Okaloosa County BOCC — September 1, 2015 — Safe Connections Edward Byrne Grant Application FY 2015 — reading text

Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide Subgrant Recipient Organization Name: Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners County: Okaloosa Chief Official Name: Nathan Boyles Title: Chairman Address: 302 North Wilson Street Suite 302 City: Crestview State: FL Zip: 32536-3474 Phone: 850-651 -7105 Ext: Fax: 850-651-7142 Email: nboyles@co .okaloosa.fl .us Chief Financial Officer Name: Gary Stanford Title: Financial Officer Address: 101 East James Lee Boulevard Room 118 City: Crestview State: FL Zip: 32536-3552 Phone: 850-689-5801 Ext: Fax: Email: gstanford@okaloosaclerk.com Application Ref# 2016-JAGC-2650 Section #1 Page 1 of 2 Contract -JAGC-OKAL- - - Rule Reference 11 D-9.006 OCJG-005 (rev. October 2005)  Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide Implementing Agency Organization Name: First Judicial Circuit County: Okaloosa Chief Official Name: Robin Wright Title: Court Administrator Address: 100 West Maxwell Street City: Pensacola State: FL Zip: 32501-1719 Phone: 850-595-3055 Ext: Fax: 850-595-3059 Email: robin.wright@flcourts1.gov Project Director Name: Catherine White Title: Drug Court Manager Address: Court Administration 100 West Maxwell Street City: Pensacola State: FL Zip: 32501 Phone: 850-595-3055 Ext: Fax: 850-595-3059 Email: cathy.white@flcourts1.gov Application Ref# 2016-JAGC-2650 Section #1 Page 2 of 2 Contract -JAGC-OKAL- - - Rule Reference 11 D-9.006 OCJG-005 (rev. October 2005)  Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide General Project Information Project Title: FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROJECT Subgrant Recipient: Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Implementing Agency: First Judicial Circuit Project Start Date: 10/1/2015 End Date: 9/30/2016 Problem Identification Problem Description : The children of Okaloosa County need a place which provides a safe and nurturing environment for victims of domestic violence and child abuse to fulfill court-ordered supervised visitation and monitored exchanges. Problem Significance: The safety of ch ildren coming from families where there has been an act violence or is an ogoing threat of violence is often presented to the Court to order protective measures. The children may be placed in the custody of the state or with a non-offending parent under an Order of Protection . Other children are removed from their parent's home because of a variety of reasons, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, and placed in the custody of the state . Often the parent(s) will be given a plan to correct any problems with the reunification of the family as the final goal. During that time, psychologists agree that children are less traumatized when family bonds are maintained by regular visitation. For this and a wide variety of reasons, the Court is asked to address the issue of visitation balanced with ensuring the child's safety. It is important that every child's physical and emotional safety is protected during what maybe a time of chaos and uncertainty for this family. The ch ildren in this community need the services of a Visitation Center to give them an advocate and maintain a safe, secure place to visit without fear of exposure to emotional and/or physical harm . Additionally, victims of domestic violence need the services of a Visitation Center to safely fulfill court ordered shared parenting time by means of supervised visitation or monitored exchanges with an abusive partner without fear of exposure to their victimizer. Needs Assessment: There is an ongoing need for the services of supervised visits and monitored exchanges in Okaloosa County. Project Summary (Scope of Work) Safe Connections serves as a source of referral for supervised visitation and monitored exchange services for all of Okaloosa County. The use of a safe supervised visitation center provides the most secure setting for children to experience safe supervised visitation. This project will result in safer outcomes for children and their victimized parent. Application Ref# 2016-JAGC-2650 Section #2 Page 1 of 4 Contract -JAGC-OKAL- - - Rule Reference 110-9.006 OCJG-005 (rev. October 2005)  Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide This resource will allow this project to protect children and adult victims by providing a safe and nurturing supervised visitation or monitored exchange when ordered by the court. In order to provide safety, Safe Connections provides staff trained in issues including domestic violence, child abuse, mental health, substance abuse and trauma . The project will hire off-duty law enforcement to provide an additional layer of safety as needed . This project has safety policies and procedures which meet the Florida Supreme Court Standards and Guidelines for Safe Supervised Visitation . This project provides services in a setting which is comfortable for adults and children while it is thoughtfully laid out to prevent victim and perpetrator contact. