Executive Summary
The State of Connecticut is an early adopter of a justice reform framework currently passed by more
than 12 US state legislatures. Clean Slate prescribes automatic records erasure for people who have
earned a second chance by remaining crime-free for defined periods.
Community groups and advocates in Connecticut, in concert with the National Clean Slate Initiative,
worked with the state legislature to create a law that envisioned automation to deliver equitable rules
and policy to guide the process. CT Clean Slate requires erasure of qualified criminal records “by
operation of law”. Records that would otherwise be disclosed must be excluded from reporting once a
series of complex criteria are met.
Amended by Public Act No. 23-169 in 2023, the law requires erasure of qualified criminal justice
offense records by statutory “operation of law”. In Connecticut, “erasure” means that records that would
continue to be disclosed indefinitely on public criminal background reports must be excluded from all
forms of public access and reporting. “Operation of law” means that all agencies that maintain justice
data are obligated to perform erasures without intervention by courts and without any special grant.
Automation is the key to locking unqualified records from erasure and enables erasure for qualified
records. The Connecticut Clean Slate Automation Project implements complex IT processes, at scale,
to meet the new justice policies.
Implementing this policy required overcoming significant technical challenges. Criminal justice data was
fragmented across decades-old paper records, legacy databases, and disconnected agency systems.
Determining eligibility for hundreds of thousands of cases needed policy alignment and modern,
interoperable technology infrastructure. Implementing new distributed technology required teamwork
spanning all criminal justice agencies.
The CT Clean Slate Automation Project required close collaboration across many key partners
including the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), Department of
Correction (DOC), the Judicial Branch, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), Criminal Justice
Information System (CJIS-CT), and the Department of Administrative Services’ Bureau of Information
Technology Solutions (DAS/BITS). Together, these teams designed secure, interoperable workflows
and conducted extensive testing to ensure accuracy, privacy, and compliance. An external advocacy
partner, Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT), played a key role in advancing
the legislation and ensuring implementation remained focused on community impact and accountability.
Connecticut became the first in the country to completely automate the erasures. Some jurisdictions
have implemented manual procedures to handle these types of erasures; however, CT moved further
and faster through automation.
The Clean Slate Automation Project demonstrates how technology, driven by collaborative multiagency
collaboration, can help government deliver life-altering change. Connecticut is helping
thousands of residents move beyond past mistakes and build a stronger future for themselves, their
families, and for the State of Connecticut. The state’s method is now regarded as a model for other
states evaluating comparable Clean Slate initiatives.
Clean Slate Operations have been running continuously since September 2025, and over 300,000
history offense records have been erased pursuant to Clean Slate law and new eligible records are
processed daily.
Real Impact from Clean Slate offense erasures is already realized by communities in Connecticut. Life
changing impacts for those receiving full record erasure include access to employment, housing, and
educational opportunities previously out of reach.
Looking ahead, Connecticut has been working on a portal to allow those whose records have been
processed through Clean Slate to view the status of that process and understand if their records have
been completely expunged. This will reduce cost and effort for residents seeking their results.
