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BUILDING COMMUNITY, STRENGTHENING SERVICE
- In the wake of recent bias attacks, Governor Paterson leads a new charge against hate crimes.
- In 2007, there were 7,624 hate crimes reported across the country. In recent months hate-provoked murders have occurred in Suffolk County, Brooklyn, and Syracuse.
- Governor Paterson has asked all parents to redouble their efforts to teach their children respect for all people – no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.
- He has also proposed strengthening a school-based curriculum that reinforces the critical message of acceptance and tolerance.
- In addition, the Governor will create a state network of school-based organizations that advocate for civil rights. These organizations will teach students about community organizing and the civil rights movement. Students will participate in education panels and assist in the coordination of a yearly conference to address the issues discussed at regional civil rights seminars.
- Governor Paterson works to increase the level of volunteerism in New York.
- In these difficult times, when 225,000 New Yorkers may lose their jobs, community service is more important than ever. Not only must New Yorkers respect one another, they also must serve one another.
- That is why Governor Paterson appointed First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson to serve as the honorary chair of the New York State Commission on National and Community Service. In addition, he elevated the Chairwoman of the Commission, Susan Stern, to his cabinet.
- Last year, in New York State, nearly 3 million adults volunteered 397 million hours of community service. Volunteers contribute over $7 billion to our economy through their service each year.
- In an effort to bolster volunteerism and community involvement, Governor Paterson has proposed increasing the capacity of the seven existing Regional Volunteer Centers and funding the creation of three new Centers.
- Regional Volunteer Centers provide training and technical assistance for non-profit organizations to recruit, train, and retain volunteers. By increasing support for these Centers, Governor Paterson expects 4 million New Yorkers to engage in community and national service projects and contribute services valued at $9 billion in 2009.
- Governor Paterson is deeply committed to defending those who defend us.
- Appropriate mental health services are lacking for military beneficiaries and families in New York.
- In November, Governor Paterson created the NYS Council on Returning Veterans and Their Families. The Council is charged with coordinating resources and services, eliminating barriers to services, and helping veterans and their families receive the supports and benefits they need to remain healthy and well, as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
- In July 2008, New York added mandatory behavioral health screening for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) to the state’s reintegration program for returning Guardsmen and their families.
- Governor Paterson has called on the federal government to reform TRICARE, including reimbursing certified New York State providers for critically needed substance abuse and mental health care. He has also called on the federal government to fulfill its promise to provide health benefits to the first responders who acted so heroically on September 11th, 2001.
- He has proposed creating a Veterans’ Family Outreach Program to streamline the delivery of benefits and services to veterans and their families.
- Governor Paterson has also proposed increasing services for veterans who live in rural areas. He has proposed procuring two mobile Veterans Counseling Offices capable of stationing in the Adirondacks and Catskills, as well as adding two State Veteran Counselors targeted to veterans in the state’s most rural areas.
- Finally, Governor Paterson has proposed increasing aid to County Veterans Service Agencies.
- Governor Paterson calls for the expansion of proven public safety strategies.
- Crime in New York has decreased for 17 consecutive years. Today, New York is the safest large state, and the fourth-safest state overall, in the entire nation.
- Operation IMPACT is the state’s program to tackle violent crime through intelligence-based policing, partnerships between law enforcement and community organizations, and timely use of accurate crime data. Operation IMPACT brings together 80 different law enforcement agencies in the state, with special assistance from the State Police. The program targets the 17 counties Upstate and on Long Island that report 80% of crime outside of New York City.
- Last year, overall crime in the 17 IMPACT counties decreased by 10 percent.
- New York has opened Crime Analysis Centers in strategic Operation IMPACT locations around the state. Currently, centers are operational in Erie County, Monroe County, and Onondaga County. Governor Paterson plans to open a fourth center in Albany this year.
- The Centers provide a centrally located unit responsible for conducting in-depth analysis of all county crime incident data, often for the first time ever. The goal of the initiative is to reduce victimization and improve officer safety by providing new and enhanced technology and comprehensive analytical training.
- Governor Paterson calls for serious reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
- Few public safety initiatives have failed so badly and for so long as the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
- The modest reforms enacted in 2004 did not go far enough in terms of expanding the availability of drug treatment programs, allowing judges to order low-level offenders into mandatory treatment, and ensuring that prisons are used for the most serious drug offenders.
- Governor Paterson will review the report of the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform when it is published at the end of the month. He has asked the Legislature to join him in moving to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
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