Fiscal Year 2011 Performance and Budget Oversight Hearing

Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary March 3, 2010

Testimony of:

Kenneth E. Noyes, Esq., Executive Director

DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence
5 Thomas Circle
Washington, DC 20005
knoyes@dccadv.org 202.299.1181

Supported by:

Standing by Abused & Addicted Women

 Good afternoon. I am Ken Noyes, the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Coalition

Against Domestic Violence (“the Coalition”). Thank you, Councilmember Mendelson, for your

commitment and leadership in addressing the legal rights of victims of domestic violence and on domestic

violence services funding.

The Coalition commends and supports the critical work of the Office of Victim Services (OVS) and

the leadership of its Director, Melissa Hook. OVS works diligently in partnership with its grantees to

effectively identify community needs in response to domestic violence victimization. These efforts have

increased the safety and well being of victims, survivors and their families and we are all grateful for its

support and the knowledge and commitment of its staff. Especially notable is the Administration’s

foresight and long-term commitment, under the stewardship of Melissa Hook, to safe housing, which has

directly resulted in doubling capacity of emergency shelter beds in the District.

I am here today on behalf of the Coalition and our member programs to implore you to make a

moderate, responsible investment in the amount of $2 million to sustain core, non-residential services for

victims of domestic violence and their children. This stabilization funding will sustain: support and

counseling; advocacy and legal representation; education; and targeted outreach to underserved

populations including teens and youth. The Coalition also supports the city’s domestic violence shelters

to ensure the District’s long term commitment to domestic violence housing, including accessing the DV

Shelter Fund, if necessary. This request is the result of difficult decisions made by a consensus of the

Coalition’s membership.

Please understand that we are extremely mindful of the challenges you face in this harsh economic

climate. However, while economic woes do not directly cause domestic violence, they do commonly

contribute to increases in frequency and severity of abuse. Local programs have reported a tremendous

increase in crisis calls to hotlines, as well as requests for assistance. Statistics support this: in 2009, the

number of children served by the Domestic Violence Intake Centers nearly doubled, the number of teens

tripled, the number of requests for civil protection orders increased by 7%, and the Metropolitan Police

Department logged more than 31,000 domestic-related calls – one every 17 minutes. Citing to the poor
economy, last August Chief of Police Cathy Lanier publicly expressed her concern over the troubling

increase in domestic violence homicides.

Local providers are struggling, despite best efforts to stretch resources and maintain core life-

saving services. In FY10, OVS’ funding was cut by a shocking 25%. One-time Recovery Act funding did

little more than mask the funding gap already facing the victim services community. Cuts in local funding

and charitable giving, coupled with increased demands for services, have necessitated that some local

programs drastically reduce services and one to nearly eliminate services that help ensure the safety of

thousands of victims and survivors. Simply put: the domestic violence community cannot continue to save

constituents’ lives if the District further slashes OVS’s already meager funding.

Investing in domestic violence prevention programs and services is not just good policy; it is sound

fiscal policy and imperative in this economy. Domestic violence is a primary cause of homelessness in

major cities. Young people who flee violent homes are at a heightened risk for emotional and behavioral

problems that affect their ability to learn and to become independent, economically stable adults. Children

and youth made homeless because of domestic violence often resurface later in the criminal justice

system. The bottom line is that any further funding decreases to core domestic violence services will

necessarily increase the burden to other social service systems and escalate the need to spend money in

those areas. Spending money now to support core non-residential domestic violence programming

invests in the safety of the District’s most vulnerable and will help prevent a further increase in the

homicide rate and help alleviate the burden on other government and non-profit systems in the District.

Your investment of $2 million to stabilize today’s non-residential core services and programs will

have a direct and powerful impact on the citizens of tomorrow and provide meaningful savings of D.C.

financial resources in other social service areas. Lives are in the balance: policymakers must prioritize

and protect funding for victims of domestic violence and their children. We are committed to working with

you and plan to submit a list of revenue enhancement recommendations to support domestic violence

services.

Thank you and do not hesitate to contact our Policy Director, Becca O’Connor, with questions

about this funding request: boconnor@dccadv.org or 202.299.1181 x102.