| Releases & Statements
For Immediate Release,
January 27, 2006
Contact: Frank Sobrino,
Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193 C: (646) 250-4322
According to a major new study released
today by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, in up to sixty percent
of families affected by domestic violence there is also child
abuse. Despite this alarming statistic, Gotbaum says, the City
is not doing enough to help women escape their batterers, find
homes for their families, and protect their children. The study
outlines a plan for eliminating obstacles and delays in securing
orders of protection and housing assistance and correcting other
shortcomings in the City’s approach to domestic violence.
“New Yorkers are clamoring right
now for the City to overhaul the child welfare system,”
Gotbaum said. “This new study shows that the better we protect
survivors of domestic violence, the better we can protect our
most vulnerable children.”
Gotbaum found that the
Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) does not screen
persons living in potential adoptive or foster homes for a history
of domestic violence. The study also includes evidence that survivors
of domestic violence have only limited access to legal help; the
City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) endangers survivors
by awarding only partial child support and employment waivers;
and teen survivors of relationship abuse are often forced to remain
in the same schools as their batterers.
Gotbaum noted that there have been a number of positive developments
in the fight against domestic violence, particularly in the criminal
justice system. She believes, however, that far more needs to
be done. In her report, the Public Advocate recommends that:
• ACS work with relevant agencies to gain access to the
Domestic Violence Registry in order to screen potential adoptive
and foster homes for domestic violence.
• The State Legislature enact legislation allowing persons
who are in violent dating relationships to petition for orders
of protection in Family Court.
• The City improve
the Housing Stability Plus program so that it will provide adequate
housing assistance for survivors and their children, including
those not receiving public assistance.
• The Department
of Education modify its school transfer policy to require and
simplify the transfer of batterers from schools attended by their
victims.
• The State Legislature increase the number of Family Court
judges in New York City.
• HRA award full--as opposed to partial--child support and
employment waivers to survivors who request and need them.
Public Advocate Gotbaum’s
findings and proposals are contained in a report released today
entitled, “Opening the Door: New York’s Response to
Domestic Violence 13 Years After ‘Behind Closed Doors.’”
Gotbaum’s report is a follow-up to the 1993 study, “Behind
Closed Doors,” commissioned by then-Manhattan-Borough-President
Ruth Messinger and former City Council Member Ronnie Eldridge.
“Within the pages
of this report is a roadmap for reform, a set of policy prescriptions
for the courts, the NYPD, the Human Resources Administration,
the Administration for Children’s Services and the Department
of Education,” Gotbaum said. “The more vigorously
the City commits to this roadmap, the more effective it will be
in responding to the challenges and dangers faced by survivors
of domestic violence and their children.”
“In light of the current tragic killings of children in
their families, we must renew our resolve to stop violence in
the family. Women and their children are at risk every day in
their own homes by those with whom they are most intimately entwined.
The original Behind Closed Doors began the process of opening
our understanding of the terrible overlap of child maltreatment
and the abuse of women. Now, as an updated analysis of family
violence comes out, we realize that the challenges we face are
as grave as ever. Although the City has made enormous progress
in addressing violence in the family, we know that there is much
more to do. Opening the Door provides NYC with a new blueprint
for helping our city develop a deeper and more a meaningful response
to this terrible problem,” said Alisa Del Tufo, Co-Executive
Director of CONNECT (Communities Coordinated Against Violence)
and author of the original report.
“Thirteen years ago, Behind Closed Doors was an effort to
dramatize the issue of violence in the home and recommend ways
to improve the government's sad response. The task force made
legislative, program, and policy recommendations that it felt
would improve the City's ability to intervene and protect families.
This new report reveals progress but also indicates that there
is still more that can be done to protect the women and children
that we care so much about,” said Eldridge.
"This is an extremely important
survey of key issues in the field of domestic violence and is
an extraordinary resource and roadmap for the challenges ahead,"
said Laurel Eisner, Executive Director of Sanctuary for Families.
The report’s release marks the conclusion of a two-year
project during which the Public Advocate’s office worked
with leading advocates and service providers throughout the city
by convening a committee of experts for each of the report’s
chapters. Two additional committees were commissioned to focus
on immigrant issues and LGBT issues. Survivors of domestic violence
were also interviewed for the report.
The report was released at a forum sponsored by the School of
Public Affairs and Baruch College.
-#-
|
