Senator O'Mara offers his weekly perspective on many of the key challenges and issues facing the Legislature, as well as on legislative actions, local initiatives, state programs and policies, and more.  Stop back every Monday for Senator O'Mara's latest column...

This week, "NYS can never afford to put these children and families at risk"

Sometimes, making your voice heard makes the difference.

Over the past few weeks, I joined legislative colleagues regionally and statewide to highlight concerns over funding cuts for Child Advocacy Centers across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions and throughout New York State, and to call on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to restore funding to ensure the continued operation of CACs regionally and statewide.

We zeroed in on CACs. However, the same concerns extended to funding cuts to Rape Crisis Centers and Domestic Violence Centers around the state.

At recent news conferences, I was joined by CAC regional and statewide representatives and local law enforcement, first in Canandaigua with my Finger Lakes colleague, Senator Pam Helming, where we were joined by Yates County DA Todd Casella, Seneca County DA John Nabinger, Ontario County DA Jason MacBride, and Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione. At the second one in Corning with Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, we were joined by Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard, Schuyler County Sheriff Kevin Rumsey, and Steuben County DA Brooks Baker, to sound the alarm: If the state doesn't restore these funding cuts by October 1, programs and services will stop operating locally and throughout the state.

That would be a travesty, we said, and unacceptable.

Ashley Davoli, Director of the CAC of the Finger Lakes, who was with us in Canandaigua and Corning, said, "It's really just a devastating cut, it's really unfortunate, and I use the word catastrophic. It's going to have a catastrophic effect across our entire state, not just for the CAC of the Finger Lakes."

Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard added, "It's just an insult to every child sexual victim we've ever had. Every victim of child sexual abuse is a person who has been trafficked, and to ignore this and to not fund this is an insult to the memory of every victim we've ever had."

Child Advocacy Centers are primarily funded by the state through grants provided by the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The cuts would have completely eliminated funding for six centers, including Steuben County CAC and the CAC of the Finger Lakes, which provides child protective services and assistance at three locations -- in Ontario, Seneca, and Yates counties. Funding for the Chemung/Schuyler CAC faced significant cuts that would have resulted in the elimination of services in Schuyler County. Overall, the Finger Lakes region stood to lose more than $1.49 million.

Last Friday, as pressure mounted here at home and around the state, the Hochul administration announced that it was reversing course and making the restorations necessary to keep our Child Advocacy Centers, Rape Crisis Centers, and Domestic Violence Centers operating.

It's the right decision by Governor Hochul. We are grateful that she heard the concerns being raised by so many child advocates and law enforcement leaders from across our region and throughout our state. We are grateful that the concerns raised by so many child advocates and law enforcement leaders from across our region and throughout our state were heard and acted on.

Child Advocacy Centers provide a child-friendly setting where specially trained professionals conduct forensic interviews involving allegations of child abuse. They also connect children and non-offending caregivers with medical services, counseling, crisis intervention and family advocacy. The centers coordinate the work of law enforcement, prosecutors, child protective services, medical providers, mental health professionals, and victim advocates. This multidisciplinary approach helps minimize additional trauma to children while strengthening investigations and helping law enforcement hold offenders accountable.

I join all of my legislative colleagues in applauding the advocates and law enforcement leaders for raising their voices, sounding the alarm, delivering a compelling case, and highlighting the need. We welcomed the chance to join them to rally support to reverse what was a misguided state action from the beginning.

Now, we will keep working to ensure the state's long-term commitment to the future of these centers. It is fundamentally important that Child Advocacy Centers, together with Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence centers across the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions, and throughout New York State, can always provide their essential services.

Child Advocacy Centers are absolute lifelines for the child crime victims and families they serve, and provide critical support to deal with the trauma and assist in criminal prosecutions of the offenders.

It was an unthinkable action from the start to eliminate funding for these established centers. The New York State budget has skyrocketed over the past several years. State spending increased by more than $23 billion in this year's state budget alone. In addition, the state's tax revenue is exceeding anticipated receipts by more than $3 billion in the current year.

Consequently, it was never a matter of a lack of money for these centers. It was a matter of lack of priorities. It's way past time that we placed protecting crime victims over coddling criminals in this state. The pendulum has swung too far left for too long under one-party control of the current Albany majority.