Nominations panel advances Devon L. Ward for correction ombudsman and Howard Servransky for behavioral health advocate

The Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee met March 18 in Hartford and advanced two of Gov. Ned Lamont’s nominees: Devon L. Ward of Hartford to serve as Connecticut correction ombudsman and Howard Servransky of West Hartford to serve as the state’s first behavioral health advocate.

Both slots drew public testimony and extended questioning from committee members before the committee moved both nominations forward in roll-call proceedings later in the afternoon.

devon l. ward, correction ombudsman nominee

Devon L. Ward, a practicing attorney who said he has served as interim correction ombudsman since September, told the panel his office’s caseload has been dominated by medical complaints, allegations of staff assaults and facility conditions — including reports of black mold and heating problems — and that a disproportionate number of current complaints have come from McDougall. “A large amount of my complaints are related to medical,” Ward said during questioning.

Ward said the office already holds roughly 500 complaints, of which his staff had been able to address about 100; he said the governor’s proposed budget of about $400,000 would fund only two or three additional staffers. Ward told lawmakers he had asked appropriations subcommittee members for roughly an $800,000 increase — bringing the office to about $1.2 million — to support a staff of about nine, including district-based investigators, an intake assistant, an on-site associate ombuds and a staff attorney.

Ward described the office’s current access to Department of Correction records and facilities: he said he can meet with any incarcerated person, review electronic health records and department master files with consent, and view facility camera footage. He also said earlier drafts of the enabling legislation included subpoena authority for the office, which some peer states provide, though he did not say his office had exercised that power.

Committee members pressed Ward on specific populations and facilities. Ward said the Manson youth facility is under a federal consent decree and therefore already subject to outside oversight; he singled out York (the state’s only women’s prison) as another facility that requires sustained attention. He described Osborne and Cheshire as among the state’s oldest facilities and noted problems such as PCBs, asbestos, pest infestations, long construction timelines for basic repairs and limited programming at jails that house mostly pretrial detainees.

On medical costs, Ward told the committee Connecticut spends approximately $130 million a year on correctional medical care for roughly 10,000–11,000 people in custody and said he wants the office to focus on improving health outcomes and reducing litigation and cost through systemic reforms.

Public commenters at the hearing urged both stronger oversight and immediate policy changes. Barbara Fair of Stop Solitary CT urged the committee and the future ombudsman to press for changes to strip-search policies and to investigate in-custody deaths; Marisol Garcia, co-chair of the Correctional Advisory Committee and a person who said she served multiple sentences at York, spoke in strong support of Ward and emphasized the need for staffing and “checks and balances.”

howard servransky, behavioral health advocate nominee

Howard Servransky described a 40-year career in behavioral health that includes leadership roles in county government on Long Island, executive positions at Community Health Resources (CHR), and most recently as chief behavioral health officer at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC). Servransky told the committee he helped open the state’s first integrated psychiatric inpatient unit for children at CCMC and that he would begin his term with a listening tour to define realistic short-term priorities for the new office.

Servransky said the role should help people navigate a fragmented system, give voice to unmet needs, and support providers to increase access. “My primary focus will be to advocate for the emotional and behavioral health well-being of all of our citizens,” he said in opening remarks. He said the office must be careful not to create expectations it cannot meet while it waits for staffing and budget authority.

Committee members urged an early focus on children, pretrial and unsentenced populations, and community-based prevention. Several lawmakers also raised the need for the office to be an independent advocate that can make policy recommendations to the legislature and to be positioned to advise on the Department of Correction and other agency budgets.

votes at a glance

- Devon L. Ward — Motion to confirm made and seconded (mover and seconder recorded in committee minutes). The committee conducted a roll-call; the committee advanced the nomination for further action. (Clerk recorded roll-call votes in the afternoon session.)

- Howard Servransky — Motion to confirm made and seconded; the committee conducted a roll-call and advanced the nomination.

what’s next

The committee left votes open for a short period during the afternoon and then recorded roll-call votes before recessing; both nominations were advanced by the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee and will proceed in the confirmation process according to legislative rules.

The hearing included extended exchanges with both nominees about staffing and scope of authority, and public witnesses urged stronger immediate safeguards in correctional facilities. Ward asked the legislature for significantly more resources than the governor’s initial budget allocation to build investigative capacity; Servransky asked for time to complete a listening tour and to define the office’s near-term workload before requesting further resources.

Notes: Direct quotes and paraphrases in this article are drawn from public testimony at the March 18, 2025 Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee hearing and from the public record of that hearing.