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Before signing California's 2009-2010 budget this week, Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, made extra cuts including removing 100% of the $16.3 million budget for funding allocated for domestic violence services. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence fact sheet, 85% of domestic violence victims are women, and an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
California is one of the largest states in the country, and surely the funding cuts by Governor Schwarzenegger will have a negative impact on numerous women and children. The LAist reports that at least one center in the Santa Clarita area will close:
"The Domestic Violence Center in the Santa Clarita Valley is the only agency that provides domestic violence services in the 200-square mile valley. As a result of Schwarzenegger's cut, which is immediate, they've lost 45%, or $207,222.00, of their annual funding, which they say will force them to close their doors later this year unless the community supports them with donations. In 2008, they served over 1,000 victims of domestic violence."
The San Bernadino Sun quotes Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams, "Many (shelters) will not be able to be supported without that funding," Adams said. "That $16 million supported almost 105,000 people in the state -- people who will have nowhere to go other than the emergency room. That's not a good answer." The Sun also points out that the Victorville-based High Desert Domestic Violence Program gets 40 percent of its funding from the state.
According to the The Oroville Mercury Register, Anastasia Synder, Executive Director of Catalyst Domestic Services says "the loss of $249,351 in state funding, in addition to a 65 percent drop in donations this past year, presents "critical circumstances" for the agency, which will be forced to cut services to local victims of domestic violence."
On the Stop Family Violence website, Tara Shabazz, Executive Director of The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV), also spoke out. "We are appalled to see the Governor eliminate funding to vital programs that save lives. State funding to domestic violence programs has been proven to save lives, and also millions of dollars in health care, law enforcement and other social costs. It is fiscally irresponsible to propose such cuts; the Governor is balancing the budget on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable citizens. If the Governor’s budget cuts are allowed to stand, victims will not have a place to turn for help and lives will inevitably be lost.”
Not everyone believes the budget cuts are a bad proposal. Alexis A. Moore, President and Founder of Survivors In Action, a national non-profit crime victims organization, says: "This may be a 'golden' opportunity for the state to examine the programs and find ways to improve domestic violence services overall so that needs of domestic violence victims in the 21st century are met. The status quo is failing victims and the 'DV Run Around' is unacceptable. I believe the DV Run Around occurs in large part because there is so little oversight of how funds are used by the thousands of state and federally funded domestic violence organizations and no assessment of whether these organizations are meeting victims’ needs. Domestic violence resource reform must take place and domestic violence resources and organizations must be held accountable to ensure that no victim is left behind."
In addition to the funding for domestic violence, the Sun Times reports that "the cuts include slashing $25 million from health clinics; $52 million from AIDS prevention, education and treatment programs...$50 million from Healthy Families, which provides health insurance for poor children; and $37.6 million from In-Home Supportive Services."
I am shocked and appalled by the governor's actions. Although I understand that a balanced budget is necessary, I am baffled. How does he justify cutting services for the neediest individuals in California? The last I checked, it was 2009. This type of proposal is reminiscent of 20 years ago, when as a teen I was involved in a domestic violence situation and had difficulty being taken seriously and accessing services to assist me. I cannot imagine being a grown woman without access to services that I desperately need to SAVE MY LIFE! As an advocate, I am unable to take these cuts sitting down.
Unfortunately, I am not a resident of California and therefore I do not have a say in the budget discussions.
