The Legislature hereby finds and declares that there is a present and growing need to develop innovative strategies and services to ameliorate and reduce the trauma of domestic violence. There are hundreds of thousands of persons in California who are regularly abused. In many cases, the acts of domestic violence lead to the death of one of the involved parties. Victims of domestic violence come from all socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups, though it is the poor who suffer most from domestic violence, since they have no immediate access to private counseling and shelter for themselves and their children. Children, even when they are not physically assaulted, very often suffer deep and lasting emotional effects.
The Legislature further finds and declares that there is a high incidence of death and injury sustained by law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic disturbances. Police arrests for domestic violence are low, and victims are reluctant to press charges or make citizen’s arrests. Furthermore, instances of domestic violence are considered to be the single most unreported crime in the state.
It is the intent of the Legislature to begin to explore and determine ways of achieving reductions in serious and fatal injuries to the victims of domestic violence and begin to clarify the problems, causes, and cures of domestic violence. In order to achieve these results, it is the intent of the Legislature that the state shall support projects in several areas throughout the state for the purpose of aiding victims of domestic violence by providing them a place to escape the destructive environment in an undisclosed and secured location, on a 24-hour basis, where staff meet the requirements set forth in Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
It is further the intent of the Legislature to resolve conflicting interpretations as to whether county boards of supervisors have discretionary authority to fund nonshelter-based county domestic violence programs that lack any emergency or transitional shelter component, by restricting funding under this chapter to shelter-based domestic violence programs, as described in Sections 18294 and 18295. These clarifying and conforming changes are intended to be declaratory of existing law.