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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Carney targets family violence State grant will help focus attention on domestic cases
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

Schenectady County law enforcement agencies will target repeat offenders and stalkers in an attempt to reduce domestic violence cases in city and town courts under a new initiative announced Thursday by the District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Robert Carney announced the initiative during the swearing-in ceremony for his sixth four-year term. A Democrat, Carney ran unopposed for re-election in November.
    Carney said a $179,000 oneyear grant he secured from the state will pay for a domestic abuse response team. He expects to find additional grants to keep the program going in later years.
    Carney terms domestic violence a significant problem in the gazette.com county. In the first six months of
2009, city police responded to 2,747 domestic violence calls, resulting in 586 arrests, he said.
    The state grant is federal stimulus money and will be used to hire a coordinator and an assistant district attorney. Further, the Schenectady Police Department will receive $40,000 from the grant to pay salaries of investigators who will focus on certain cases of domestic violence.
    Finally, $12,000 of the grant will be used to provide victims of domestic violence with free legal services. The Legal Project will provide an attorney on-site at the Schenectady YWCA one day a week to help victims seek orders of protection or pursue violations of orders in Family Court.
    The YWCA, which operates domestic violence shelters for women and children, will hire the coordinator. The specialist will oversee Schenectady’s Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence Team in reviewing domestic incident reports. The team has been around since 2004 and consists of several community service agencies, police departments and advocacy groups. ...........>>>>..................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1

Is it that bad in Schenectady? WHY?

I appreciate the fact that they are trying to do something to take care of this.  My only question is that if you have $179,000 to get this program up and running, "free" the first year, how will this program be paid for the following year and in perpetuity?

"The closest thing to immortality in this life is a government program."
Ronald Reagan