Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies

2010 Family Legislator of the Year

Representative Toni Walker

The Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies is pleased to recognize Representative Toni Walker as the 2010 Family Legislator of the Year.Representative Walker is a seasoned social activist and advocate for youth, education, and human rights. After settling in Connecticut, she worked as both a fundraiser for, and the Director of, the Dixwell Children’s Creative Arts Center; a children’s inner city program for arts and music. While managing The Arts Center and raising a daughter alone, she continued her baccalaureate education at Southern Connecticut State University and received a Master’s Degree in Social Work at Fordham University.She maintained her ties to Southern Connecticut State University School of Social Work as a Field Advisor to both Bachelor and Master of Social Work students.

She currently serves as Vice Principal and Coordinator of Special Services and Grants at New Haven Adult Education, where she plays an instrumental role in developing, designing and implementing community-based programs. As a Connecticut State Representative she serves as Chairman to the Human Services Committee, and participates on several legislative bodies, including the Appropriations, and Judicial Committees. Representative Walker also created and chaired both the Juvenile Jurisdiction Planning and Implementation Committee and the Juvenile Jurisdiction Policy and Operations Coordinating Council. In addition, she has been appointed to serve on several policy committees by legislative forums such as the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments.

For several years, she has committed herself to juvenile reform in Connecticut beginning with raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction. During the 2006 and 2007 legislative sessions, Representative Walker introduced and championed legislation that would allow for 16 and 17 year-olds to be considered juveniles in the eyes of Connecticut courts. This is a monumental step in the direction of lowering recidivism rates and increasing opportunities for troubled youth to become active and upstanding citizens.

As well as being an educator and a state delegate, she serves on the Empower New Haven Education Committee and is Vice Chair of the New Haven Youth Council. She also chairs the Department of Children and Families Therapeutic Child Care Committee, and is a member of the Adolescent Parenting Council, the Women’s Leadership Forum-Executive Committee, the Domestic Violence Task Force, and Connecticut Fund for the Environment.