Here are some items in the news we are watching:.

As the recession continues to hurt the social services sector, the state of California has come up with a creative way to fill some of the funding gaps. From the San Jose Mercury:

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Counties could raise fees on marriage licenses by up to $10 to fund domestic violence shelters under a bill sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by the state Senate.

Counties already collect a $23 fee on marriage licenses to fund domestic violence shelters. The bill approved Thursday lets county supervisors increase the fee to $33.

Alarming statistics about prison sexual abuse in America were recently released:

A US Justice Department study reported Thursday that, from October 2008 to December 2009, 88,500 inmates nationwide were sexually assaulted behind bars–4.4% of inmates in prison and 3.1% of inmates in jail.

The study showed that Females are twice as likely to be victimized as males, and that 13% of women and 19% of men were victimized in the first 24 hours after being admitted to a correctional facility.

A new study suggests that child abuse rates in the U.S. are on the decline.
From Time Wellness Blog:

The number of maltreated children in the U.S. has fallen steadily in the last two decades, according to a report this week from the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Overall, physical-abuse cases per capita fell 3% between and 2007 and 2008 (the most recent year for which stats are available). Meanwhile sexual abuse fell by 6%, the report says. These figures continue long-term downward trends in the rate of physical and sexual abuse nationwide — with most states reporting cumulative drops of over 50% since 1992 — although neglect cases per capita seem to have remained fairly stable.

September 2009 marked the 15 year anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law. As the date approached, it became clear that we needed to do more than a press release or event. This was a moment in time for the Department of Justice to send a clear signal that the issue of violence against women is a priority.

That is why we at the department launched a year-long initiative to raise public awareness, build stronger coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal communities, and redouble efforts to end sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and stalking for men, women and children across the country.

Far too many communities in the United States and around the world are affected by this issue and it must stop. One of the messages that we have sought to carry throughout the 15th anniversary of VAWA is that sexual and domestic violence are not just issues for the victim, or his or her family. They are everyone’s problem. And anyone dealing with sexual violence on a college campus today knows that this is a reality.

Read the rest of the story here

The White House’s Commitment to Combating Violence Against Women

Lynn Rosenthal, February 2, 2010

For six months now, I have held the first-ever White House position dedicated to combating violence and sexual assault against women and continuing the important work of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Every morning when I’ve walked into the White House, I’ve brought with me the stories of the many survivors I have worked with over the years. I’ve focused on raising the profile of violence against women issues across Federal Agencies, states, tribal communities, and localities; coordinating interagency collaboration on these issues; implementing victim assistance programs; and integrating these issues into Administration- wide programs such as the White House Fatherhood Initiative, the White House Council on Women and Girls, HUD’s fight against homelessness, and the Justice Department’s recent effort to better combat disproportionate violence in tribal communities.

Yesterday, I met with a group of 16 leaders of organizations that combat violence against women, provide resources for women who face domestic violence and sexual assault, and advocate for victims. During this meeting, I shared with these leaders the same information I am sharing with you — information on how the White House, through the President’s FY 2011 budget, is making combating violence against women a real priority.

Violence Against Women Act as a Budget Priority

The FY 2011 budget will provide a record total of $730 million to combat violence against women — a $130.5 million increase in funding from the previous fiscal year. The VAWA, passed in 1994, already provides thousands of victims with life-saving services, improvements in the criminal justice system and increased public awareness. The President’s FY 2011 budget not only continues this strong response, but bolsters current funding and responds to the emerging needs of communities.

Crime Victims Fund

The budget provides a $100 million increase from the Crime Victims Fund, specifically for emergency shelter, transitional housing, and other local services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. By focusing on both immediate safety and long-term housing assistance, we can help ensure that victims don’t have to choose between living with abuse or becoming homeless. Furthermore, the Crime Victims Fund does not consist of a single taxpayer dollar; it is self-sustaining and supported by criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, and penalties for Federal offenders. In addition to a fund increase from the Crime Victims Fund, the FY 2011 budget provides $140 million for battered women’s shelters and services, an increase of $10 million from the previous fiscal year.

Victim Resources and Legal Support

The $730 million also provides vital funding for victim resources. The National Domestic Violence Hotline and Teen Dating Violence Helpline are receiving increased funding of $4.5 million to ensure every call is answered. The budget also provides $30 million in VAWA funding for victims of sexual assault — a $15 million increase from the previous year — which will be utilized by the Sexual Assault Services Program to provide crisis intervention, advocacy within the criminal justice system, support during forensic exams, and other related assistance.

The FY 2011 budget bolsters legal support for domestic violence and sexual assault victims by providing $50 million in VAWA funding for legal assistance for victims, a $9 million increase from the previous year. The Civil Legal Assistance Program will use this funding to help victims more easily obtain protective orders and other assistance available through the court system.

To build upon the above improvements in the criminal justice system, the budget also provides $188 million in STOP grants that provide better training, improved data collection, specialized law enforcement and prosecution units, and courts specialized for domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

Support Across the Board

Ending domestic violence and sexual assault is a priority for President Obama and Vice President Biden. I’ve written about numerous fund increases and initiatives that are testaments to this fact. In my meeting yesterday, the White House’s commitment to violence against women issues was clear — we are increasing support for women across the board.

On RHrealtiycheck.org, we found an interesting commentary by Dr. Will Wong, a board member of National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). Dr. Wong discusses how funding for STD prevention and treatment has been getting smaller and smaller.