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a safe and nurturing site for children to visit without fear of revictimization . Documentation of service provision : The project will keep a secure online database to track all services by a case identification number. Each provision of service will be documented with specific type of service, number of adults and children served and the presence of security. Each service will be automatically stamped with a date and time stamp. A tracking report of the records will be provided to the Project Director on a quarterly basis. Training requirements and documentation of completion is maintained for each Staff member. Training records will be provided to the Project Director as requested . Policies and procedures recording safety standards will be provided to the Project Director as required . Records of off-duty law enforcement will be provided to the Project Director on a quarterly basis. Site tours of the Visitation Center are available to the Project Director as required. Service Provider: Safe Connections, formerly known as the Judge Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Visitation Center, has been operating in Shalimar for over eighteen years. Safe Connections has conducted more than 10,000 monitored exchanges and scheduled over 20,000 supervised visits, without one serious incident. Safe Connections meets and exceeds the Minimum Standards outlined by the FCSC's Model Court Subcommittee and approved by the Florida Supreme Court. Safe Connections is a member of the Supervised Visitation Network, with the Executive Director serving two terms on the board of directors. Safe Connections is also active in the Florida Chapter of the Supervised Application Ref# 2016-JAGC-2650 Section #2 Page 2 of 4 Contract -JAGC-OKAL- - - Rule Reference 110-9.006 OCJG-005 (rev. October 2005)  Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide Visitation Network, with the Executive Director serving two terms as president. The Executive Director also serves on the Florida Supervised Visitation Standards Committee and participated in the development of Recommendations to the Florida Legislature for Safe Supervised Visitation . Security: Safe Connections will provide off-duty Officers onsite as needed. All domestic violence cases will be screened and thoroughly reviewed for potential danger. Cameras are focused on the entrances and visitation rooms to provide an added barrier for safety. Additional safety measures are taken such as the separation of entrances, parking and staggering arrival and departure times. Target Group: This project serves all children exposed to family violence from infants to 18 years old and all victims of domestic violence without regard to age or gender. Project Activities: When the Court orders a non-custodial parent into supervised visitation, Safe Connections provides a safe and nurturing environment for these visits to occur. An off duty law enforcement officer is on site when safety indicates and a trained monitor is in constant supervision of the children. All visitors are thoroughly advised of the Centers numerous rules and restrictions and must sign an agreement to abide by the rules before any visit is scheduled . Visits are scheduled for one and one-half hours and staggered arrival and departure times protect victims from a possible confrontation with perpetrators. The children visiting are unaware of all of our precautions and rules and generally enjoy their time with their non-custodial parent. In every case, the child is safe due to constant monitoring . Additional restrictive policies and rules are enforced for anyone accused of, or convicted of, sexual abuse. Safe Connections also meets the needs of domestic violence victims referred by the Family Law Division of the First Circuit Court and ordered to exchange their children with an abusive spouse for regular parenting time. Safe Connections provides for the emotional and physical safety of these children and abuse victims. This is accomplished by providing a secure, child-friendly setting and a strictly enforced staggered schedule of times for the delivery and pickup of children . The monitored exchanges have proven to meet a critical need in the Court?s efforts to protect children from witnessing conflict which would often turn violent. Application Ref# 2016-JAGC-2650 Section #2 Page 3 of 4 Contract -JAGC-OKAL- - - Rule Reference 110-9.006 OCJG-005 (rev. October 2005)  Application for Funding Assistance Florida Department of Law Enforcement Justice Assistance Grant - County-wide Section Questions: Question: What percentage of the total cost of this project is being funded by sources other than this award? Answer: 0 Question: What is the name of the jurisdiction(s) your agency provides service to. (e.g., City of Miami, Orange County, State of Florida) Answer: Okaloosa County Question: What is the combined population of the jurisdiction(s) your agency provides services to (according to the most recent census)? Answer: 196512 Question: What is the address of the location being used to provide services for this project? Answer: 1 Old Ferry Road