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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Corbett Proposes Funding Boost For Rape Crisis Services in PA

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014   

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Some 30,000 women, men and children affected by sexual assaults each year in Pennsylvania could benefit from a funding increase laid out in Governor Tom Corbett's just-released budget proposal. The spending plan calls for a 10 percent increase in funds for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, the oldest coalition of its kind in the country, which steers money to 50 rape-crisis centers across the Commonwealth.

According to Coalition spokeswoman Kristen Houser, the funds can be used for education and prevention programs, which, in turn, can help bring victims forward.

"People who are survivors are sort of waiting for a safe place to say to somebody, 'That happened to me and I need help.' So, when you're doing good prevention programs you can expect that survivors will seek you out for services. You need to have both. This funding will support the full spectrum," she said.

She said it's also important to allocate some resources to make sure there are qualified people to respond to sexual-assault complaints.

"We can't keep telling children, 'Tell us if somebody has harmed you or makes you feel weird,' but not have adults that are educated about how to respond and take that seriously."

Houser said another objective is to keep sexual assault victims from being targeted again.

"Many times the aftermath of trauma creates some vulnerabilities in a person's life that other offenders will identify and choose to exploit," she warned.

Houser said that, if the budget item is approved by the Legislature, it will mark the second year running that rape-crisis services have seen a funding boost, following a decade of stagnant levels. The Corbett blueprint also calls for domestic-violence funds to increase from $13.9 million to $15.3 million in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.



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