Okaloosa County BOCC — January 19, 2016 — FY 2016 OVW MOU — reading text

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WHEREAS, The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), Safe Connections, Shelter House, Inc, and The 1st Judicial Circuit Judicial Court have come together to collaborate and to make an application for The OVW Fiscal Year 2016 Justice for Families Program Solicitation; and WHEREAS, the partners listed above have agreed to enter into a collaborative agreement in which The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners will be the lead agency and applicant and the other agencies will be partners in this application; and WHEREAS, the partners herein desire to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding setting forth the services to be provided by the collaborative; and WHEREAS, the application prepared and approved by the collaborative through its partners is to be submitted to the Office on Violence Against Women on or before January 20, 2016; I. History of Relationships Safe Connections began collaborating with Shelter House, Inc. the community domestic violence agency in 1997. Safe Connections and Shelter House, Inc. Directors met regularly to discuss the provision of visitation services to victims of domestic violence. Throughout this relationship, Shelter House, Inc. provided training for Safe Connections' staff and volunteers in the following areas: recognizing signs of domestic violence; and methods and strategies for working with victims of domestic violence; and domestic violence's potential impacts on children and the battered person. Safe Connections and Shelter House, Inc. Directors identified the local court system as a partner, and a court representative began attending their collaborative meetings in 1 2002. Safe Connections accepts referrals from Shelter House, Inc. and The First Circuit Court for women in need of supervised visitation services. Additionally, Safe Connections, Shelter House, Inc. Directors and Court Staff continue to meet on a monthly basis to develop a comprehensive plan for building a larger collaboration focused on supporting domestic violence response and supervised visitation. The partnering organizations' ultimate goal is the protection of domestic violence victims and their children in all settings. As a result, Safe Connections, Shelter House, Inc. and the First Circuit Court developed an expanded collaboration including child abuse and neglect organizations, law enforcement, courts, hospitals, legal advocates, families, and community groups. The group's immediate goal was to develop an awareness and understanding among the potential collaborators of the unique circumstances surrounding supervised visitation in cases of domestic violence. This is ongoing, and now this group strives to meet gaps in services as identified by these meetings. The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners has supported these efforts with meeting space, but more significantly by providing support staff and funding for specific training to the community agencies and services that work to support victims and work towards ending domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence and/or stalking. II. Development of Application Discussions regarding the collaborative effort that is proposed in the application and detailed in this Memorandum began in earnest in March 2002. During their regular monthly meetings, the agency directors and court representative discussed the elements of the application and the appropriate roles for each partner. Safe Connections' Director met with center staff to develop a grant application response. This draft was supplemented with key Judicial and Shelter House, Inc. staff recommendations. Safe Connections' Director also conducted an independent study of 2 similar supervised visitation programs in other jurisdictions. This information enhanced the quality of proposed programmatic elements. Additionally, the Directors discussed the application process and expectations with the members of the resulting collaboration. These representatives provided input in the initial development phase and feedback throughout the process. Recent meetings among the Executive Directors, county representatives and local court representatives have led to the agreement reflected in the Memorandum and the submission of the grant application. III. Roles and Responsibilities Community Domestic Violence Agency: Shelter House, Inc. The Shelter House, Inc. Executive Director will provide co-leadership with the Director of Safe Connections for all non-administrative duties related to developing a cross-agency collaboration among the child abuse and neglect organizations, law enforcement, courts, hospitals, legal advocates and community groups. The Shelter House Inc. training staff will provide up to three domestic violence awareness- training sessions per year to Safe Connections.. Additional collaboration members will be invited to participate in these sessions. The Shelter House, Inc. will refer all domestic violence victims with children in need of supervised visitation or exchange services to Safe Connections and follow-up on the outcome of the referrals. Shelter House, Inc. will promote training/education of local law enforcement agencies and court representative regarding domestic violence issues and supervised visitation. Shelter House, Inc. may enter into agreements with these agencies as to the number of training sessions to be provided. 3 Supervised Visitation Center: Safe Connections Safe Connections will dedicate 6 staff and 10 volunteers to providing supervised visitation services to families impacted by domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and stalking. Safe Connections will provide facilities (e.g. rooms, enclosed playground, etc.) for the program service objectives. The Director of Safe Connections will support the growth of the collaborative effort, and supervise all Safe Connections activities. The Director will submit program evaluation information to local and national evaluators as required by the grantor. Safe Connections will submit financial documentation for accounting as needed. Safe Connections will maintain the confidentiality of individuals and families using the Safe Connections services. Local Court System: 1st Judicial Court of and for Okaloosa and Walton Counties The Court will submit referrals and relevant case information to Safe Connections and follow-up on the outcome of the referrals. The Court will provide training for collaboration partners on the legal system and its role in working with victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and stalking. The Court will continue to designate a representative and alternate representative to participate in the collaboration meetings. The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) The BOCC will act as the fiscal agent for the grant project and ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of the Office on Violence Against Women. 4 The BOCC will provide meaningful participation in collaborative meetings and provide a conference room for monthly partner meetings. The BOCC will assist in efforts to extend training and all efforts to develop an awareness and understanding among the potential collaborators of the unique circumstances surrounding supervised visitation in cases of domestic violence III. Time Line The roles and responsibilities described above are contingent on Safe Connections receiving the funds requested for this project in the OVW grant application. The beginning and end dates of this collaborative effort would coincide with the grant period, anticipated to be 1010112016 through 09/3012019. Approval We, the undersigned have read and agree with this MOU. Further, we have reviewed the portion of the proposed project budget pertaining to the collaborative effort described here, and approve it. . By dk~ Sharon Rogers By tJlMMYV Rosalyn Iovieno Executive Director, Executive Director Safe Connections Shelter House, Inc. By_____________________________ By ____~______________________ Charles K. Windes Judge Michael Flowers Chairman of the Board, Chief Administrative Judge Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Okaloosa County Date ----------------------------- 5