Well Worth Preserving

A tragically familiar story in Orange County, as elsewhere, is the domestic violence that too often erupts in beatings, shootings and murder-suicides. Even more tragic is the fact that some domestic violence, suffering and death can be avoided, but possibly won’t be, because neither the state nor the county is interested in continuing a program that has proven successful in reducing those furious assaults.

The situation is a Catch-22 of government logic. The case in point is Orange County’s Domestic Violence Assistance Services which, in addition to providing food, shelter and financial aid to thousands of victims of domestic violence, also saves lives by working with battered wives, children and parents to help them secure protective orders from the court.

Government saw the need and started the legal aid program in 1982 using state grant money. The program did what it was intended to do. But it became too successful, and a 622% increase in its caseload prompted the state to cut off its support late last year.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors stepped in with $55,000 in emergency spending to carry the program through June. But neither the state, with a potential new budget of almost $48 billion, nor the county, with a budget of more than $2 billion, can find a paltry $100,000 to give the well-used and needed service another year of lifesaving existence.

We recognize that county and state officials are wrestling with budget needs that exceed revenues. But it seems illogical to abandon a program because it has proved to be useful to so many people. Such services should be continued, not dropped. And programs dealing with life-and-death situations should be given the highest priority--and financial support.

Instead, supporters must now hit the streets looking for $100,000 in private donations to run the service another year.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder sees the state as the program’s ultimate supporter. But state officials say the service is not mandated by law. If another law is all it takes to clear the way for state support, that law should be enacted at once. In the meantime, the local community, including the county treasury, must provide support until more permanent financing is arranged. The lives of thousands of threatened and battered family members are too precious to be left at risk for the sake of $100,000.