State Senate targets domestic violence, child abuse

May 21, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

State Sen. Marty Golden sponsored a bill to create a commission to come up with ideas on how to prevent child abuse. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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Members of the New York State Senate predicted that a pair of bills they recently passed will help victims of domestic violence and child abuse in the state if the proposed legislation is eventually signed into law.

The State Senate, which approved two bills on May 13, is awaiting action on the part of the State Assembly.

The proposed legislation would establish a commission to develop ideas on how to prevent child abuse in New York State and would also create new safeguards for victims who testify against their abusers in court.

One bill, sponsored by state Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-Southwest Brooklyn) would establish a state commission to study child abuse prevention. The panel would also be charged with coming up with recommendations for implementing prevention programs across the state.

“We have to do something. This problem is existing and its ongoing,” Golden told the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday.

Under his bill, the commission would be in place for three years, but its work would be evaluated every year.

“There is no place in our homes, schools, or society for child abuse, and the unfortunate reality is that it is happening all too often in New York. I introduced this legislation because it is time that we stand up against child abuse and make prevention a priority,” Golden said. “Reports indicate that there are approximately 80,000 children found to be victims of child abuse and maltreatment in New York State each year. We must figure out how to reverse this trend that is damaging many families.”

Golden said he heard of a recent shocking case in which neglectful parents left a small child in the backyard of their home “in his underwear.”

The causes of child abuse are varied, Golden said. “Some people have medical issues and can’t take care of themselves, let alone a child,” he said. “In some cases, there are too many children in a foster care situation and it leads to abuse. There’s also a problem with finances in some families. There’s not enough money coming in and things get tense.”

Golden also said, however, that there is some hope that the trend can be reversed. Research has demonstrated that programs focusing on educating and training new parents are the most practical and cost-effective means of preventing child abuse and neglect, he said.

But the child abuse prevention programs are available only to a small number of eligible at-risk families, Golden said. “I’d like to see these kinds of programs expanded,” he told the Eagle.

A 2014 study conducted by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, which looked at the costs associated with child abuse that states paid in 2012, including incarceration, court costs and foster care, found that New York State spent $3 billion.

Another bill, sponsored by state Sen. Catharine Young (R-C-Olean), would allow domestic violence victims to testify against their abusers via closed-circuit television, rather than having to sit in the witness stand in a courtroom.

“Many domestic violence victims fear retribution from their attacker if they choose to pursue charges against them. With statistics showing only 48 percent of victims report their attacks to authorities, allowing a domestic violence victim to be designated as a ‘vulnerable witness,’ thus allowing their testimony to be given via closed-circuit TV, will encourage more victims to come forward and confront their abusers,” Young said.

“The Senate is continuing to take important steps to improve protections for our state’s most vulnerable women and children with the passage of the bills today and the measures already approved in the Senate’s Women’s Equality Agenda,” Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-C-Long Island) said in a statement issued when the two bills were passed on May 13.