§ 481-A — Legislative findings and purpose

New York § 481-A

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law SOS: Social Services
• Art. 10-A: William B Hoyt Memorial Children and Family Trust Fund Act

Text

§ 481-a. Legislative findings and purpose. For the past decade,\nsociety has witnessed broad changes in family structure. These changes\nhave created unique stresses on our children as well as on those who\ncare for them. Among the most dire results of family stresses is the\nincreasing frequency of child abuse and maltreatment, represented by a\nsteady increase in reports of abuse and maltreatment to the statewide\ncentral register of child abuse and maltreatment. Additionally nearly\none-fifth of homicides, and an even larger proportion of assaults occur\nwithin the home between members of families. Among the contributing\ncauses of family violence are economic stress, social isolation, drug\nand alcohol abuse, parental attitude regarding discipline and child\nrearing, as well as acceptance of violence as a way of life. The\nreported incidents of both adult domestic violence and child abuse and\nmaltreatment ( including intergenerational family violence) represent\nonly a portion of the total number of incidents in the pervasive and\npersistent problem of family violence. The development and support of\nprevention programs for child abuse and maltreatment and domestic\nviolence (including intergenerational family violence) and services to\nvictims of family violence is, therefore, of major importance to the\nstate.\n It is the intent of the legislature that the funds for the William B.\nHoyt Memorial children and family trust fund shall be a new source of\nfunding which shall increase the funds available for prevention and\ntreatment services to victims of family violence. The legislature does\nnot intend that these funds be used as a substitute for any funds\ncurrently available from federal, state or local sources for the\nprovision of prevention or treatment services to these victims.\n