Okaloosa County BOCC — October 18, 2016 — Exhibit B FY 2016 OVW Project Narrative — reading text

funding to lease appropriate space to meet necessary site safety accessibility standards. The funding from this grant will allow for services to be relocated into leased space which meets ADA standards as well as the requirements for safety to include separation of parking, entrances, and waiting areas. Our commitment: This project is committed to ensuring that all victims and their children in Okaloosa County are provided accessible safe services that are aligned with OVW’s Guiding Principles for Supervised Visitation. Area 3: Addressing Safety Needs for Court Personnel Training: Okaloosa County has a diverse Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC) which has identified the need for a long term plan of providing in-depth and ongoing training for Court Personnel. It is the contention of DVCC that the legal process plays an enormous role in the 6  Okaloosa County outcomes for victims and their children. It is also thought that with new and rotating judges and staff assigned, not only cases defined as domestic violence cases, but also to juvenile, family law or criminal cases with indicators of domestic violence, it is imperative to provide consistent offerings of updated and in-depth training is necessary to the provision of the safest outcomes for victims and their children. Barriers to Overcome: Domestic Violence training is not reaching our Judges and court personnel. It is the contention of this project that well trained Judges and court personnel are crucial in identifying and working to end legal and systematic barriers. There is a need for training, specifically designed for Judges and preferably presided over by one of their peers. Trained Judges will lead to an increase of importance to the provision of domestic violence training for all court personnel. Time and funding for travel to training is unavailable. It is the goal of this project to make expert judicial training more accessible by bringing in OVW Technical Support expertise and to provide funds for travel to OVW sponsored trainings when possible. Our commitment: This project is committed to utilizing this grant funding to support our judiciary and legal system with the provision of in-depth, convenient and accessible training. Safe Connections Alignment with OVW’s Guiding Principles 1. Equal Regard for Children and Adult Victims: Project partner, SC, has moved from a Child focused program to one that incorporates policies and procedures which address battering tactics and the many levels of safety necessary to provide for the safety of victims and their children. 7  Okaloosa County 2. Valuing Multiculturalism and Diversity: SC has made great advances with outreach in identifying service needs of underserved populations in the county, included Limited-English proficient Mexican laborers, isolated, rural and low income residents and military/veteran families. Specifically this has been accomplished by holding focus groups and adding culturally diverse expertise to the DVCC. These efforts have led to expanding access to supervised visitation and safe exchange hours, translation services, accessible locations, free services, outreach services, and staff training. 3. Incorporating an Understanding of Domestic Violence into Center Services: SC staff has participated in many years of training on the effects and dynamics of domestic violence, initially through excellent OVW providers such as Praxis International, followed by expertise of The Vera Institute, NCJFCJ and many others. SC also maintains ongoing required training and meaningful collaboration with our local domestic violence agency, Shelter House. 4. Respectful and Fair Interaction: SC has gone to great lengths to balance the fine line of respecting parent/child relationships while maintaining policies that hold batterers accountable. An example of this is the orientation process which is a critical opportunity for staff to build a rapport around the parent’s relationship with their child but also provide a clear understanding and gain agreement to abide by service boundaries and limitations for the provision of safety. 5. Community Collaboration: Okaloosa County has a strong collaboration between the many agencies and organizations. Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC) is a coordinated community response council which pulls together the many agencies and practitioners who respond to domestic violence cases in the Northwest Florida area. This Council is a multidisciplinary effort formed to strengthen the links between individual agencies and general systems to include but not limited to domestic violence victim advocacy, supervised visitation, 8  Okaloosa County the court system, law enforcement, prosecution, mental health, offender treatment, probation, health care and child protection. 