control measures.
  • Reduce the risk of blanket restrictions that isolate residents.
  • Support appropriate training and access to PPE when needed for safety.
  • Reinforce that connection and support are core components of quality care.

Why Essential Caregivers matter to residents

Residents often rely on specific individuals for practical support and advocacy, including help with meals and mobility, communication support, cultural and language continuity, oversight of care concerns, and emotional stability. Isolation is not a neutral policy choice. It can affect physical health, mental health, and overall quality of life. The Essential Caregivers Act strengthens resident autonomy and reinforces that dignity includes meaningful human connection.

Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act

The Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act would restore and strengthen federal nursing home staffing standards by requiring a nurse to be on site 24 hours a day and establishing a minimum of at least three and a half hours of nursing care per resident per day. The bill also mandates regular, evidence based updates to staffing standards, provides permanent funding for inspections and enforcement, reinvests civil monetary penalties to support worker recruitment and retention, and holds facilities accountable for using taxpayer funds to support the frontline workforce. The goal is to improve safety, dignity, and quality of care for nursing home residents.

Why nurse staffing standards improve safety and dignity

From the Ombudsman perspective, insufficient staffing can contribute to delayed response to resident needs, increased falls and preventable hospitalizations, medication errors, missed hygiene and repositioning assistance, staff burnout and turnover, and reduced time for meaningful engagement. Staffing levels shape the lived experience of residents every day.

Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act resources

How to testify and participate in Connecticut

Nursing Home and Assisted Living Oversight Working Group resources

The Nursing Home and Assisted Living Oversight Working Group was formed to make recommendations on proposed legislation addressing lessons learned from COVID 19.

CT N coverage and educational resources

Voting and absentee ballot resources

Additional advocacy tools