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Here's a question: What do you think Vera House would have to do to have $42,000 a year pulled from its state funding?

How about trying to give domestic abusers therapy and anger management?

Didn't see that one coming, did you?

That's right, New York is the only state in the country that strictly forbids rehabilitation programs from trying to change abusers. That's right: If you're in a program for domestic abuse, basically you're told what you did was wrong. Over and over and over and over.

Why? Because, says Sherry Frohman, who runs the state's Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence:

"It's not about being rehabilitated. They can stop using violence at any time. The reality is, they manage their anger just fine. They're not uncontrollable."

Right. Because if you just keep saying, "You did something wrong," over and over, people will just decide to stop using violence and get in control of themselves.

Kenneth Corvo, a Syracuse University prof who studies domestic violence, says that while New York is the only state that expressly forbids therapy in its programs, it's not the only state that does a lot of finger-wagging.

New York's philosophy is pervasive across the country, Corvo said. "We're haunted by this model," he said.

The dropout rates for batterer programs that follow the state's philosophy are high, Corvo said. When the dropouts were asked why they quit, they said, "Why would we go and be insulted?"

Fantastic.

To make a donation to Vera House, which also assists abuse victims, click here.