Two measures approved recently by the state Senate deserve to become law.

The first bill is S.3087, sponsored by Sen. Catharine Young, R-C-I-Olean, to allow domestic violence victims to testify in the physical absence of their alleged abusers by using closed-circuit television. By offering an alternate forum for victims of domestic violence to serve as witnesses, the legislation seeks to facilitate their willingness to come forward. One justification for the law is statistics showing only 48 percent of victims report their attacks to authorities. Young said allowing a domestic violence victim to be designated as a vulnerable witness and thereby allow them to testify via closed-circuit TV could encourage more victims to come forward.

The second bill is S.824-sponsored by Sen. Martin Golden, R-C-I, Brooklyn, that would establish a temporary state commission to study child abuse prevention and make recommendations for implementing child abuse prevention programs statewide. This bill also makes sense, given that some 80,000 children are found to be victims of child abuse and maltreatment in New York state each year, a number that is staggeringly high. There are also far too many cases like that of Nayla Hodnett, a Jamestown child who was killed more than a year ago.

Research has demonstrated that programs focusing on educating and training new and future parents are the most practical and cost-effective means of preventing child abuse and neglect. Child abuse prevention also addresses other aspects of family dynamics that threaten children’s well-being, including preventable health conditions such as low birth weight, infant mortality and drug-addicted babies. Child abuse prevention programs are currently only available to a small number of eligible at-risk families.

The text of Golden’s bill also states the state spends $2.4 billion each year on the consequences of child abuse, including incarceration, court costs and foster care. Golden hopes that the commission’s recommendations could shed light on the accessibility of prevention programs and develop strategies to expand services to more families across the state – protecting more children and saving money in the process.

Both should be approved before the end of the state legislative session.