So earlier this year NCSD set out to conduct a study on how the budget cuts were affecting the operation of programs that are designed to prevent, diagnose, and treat STDs. Our survey of states, large U.S. cities, and the territories is as equally sobering as the scale of the STD epidemic itself.

Our research found:

● 69 percent of STD programs experienced funding cuts from 2008 to 2009;

● 39 clinics supported by state and local STD programs closed due to lack of funding over the past year;

● 20 percent of the frontline STD program workforce – known as Disease Intervention Specialists – have disappeared over the past decade, and;

● 69 percent of STD programs supported by state and local dollars have experienced salary freezes and 29% have experiences layoffs.

In other words, the burden of STDs is becoming worse in this country at the same time that the resources we need to fight these illnesses continue to shrink. None of this bodes well for the future health of our nation and our communities.

It’s obvious there is a correlation between the growing STD problem and the dwindling funding. I wonder if the politicians are paying attention?

From the Star Tribune:

Holder announced the distribution of nearly $400 million in federal grants to target crime and public safety issues, including:

• $29 million to hire 87 new tribal law-enforcement officers, to purchase crime-fighting technology and basic equipment, and to secure training and technical assistance.

• Nearly $71 million to combat violent crime against Indian women and to enhance victim safety and crime prevention strategies for tribal governments and organizations.

• More than $295 million to support critical criminal justice needs, including building new corrections facilities and tribal courts, creating sex-offender registries, addressing the effect of alcohol and substance abuse on tribal communities and addressing infrastructure needs.

Link to the rest of the story

Here are some of the findings:

Child deaths attributed to abuse or neglect vary significantly by state.

Kentucky had the highest rate of death due to child abuse and neglect in 2007 – 41 deaths, or a rate of 4.09 per 100,000 children in the state. Other states topping the list include South Dakota (4.08), Florida (3.79), Nebraska (3.59) and Missouri (3.51). States with the lowest rate of child death from abuse or neglect in 2007 are Delaware Rhode Island, Idaho, Maine and Montana.

“About half of all children who die from abuse and neglect were previously brought to the attention of authorities – either by another family member, a teacher, physician, neighbor or someone else who cared about their safety and well-being,” said Teresa Huizar, executive director, National Children’s Alliance. “But case workers are routinely stretched too thin, and funding levels are too low. The result is often too little action that is taken too late, and kids die as a result.”

There is nearly a 13-fold difference in the amount that states spend per person to address abuse and neglect.

While there is no funding level or formula that guarantees a reduction in child deaths, states that invest in a strong social safety net for children – including health, social services, education, plus child protection – experience fewer child abuse/neglect deaths, on average. Experts suggest that this is because fewer families experience difficulties in the first place, and that if child abuse does occur, case workers can investigate more cases more thoroughly, thus protecting more children from potential harm.

The report finds that Rhode Island spends the most per capita – spending $181.34 per person to protect children. Other states that make significant investments in comparison with their counterparts include Pennsylvania ($137.89), Alaska ($129.02), Vermont ($126.31), and California ($121.16). The five states spending the lowest amount on child protection per person include South Carolina ($14.72), Mississippi ($28.82), Maine ($31.88), Nevada ($34.02) and Arkansas ($35.99).

“We need a bigger investment in case workers, whether it is number of staff or additional training,” said Rebecca Myers, L.S.W., director, external relations at the National Association of Social Workers. “Child protection workers are often the first line of defense in protecting children living in high-risk situations, but caseloads in some jurisdictions are as high as 60 or more, even though national standards recommend 12 or fewer cases per worker.”

Poverty is closely associated with child abuse and neglect.

Experts say stopping deaths due to child abuse and neglect requires addressing poverty, particularly during challenging economic times. While no level of household income or educational level makes a family immune to this issue, a child living in poverty is 22 times more likely to be abused than children living in families with an annual income of $30,000 or more.

Recent Census figures show that states with the highest levels of children living in poverty are Arizona (26%), New Mexico (26%), Kentucky (24%), Alabama (24%) and Mississippi (24%). States with the lowest levels of child poverty are New Hampshire (9%), Utah (9%), Alaska (10%), Vermont (10%), Maryland (10%) and Connecticut (10%).

The report comes as Congress works to reauthorize the Child Abuse and Treatment Act. Let’s hope they do the right thing and increase funding for this very important program.

How do states qualify for this new funding? From the Times story:

To qualify for grants, states would have to demonstrate that they have established or improved what the bill calls a “governance structure” for their networks of child care centers and prekindergarten programs.

The structure would include quality standards; a curriculum of sorts, appropriate for young children; a mechanism for reviewing programs and assigning quality ratings; minimum training requirements for providers; a plan for reaching out to parents; and a system for collecting data on children and families. The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services would jointly administer the Challenge Fund.

In related news, we found this very useful link from the U.S. Department of Justice about how the recovery funds are being spent. Included on the page are RSS Feeds you can subscribe to for weekly updates on money that is being released.

Here is a link to a PDF report specifically about the Office on the Violence Against Women and how they plan on distribute recovery money.

Money from the federal economic stimulus package is being made available to the National Domestic Violence Hotline Center and a teen abuse dating hotline, (Biden) said. The investment helps saves hospital costs incurred by abused women and addresses the problems of dysfunctional families and children from abusive families who may grow up to abuse themselves, he said.

In other funding news, women in Oregon rallied at the capitol against cuts in the state’s budget

In New York state, Governor David Paterson made some proposals:

to prohibit housing and employment discrimination against domestic violence victims, strengthen penalties for violating protection orders, and provide more assistance to child victims”