News from State Senator Bob Duff

October 2011

Capitol address
Legislative Office Building
Room 2400
Hartford, CT 06106-1591

On the Web
www.SenatorDuff.cga.ct.gov

Phone
Capitol: 860-240-0414
Toll-free: 1-800-842-1420
Home: 203-840-1333

A New Autism Law for All

I was proud to stand with a group of parents and real autism therapists on September 30 to announce the implementation of a new state law making it a crime to wrongly represent oneself as an autism therapist.

Autism The new law took effect 18 months after a New York woman scammed parents and two Fairfield County schools out of more than $400,000 for what proved to be fraudulent autism spectrum services.

The new law makes it a crime for anyone to represent themselves as a “board certified behavior analyst.” Any person violating this provision is guilty of a felony punishable by up to a $500 fine, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

The parents and therapists who joined me raved about the non-partisan nature of this legislation; it was unanimously supported by both parties. I want to thank those who alerted us to the need for this new law and who testified in support of it.

Helping Our Veterans

Vets Stamford Senator Carlo Leone and I are reaching out to veterans, their families and friends to inform them of a new grant that is being offered to struggling U.S. military veterans who live in Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk and Stamford.

The grant from the Peter Wojtecki Foundation helps pay the rent, mortgage and other significant expenses of one recipient for up to a full year. The deadline to apply is before October 31.

To be eligible, a veteran must have encountered a hardship primarily due to no fault of their own; be drug and alcohol free; and be a veteran or current member of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard

To apply, visit www.wojtecki.blogspot.com or call 203-359-0169 or 203-801-0060.

Sweeping Up Chimney Scams

I received an unsolicited call at my home from someone offering to perform a chimney cleaning, and that has prompted me to remind homeowners that these types of unsolicited calls are often come-ons for chimney cleaning scams.

The state Department of Consumer Protection suggests you NEVER hire a chimney sweep that shows up at your door uninvited. Also beware of telemarketing offers where someone offers you a very, very low price to come and clean your chimney; they may just want to get their foot in the door to do some type of repair work.

If a salesperson is using terms like ‘carbon monoxide poisoning’ or ‘house fire’ in a way that feels alarming, you should get another opinion. If pushed to make an immediate decision, look for someone else.

Call the state Department of Consumer Protection at 860-713-6110 to verify the legitimacy of their certificate and to check on any complaints against them

Seniors
Great day for a picnic at the Ludlow Commons Congregate Housing picnic held in Norwalk for residents and family members. (September 18, 2011)