Urgent action is needed to ensure that DV service providers have the funding required to maintain services to all New Yorkers experiencing domestic violence. To make a united effort and increase our impact, we are asking advocates to contact their NYS Senators and Assemblymembers. Below you will find a template email and link to talking points. We encourage you to tailor the sample email to highlight any other information you feel your legislators should be aware of (impacts to your program, what you are seeing in the field, nuances specific to DV programs and the victim/survivors you work with, etc.). When sending your email, please attach the supporting documents in the Legislator Packet (attached below).
Sample Outreach Email
Subject: FY’24-’25 New York State Budget – Domestic Violence Budget Requests
Dear [Assembly Member/Senator + last name],
I am writing to you today as a/an [advocate, program director, executive director, etc.] at [your organization].
As the Legislature discusses the State Budget, I wanted to make you aware of the significant issues facing domestic violence (DV) providers across the State – namely, insufficient funding for DV programs and inequitable staff compensation. We have faced years of cuts or flat funding with increasing administrative burdens, and DV staff have historically been left out of cost-of-living salary adjustments aimed at the nonprofit human services sector.
To rectify these wrongs, I urge you to include the following recommendations in your chamber’s one-house budget bills:
1. Three earmarks totaling $134.4 million to prevent significant Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) cuts to non-profit victim assistance providers;
2. Legislation that includes residential and non-residential DV services and OVS-licensed crime victim service programs in the group of human services workers that receives cost-of-living salary adjustments (see S7793A/A8437A);
3. A $21 million increase in the set aside for state reimbursement to counties for adult protective services and emergency shelter for DV survivors;
4. A $5 million appropriation to expand the Survivors Access Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Fund;
5. A $24.5 million investment into the Criminal Justice Improvement Act to cover an anticipated increase in victim compensation applications following the passage of last year’s Fair Access to Victim Compensation legislation; and,
The enclosed letter and materials contain more information about these proposed investments. I’d be happy to provide more information or meet with you to discuss these issues in greater detail. You can contact me at [phone number or email].
Sincerely,
[Your name and title]
Sample Thank You Email
Subject Line: NYSCADV’s 2024 Budget Advocacy Day
Dear [Assembly Member/Senator + last name],
On behalf of [your organization], thank you for meeting with us during the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s annual Budget Advocacy Day to discuss the needs of domestic violence (DV) survivors and service providers across New York State.
Your support is pivotal to ensuring DV service providers and survivors of DV have access to the resources that they need to continue to provide equitable life-changing services. As you know, according to the annual DV Counts nationwide survey conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, on just one day in New York in 2023, more than 10,000 victims of DV received services. On that same day, more than 1,000 DV survivors did not get the services they requested.
With your leadership, we can pass significant reforms needed to ensure trauma-informed, survivor-centered services are available and accessible to ALL New Yorkers experiencing DV. Together, we can implement systemic changes and provide additional funding needed to enhance and expand the options available for DV victims and their families.
If you would like more information on how DV service providers and survivors are impacted, I can be reached at [phone number]. You can also contact Joan Gerhardt, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at NYSCADV, at jgerhardt@nyscadv.org.
Thank you for your time and your leadership on behalf of DV survivors in New York State.
Sincerely,
[Your name and title]