6. Advocacy for Child(ren) and Adult Victims: SC has meaningful collaborative relationships with Shelter House, Inc. which includes a process for voluntary direct referral. In an effort to assist victims and their children the wide range of needs presented, SC has developed an ever- growing network of voluntary direct referral relationships with the many resources available in the community. This has become important to the holistic approach utilized by SC. Examples include the ability to provide voluntary direct referral to Child Support Enforcement, the Housing Authority, counseling providers, food pantries, etc. How Safe Connections will provide for Safety: All policies and procedures for SC have been written with all safety aspects addressed. These policies and procedures have been written to highest standards of OVW and approved and implemented at both sites. The design of the northern site incorporates all safety needs and was inspected and approved by OVW. The intention of the project is to move the Southern site into a space that also meets the highest standards of safety. Security Measures: • Off duty law enforcement is on site for all cases. • Site Safety is provided with separate and secure parking, entrances, waiting rooms and bathrooms are provided for our current OVW site and the same is planned for a southern site. The current site is conveniently located near downtown and close to a main road in Crestview, Florida. The site was a home that has been modified with the addition of parking in the front and rear and separate entrances. The custodial parent is provided a separate driveway, parking and a secure and comfortable waiting room and bathroom with no 9  Okaloosa County physical, auditory or visual contact possible. The other side of the house is provided front parking and a front entrance into the “security room.” Visiting parents check in with security and then proceed to the “visitation area.” Children are gathered from the custodial area and taken to the visitation area. • Staggered arrival and departure times help ensure no contact. • Visiting Parents are made completely aware of all safety measures with a thorough orientation process, and the provision of guidelines dictating policies. • Victimized Parents are encouraged to participate in creating a safety plan specific to their visitation needs and to maintain an ongoing dialogue to ensure their comfort and safety. • All contact between visiting parents and children is restricted to the on-site visitation area and is supervised by well trained monitors. • Staff is required extensive training prior to monitoring visitation. This training includes the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, report writing, handling difficult situations, ethics, and many others. SC training requirement surpasses the Minimum Standards for Safe Supervised Visitation in Florida as well as the Supervised Visitation Network’s Training requirements. Confidentiality SC is committed to promoting an environment that maintains the full trust and confidence of the families served. It is recognized that the daily work puts staff in the unique and responsible position of having access to and being aware of an array of highly sensitive personal information. It is also recognized that many of the parents receiving services are living in undisclosed locations due to their status as a victim of abuse. In order to provide the utmost safety from 10  Okaloosa County disclosure of private information, SC has policies that look at confidentiality as a key component of safety throughout the program. Documentation Documentation policies have been created with a clear purpose and awareness of the potential for creating increased safety issues by misuse or misinterpretation of any documentation. When reviewed by a second staff, there should be no grey, confusing or questionable statements. At the same time, knowledge of the issues surrounding each family’s needs and concerns for safety provide the important underlying context for educated listening and reporting. Court Testimony and Records Release Any testimony or record’s release is strictly forbidden without a precise Order of the Court or unless we have a voluntary, clearly informed, written and signed, time-limited consent of the client. We only share the specific information the client allows in their time specific release and preceded by a written subpoena which: has been verified authentic by checking date, seal and signatures; is limited and specific in scope to cover only the Visitation Reports. If the subpoena does not meet statutory requirements for time and date, or requests information determined to create a possible safety issue by SC Executive Director and Legal Counsel, a legal remedy up to or including a Motion to Quash will be sought. SC Staff acts as a custodian of the records for SC and can testify only to the factual information in the visitation reports. No opinions relating to the parent’s capacity or future custody arrangements of any child are permissible. 11  Okaloosa County Goals & Objectives, Activities & Timeline PROJECT GOAL: TO INCREASE THE SAFETY OF WOMEN WITH CHILDREN IN OKALOOSA AND WALTON COUNTIES WHO HAVE BEEN BATTERED AND WHO SHARE CUSTODY WITH THE BATTERER. Goal 1: Expand access to supervised visitation and safe exchange services that are consistent with OVW’s Six Guiding Principles in all of Okaloosa County, Florida. Objectives: A. To review available local demographic and service needs to identify critical underserved populations of battered women in Southern Okaloosa County. B. To conduct population-specific outreach to the prioritized underserved communities. C. To relocate the Southern Okaloosa County visitation site to gain accessibility