Five New York City District Attorneys’ Offices and Law Enforcement Agencies in 20 Counties Outside of the Five Boroughs Receive Funding to Work With Service Providers To Implement Evidence-Based Strategies To Enhance Safety of Survivors and Hold Individuals Who Harm Accountable for Their Actions
Landmark Investment Part of the $40 Million Secured by Governor Hochul in the FY25 Budget
This Spring, Domestic Violence Service Providers Received $5 Million to Directly Support the Needs of Victims and Survivors
State Division of Criminal Justice Services Will Work With Grantees and the State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence To Ensure a Coordinated Community Response, and That Interventions are Rooted in Survivor-Centered, Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Practices
Governor Hochul Issues Proclamation Marking October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in New York State; Directs State Landmarks To Be Lit Purple Tonight
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a record-level, $35 million state investment to improve the public safety response to intimate partner abuse and domestic violence, and better address the needs of victims and survivors. The five New York City District Attorneys’ Offices will share $5 million while law enforcement and services providers in 20 counties outside of the five boroughs will share $23 million to implement evidence-based strategies to enhance the safety of survivors and hold individuals who harm accountable for their actions. The State Division of Criminal Justice Services is working with the State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to ensure coordinated community responses and that interventions are rooted in survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive practices. Up to $7 million will allow the State to provide training and technical assistance, risk assessment tools, and investigative support to participating agencies and improve the domestic violence reduction efforts of state agencies.
“Safety doesn’t stop at the threshold of your home, and my number one priority is the safety of all New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “That’s why I’m funding law enforcement responses to domestic violence of the highest possible caliber, using the most effective and innovative interventions to stop abusive partners in their tracks and save lives. Everyone deserves to be safe at home, free from violence and abuse.”
This landmark investment is part of the $40 million secured by Governor Hochul in the FY25 Budget. This spring, the Governor announced the Survivors Access Financial Empowerment Fund: $5 million to 65 programs across the state to directly serve survivors and victims, supporting education and employment to secure employment; legal assistance; transportation; childcare and other emergent needs. The $35 million announced today includes the following awards to each region:
Region | Award |
New York City | $5,000,000 |
Long Island | $3,626,322 |
Mid Hudson | $3,260,470 |
Capital Region | $3,309,659 |
North Country | $647,344 |
Mohawk Valley | $1,564,378 |
Central New York | $2,930,093 |
Southern Tier | $750,767 |
Finger Lakes | $2,779,586 |
Western New York | $4,131,381 |
Governor Hochul also directed 15 state landmarks to be illuminated purple tonight in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month:
- One World Trade Center
- Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
- Kosciuszko Bridge
- The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
- State Education Building
- Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
- Empire State Plaza
- State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
- Niagara Falls
- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge
- Albany International Airport Gateway
- MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station
- Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
- Moynihan Train Hall
- Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park
Using funding secured by Governor Hochul in the FY 2025 Budget, the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) will administer $23 million in funding to district attorneys, sheriffs’ offices, municipal police departments, probation departments and community-based providers that serve victims and survivors of domestic violence in 20 counties to implement the Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence initiative (STRIVE). The following counties participating in the initiative reported the largest volume and rate of domestic and intimate partner violence: Albany, Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Cortland, Dutchess, Erie, Fulton, Genesee, Jefferson, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.
DCJS will distribute $5 million to district attorneys’ offices in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island to allow for the implementation of early case enhancement strategies, including the Queens District Attorney’s Proact-DV program to the other four boroughs. The program focuses on the importance of collecting evidence, improving collaboration between police and prosecutors, and connecting survivors with support and services as quickly as possible after a crime has been reported, regardless of whether an arrest has been made. This coordinated, early intervention aims to increase victim safety, strengthen the prosecution of domestic violence cases, and ensure offender accountability.
STRIVE is modeled after the State’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, also administered by DCJS, which requires partners in each county to develop a comprehensive plan using one or more evidence-based strategies to reduce shootings and save lives. Plans developed by counties participating in STRIVE must use evidence-based strategies and ensure that community members and programs that serve victims and survivors are actively involved in strategy selection and implementation. One or more of the following strategies must be used: domestic violence high-risk team model, lethality assessment program, or intimate partner violence intervention.
New York State’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7 and is available in most languages: 800-942-6906 (call), 844-997-2121 (text) or @opdv.ny.gov (chat). OVS Resource Connect also allows individuals to find state-funded victim assistance programs in their community by their specific need or concern.
The Division of Criminal Justice Services provides critical support to all facets of the State’s criminal justice system, including, but not limited to: training law enforcement and other criminal justice professionals; analyzing statewide crime and program data; providing research support; and managing criminal justice grant funding. Follow DCJS on Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is the country's only executive level state agency dedicated to the issue of gender-based violence. The agency’s work is informed by survivors and service providers in the field and aims to encourage localities to work together cross-systems, recognize the seriousness of the issue, and respond in accordance with its three pillars: survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive. OPDV accomplishes this by learning directly from survivors and service providers in the field. Follow OPDV on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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