However, many battered women do not have any documentation. The clarification in Chapter 838 ensured that all victims of domestic violence had access to services, whether or not formal documentation was available. When a victim is sheltered outside the county of residence, it is the social services district in the county of residence that pays the rate of reimbursement set by OCFS to the domestic violence program in the county in which the victim is being sheltered. In order to maintain the safest atmosphere possible for victims of domestic violence, the street address of any residential program for victims of domestic violence shall be confidential and may be disclosed only to persons designated by the rules and regulations of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. A victim may give the post office box or the office address of the program in which he or she is temporarily residing.
Confidentiality is a critical concern of residential programs for victims of domestic violence.
It is important that shelters not disclose their actual locations to more than a minimum of community contacts since abusers may access that information through manipulation and pressure. These new rates became effective January 1, 1992.