NCJ Number
88863
Date Published
1983
Length
38 pages
Annotation
Twenty-one statutory changes recommended in Texas's family violence laws have little or no fiscal impact but are designed primarily to implement more effective and accessible legal mechanisms and to improve the police response to abused women and their children. The recommendations and the issues mentioned for further research were identified through statewide public hearings and interviews with battered women and shelter care staff.
Abstract
The Senate Committee on Human Resources suggests that the Texas legislature support the 1984-85 appropriations request for expanded shelter care services, that the State's Family Violence Program include children's services in its shelter activities, and that the State support accessible day-care services for victims' children. The legislature should also consider improving services to rural family violence victims and establishing a statewide, 24-hour information and referral system. The feasibility of protective services for the elderly, public education and awareness campaigns, and rehabilitation programs for batterers should also be studied. Granting police the authority to enter a residence where a child has been assaulted is one component in the committee's plan to enhance the criminal justice system's response; reclassifying penalties for assault, redefining aggravated assault, and establishing Family Violence Units in prosecutors' offices are other measures suggested. The report also briefy reviews current services offered by shelters and the criminal justice system, and includes code provisions on family violence shelters and protective orders.