Okaloosa County BOCC — August 18, 2015 — Okaloosa County Commissioners Request — reading text

Date: July 22, 2015 To: Board of County Commissioners From: Safe Connections Board of Directors and Sharon Rogers, Safe Connections, Executive Director (Formerly the Judge Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Visitation Center) Subject: Agenda Request Statement of Issue: Safe Connections respectfully requests the use of space on the first floor of the Water and Sewer Building to provide supervised visitation and monitored exchange services for a period of two years. Safe Connections is in dire need of a temporary space to replace our longtime location at Shalimar United Methodist Church. SUMC has been a blessing for eighteen years, but is no longer available due to the church’s growth and increased need for space. This comes at a time when Safe Connections has been restricted from using awarded federal grant funds, Safe Havens for Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchanges, for the Shalimar site due to its physical layout. The present location is upstairs and on an open, outdoor hallway presenting safety and handicap accessibility issues which prevent the satisfaction of required federal regulations and federal grantors. The need for a new location to provide these critical services in the South Okaloosa County communities has become imminent. Safe Connections is seeking a temporary space while more permanent options are explored. The space at the Water and Sewer Building will provide this window of much needed time. Equally important, the Water and Sewer Building meets the federal requirements and would allow Safe Connections to utilize available federal grant funding. Unlike the donated church space, the Water and Sewer Building meets safety requirements with separate parking, separate entrances and divided space. It also meets all requirements of the American with Disabilities Act. This federal funding stream is critical as it will give Safe Connections the ability to meet the operational costs of the Crestview Center and the Shalimar Center and the stability to continue to meet the need for services while seeking a permanent solution. One such solution for permanency being seriously explored is partnering with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office to share a proposed building within the Sheriff’s Compound. This partnership would provide for space that is close to much needed security and offers an opportunity to create a center that meets the strict criteria necessary for federal grant funding. This is the type of solution that will give the community a center to provide safety for our most vulnerable children for many years to come. Please see the attached photo diagrams and conceptual drawing which show how this building could fulfill the future needs for this valuable service. www.safe-connections.org Mailing | PO Box 436, Shalimar, FL Centers | Shalimar – Crestview – DeFuniak Springs Main | 850.609.1850 Fax | 850-609-1851 Board of Directors Dan Perri, President (2010) The Law Offices of Daniel C. Perri Okaloosa County Amanda Gordon, Vice President (2009) Attorney at Law, Representative for the Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Okaloosa County Jessica Rybarczyk, Treasurer (2013) Vice President, Beach Community Bank Okaloosa County Pastor Jonathan Hart (2012) Shalimar United Methodist Church Okaloosa County Major Arnold Brown (2013) Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Okaloosa County Jennifer Tallman, MSW (2014) Fort Walton Beach Medical Center Bay Area Psychological Associates Okaloosa County Colonel Graham Fountain (2015) Retired Florida Department of Law Enforcement Okaloosa County Organizational History Safe Connections is the new name for the 18 year old non-profit service agency, formerly known as Judge Ben Gordon, Jr. Family Visitation Center. The Center was established in 1997 in response to a group of child advocates which included: Child Psychologists, the Guardian Ad Litem Office, Circuit Court Judges, Social Workers, Domestic Violence Victim Advocates, representatives from the State Attorney’s Office and local Clergy. This group was unified in their assertion that children in this community were being put at risk during Court ordered supervised visitation and monitored exchanges of children. A structured program with trained and caring staff answered the need for a safe and structured environment for vulnerable children in Okaloosa County. Since our inception, we have expanded our agency with a commitment to improving the lives of families throughout Northwest Florida. In 2001, the program’s services were expanded to include North Walton County. This branch was formerly known as the Friends of the Family Visitation Center, but is now joining in the new name, Safe Connections. Recently, after an intense two year effort, services were expanded to meet the needs of the community with our newest location in Crestview. The Centers meet a critical community need and serve as an important court resource by providing safety for children when their families are experiencing instability or other unsafe behaviors. Often, the Court will order corrective actions for the parents and then limit contact with their children until they