Okaloosa County BOCC — January 19, 2016 — FY 2016 OVW Project Narrative.pdf — reading text

Crestview, serving the Northern tier of Okaloosa County. Goal 2: To provide in-depth training for court-based and court-related personnel and child protective services workers on the dynamics of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including information on perpetrator behavior, evidence-based risk factors for domestic and dating violence homicide, and on issues relating to the needs of victims, including safety, security, privacy, and confidentiality. Objectives: A. To establish a Consulting Committee in partnership with Safe Connections, First Circuit Court and Shelter House to initiate a work plan to accomplish training goals. B. To contact OVW Technical Assistance Providers to gain insight into training options. 12  Okaloosa County C. To prioritize training needs. D. To partner with Domestic Violence Coordinating Council’s Conference Planning Committee. E. To establish and carry out a plan to raise awareness among target population of training opportunities. Activity Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Review available local demographic and service X X X needs to identify critical underserved populations of battered women in Southern Okaloosa County Conduct population-specific outreach to X X X X X X X X X X X X prioritized underserved communities. Relocate the Southern Okaloosa County X X visitation site to gain accessibility and increase safety. Increase available service hours in the current X X X X X X X X X X X X OVW Safe Connections site in Crestview, serving the Northern tier of Okaloosa County Recruit additional volunteers to support X X X X X X X X X X X X expanded programming. Hire additional visitation center staff X X Promote and provide active referrals to d.v. X X X X X X X X X X X X victims. Provide ongoing training to visitation staff on X X X X X X X X X X X X d.v. Participate in overall safety plans for d.v. X X X X X X X X X X X X victims Maintain a safe and nurturing environment X X X X X X X X X X X X Establish a Consulting Committee in X X X X partnership with Safe Connections, First Circuit Court and Shelter House to initiate a work plan to accomplish training goals. Coordinate with OVW Technical Assistance X X X X X X X X Providers to gain insight into training options. Prioritize training needs X X X X X X X Partner with Domestic Violence Coordinating X X X X X X X X X X Council’s Conference Planning Committee. Initiate and implement a plan to raise dv X X X X X X X X X X X awareness with training opportunities. Participate in OVW sponsored TA and training. X X X X X X X X 13  Okaloosa County C. WHO WILL IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT The Collaborative In 1997, staff from the Judge Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Visitation Center (now named Safe Connections) began meeting with Shelter House, the community domestic violence agency to discuss the provision of visitation services to victims of domestic violence who shared custody with their batterer. As a result of this, Shelter House staff provided training to SC staff and volunteers in the areas of recognizing domestic violence, methods and strategies for working with victims of domestic violence and the negative impact of domestic violence on both mother and child. These agencies recognized the need to engage the local court system as a partner in their collaborative and in 2002 a representative from the First Circuit Court. This collaborative has continued to meet regularly since then to identify ways in which they could support effective law enforcement and prosecution response to battered women and increased access to supervised visitation and safe exchange services. The Okaloosa County Board of Commissioner has supported the Collaborative since its inception, providing meeting room, support staff to the collaborative, funding for specific, relevant training and funding for services to end domestic violence and to support victims of domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence and stalking. The Okaloosa County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council is a community response that pulls together the many agencies & practitioners who respond to domestic violence cases in Okaloosa County. This council is a multidisciplinary effort which works to strengthen the links between individual agencies and general systems. Member agency goals include preventing domestic violence, increasing the accountability of offenders, maximizing the safety of victims and establishing awareness throughout the community. 14  Okaloosa County The collaborating partners and responsibilities are outlined in the following chart: Collaborator Responsibilities Okaloosa Board of County Manage funds Commissioners Report on grant funds spent and service information requested by OVW Coordinate the project in accordance with OVW expectations: 1) Serving as the point of contact with OVW and technical assistance providers; 2) convening Consulting Committee meetings; 3) coordinating site visits and on-site technical assistance events; 5) ensuring that the project is developed and implemented in compliance with the statutory and minimum requirements of the Supervised Visitation Program. First Judicial District Refer families with histories of domestic violence to SC for services Communicate service levels and options to referring sources such as judges, county social workers, advocates, and others Participate in Project provided trainings Participate in Consulting Committee Participate in Collaborative meetings Act as conduit and information link to and from the bench Supervised Visitation Facilitate the effective performance of grant activities. Centers (Safe Connections) Provide operational supervision of grant deliverables. Provide Supervised Visitation, Transitional Visitation, and Safe Exchange services Coordinate interpretive services for non-English speaking children and families during visits and intakes Train staff in Safe Haven’s expectations and 6 Guiding Principals Assure a deep understanding of domestic violence is embedded throughout SC staff. Participate in Collaborative Participate in Consulting Committee Participate in the planning and implementation of Court Personnel and additional Partner Trainings. Domestic Violence Service Provide domestic violence training to SC staff and volunteers Provider Refer clients in need of visit and exchange services to SC, using (Shelter House, Inc.) fee waivers and interpretive services made available through this grant Review SC procedures with regard to victim safety Participate in Collaborative Participate in Consulting Committee 15  Okaloosa County In addition to duties detailed above, staff and consultants from Safe Connections and Shelter House, among others will perform tasks related to carrying out the goals and objectives of the grant and assure that all promised deliverables are completed. The participation of all personnel is detailed as part of the attached Budget and Narrative. Key Staff Abra McGill, Grant Specialist for Okaloosa County will be Coordinator for the grant. She has been employed by Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners for 10 1/2 years. She coordinates the County’s work with both federal and State grants and is currently the project manager for 10 active grants, assisting with a number of other grants as required She is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the grants, including ongoing monitoring, meeting coordination, review of monthly and quarterly reporting, review of invoicing, preparation for site visits and audits, and making sure all applicable regulations and rules are followed in the execution of grant contracts. Sharon Rogers, Executive Director of the Family Visitation Centers will facilitate the project, assuring that project goals and objectives are met on an operational level. She has a BA from the University of West Florida in Legal Administration. She was a founding member of Okaloosa Walton Supervised Visitation Development Committee, including development of board of directors, policies and procedures, safety protocols, site origination and design, training materials, community alliances, education and outreach. She presented information on Safe Supervised Visitation to Florida State Senate Hearing and provided assistance in the development of the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003. She was appointed as an expert in the field of Supervised Visitation and Monitored Exchanges, to the 2007 legislatively mandated Florida Supervised Visitation Safety Standards Committee. She has contributed to training materials and as a training consultant for the international Supervised Visitation 16  Okaloosa County Network in the area of standards of practice for providers. The Family Visitation Centers in Shalimar was established in 1997 another in the neighboring Walton County in 2001 and finally the newest Center as a 2011 Safe Havens Development Project a site was opened in Crestview, to serve North Okaloosa County. During this period of Safe Havens Development, the name of the sites changed from Judge Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Visitation Center to Safe Connection in order to more closely reflect the overall mission. Also during this time, Sharon provided leadership and knowledge to the process of completely rewriting all policies and procedures to provide the highest level of safety and more closely align with the OVW Guiding Principles. Rosalyn Iovieno, Executive Director of Shelter House, will support the project by participating in the