NORWICH – A new deal to provide services to victims of domestic violence in Chenango County will go into effect today.

The Chenango County Department of Social Services has signed a contract with the Syracuse-based Liberty Resources, a human services agency providing an array of services to individuals, children and families. The $75,000 per year contract offers help to victims of non-residential domestic violence and picks up where a former contract with Catholic Charities of Chenango County left off.

DSS had maintained a $42,000 annual contract for non-residential domestic violence services with Catholic Charities for a number of years. That contract, however, ended Aug. 31 after Catholic Charities – the sole provider of such services in Chenango County – closed the program due to budgetary restraints.

Despite closure of the Catholic Charities domestic crime victims program, DSS is still required by New York State Law to provide non-residential domestic violence services to county residents, meaning department officials had to seek services outside the county.