Sally L. Satel

Domestic violence advocates are urging states to adopt the Family Violence Option (FVO) which would exempt battered women from the time limit restrictions enacted under the welfare reform passed of 1996. In the following viewpoint, Sally L. Satel argues that the FVO is unnecessary since current welfare law already exempts people—such as victims of domestic violence—who need more time to get off welfare. Satel asserts that an amendment that exempts abused women from welfare’s time limit restrictions may cause the women’s partners to persist in beating them in an attempt to continue receiving the welfare benefits. Satel is a psychiatrist and lecturer at the Yale School of Medicine and a member of the National Advisory Board of the Independent...