Rep. Slaughter Announces $1.5 Million in Funding for Center for Court Innovation

Rochester, NY - On Monday Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28) formally announced $1.5 million in Federal funding for the Center for Court Innovation.  A statewide public partnership, the Center for Court Innovation is dedicated to enhancing the performance of the courts.  The funding delivered to the Center for Court Innovation by Rep. Slaughter will enable them to continue their work to support Integrated Domestic Violence Courts all across Western New York, thus improving accountability and victim safety.

"This funding to the Center will help improve not only the court system but also the lives of those who use them", said Slaughter. "The well-documented success of the Center's projects in reducing recidivism and protecting crime victims is reflected in the efforts of other states across the country who have begun replicating its model."

The Center is a not-for-profit independent research and development arm of the New York State Unified Court System, which has created dozens of problem solving courts in New York.  These courts include drug courts, domestic violence courts, and community courts. 

"All too often, domestic violence cases require victims to make appearances in multiple courts - Town, Village, County, Local, Criminal, Family and Supreme Court.  This can be very confusing and it can make an already complicated situation even worse," continued Slaughter. "Simply put, this is an innovative ‘one-family, one judge' court in which all of a domestic violence victim's cases are heard before a single bench."

Also in attendance for the event were Judge Elma Bellini, County Executive Maggie Brooks, Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, Police Chief Robert Duffy, Monroe County Domestic Violence Consortium Partners, and Lynn Levey from the Albany Office of the Center for Court Innovation. 

"I consider this to be a wonderful display of what the government and community can accomplish when they work together for the safety and security of all our constituents," stated Slaughter.