successfully complete one or more of the following programs: mental health services, parenting classes, batterer’s intervention, individual or family counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, or upon further court action. The protection of the children is paramount while parents address the various issues that have necessitated family reliance upon Safe Connections. At Safe Connections, we believe the relationship between a child and their parent is the most significant relationship in a person’s life. Psychological studies have consistently shown that this relationship is sought after by most children regardless of the circumstances. Even when parents have made choices which compromise safety, a child still strives to have a bond with their parent and they deserve an opportunity to know their mother or father through their own eyes. We hold the relationship between a child and each parent as sacred and seek to ensure all children are able to build a positive and nurturing bond with their parents to the extent that circumstances safely allow. All of our services are designed to promote a community of nurturing care for every child, led by parents and supported by everyone who touches the life of a child. Safe Connections Centers provide the following services: • Supervised Visitation: This service is constant supervision in which an extensively trained observer is supervising one family visit at a time. The visitor is required to arrive on time, willing and able to follow Safe Connections rules and guidelines. Off Duty Law Enforcement Officers are hired for particularly dangerous cases, such as domestic violence, “fear of flight” with child, dangerous criminal history or as the staff otherwise deems necessary. Of course, the staff may intervene or end visits, as needed. This service also includes provisions for the safety and privacy of the non-offending parent or caregiver by staggering times of arrival, hiring security and providing a safe structured environment. Children are always protected from manipulation. Careful attention prevents children from suffering physical or emotional abuse as well as from being used, in any way, as a source for seeking information about or sending messages to the custodial parent. Parents are informed of all rules and safety provisions, but are also treated with respect for their role as a parent. Most parents appreciate the transparency of the service structure and warm environment they are afforded and choose to spend the time with their child in a caring and nurturing manner. • Monitored Exchange: This service is the supervised transfer of children between custodial and non-custodial parents. Facilitation of monitored exchanges ensures regular court ordered visitation without the adults having any contact with one another in front of the child. This service protects children from being exposed to all forms of parental conflict or manipulation during high conflict divorces and in situations of domestic violence prevents re-victimization of vulnerable parents. • Referrals and Resources: We keenly recognize that parents often come through our doors with a variety of complicated and emotionally charged issues. It is our ultimate goal to help families find solutions to barriers preventing them from moving forward as responsible parents and productive citizens. Of course our direct service is limited, so we continue to build meaningful collaborative relationships with many providers and agencies in the communities we serve. We discuss barriers with parents, which often extend beyond the issue that brought them to us in the first place, and we make direct referrals, as appropriate, to services such as, counseling, legal services, food banks, etc. Additionally we provide a multitude of resource materials for parents. These resources include everything from computer links, such as basic budget templates and articles on how to handle finances; to printed handouts such as Summertime Water Safety; to community notices, such as Free Summer Lunch Programs; to a lending library with books available on child development, divorce, etc. Children Served Profile Snap-shop of demographics for the children we served in 2014 Age Identified Race or Ethnicity (Categories with zero were not listed) 0- 3 35% 4-6 26% White/Caucasian 79% 7-9 19% Black/African American 01% 10-12 11% Hispanic/Latino 9% 13-18 09% Pacific Islander 01% Multi-Racial 10% Household Income 62% Live in families with wages below the poverty threshold Less than $10,000 23% Sliding Scale results 19,999 29% Supervised Visits 74% subsidized 24,999 10% Monitored Exchanges 68% subsidized Reason for referral Additional Allegations The main reason that a family has been referred Children come to us for one reason, but we find to us for service tells only part of the story. they are dealing with many more dynamics in their young lives. Often many more than one Child Abuse 8% issue per family. Child Sex Abuse 5% Prolonged Absence/ Abandonment 13% Child Witness to Domestic Violence 9% Fear of Parental Abduction 10% Occurrence of Domestic Violence 42% Child Neglect 10% Prolonged Parental Absence 1% Child Mental Health/Emotional Abuse 7% Parental Mental Health 12% Child Witness to Domestic Violence 20% Parental Substance Abuse 23%