Program Brief
INTRODUCTION
The Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant
Program (Supervised Visitation Program) provides
an opportunity for communities to support the supervised visitation
and safe exchange of children in situations involving domestic
violence, dating violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
Studies have shown that the risk of violence is often greater
for victims of domestic violence and their children after separation
from an abusive situation.(1) Even
after separation, batterers often use visitation and exchange
of children as an opportunity to inflict additional emotional,
physical, and/or psychological abuse on victims and their children.
Visitation and exchange services provided through the Supervised
Visitation Program should reflect a clear understanding of the
dynamics of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault
and stalking; the impact of domestic violence on children; and
the importance of holding offenders accountable for their actions.
SCOPE OF PROGRAM
The scope of the Supervised Visitation Program is
defined by the following statutory considerations and minimum requirements. Applicants
must address these considerations and requirements in the Project
Narrative section of the application.
By statute 42 U.S.C. § 10420 (a), funds under the Supervised Visitation
Program may be used for the following purposes:
- Provide supervised visitation and safe exchange of children
by and between parents in situations involving domestic violence,
dating violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or stalking;
- Protect children from the trauma of witnessing domestic or
dating violence or experiencing abduction, injury, or death
during parent and child visitation exchanges;
- Protect parents or caretakers who are victims of domestic and
dating violence from experiencing further violence, abuse, and
threats during child visitation exchanges; and
- Protect children from the trauma of experiencing sexual assault
or other forms of physical assault or abuse during parent and
child visitation and visitation exchanges.
The following statutory considerations will be taken into account
when awarding grants:
- The number of families to be served by the proposed visitation
programs and services;
- The extent to which the proposed supervised visitation programs
and services serve underserved populations;(2)
- The extent to which the applicant demonstrates cooperation
and collaboration with non-profit, nongovernmental entities
in the local community served, including the state or tribal
domestic violence coalitions, state or tribal sexual assault
coalitions, faith-and/or community-based shelters, and programs
for domestic violence and sexual assault victims; and
- The extent to which the applicant demonstrates coordination
and collaboration with state and local court systems, including
mechanisms for communication and referral.
Minimum Requirements
Under 42 U.S.C. § 10420(c), all applicants for the Supervised Visitation
Program must:
- Demonstrate expertise in the area of family violence, including
the areas of domestic violence or sexual assault, as appropriate;
- Ensure that any fees charged to individuals for use of programs
and services are based on the income of those individuals, unless
otherwise provided by court order;
- Demonstrate that adequate security measures, including adequate
facilities, procedures, and personnel capable of preventing
violence, are in place for the operation of supervised visitation
programs and services or safe visitation exchange; and
- Prescribe standards by which supervised visitation or safe
visitation exchange will occur.
Program Limitations
Grant funds may not be used for certain activities. Prohibited
activities include but are not limited to the following:
- Lobbying, or lobbying - related activities;
- Fundraising;
- Research projects;
- Therapeutic visitation;
- Parent Education/Batterer Intervention Programs;
- Individual and group/family counseling; and
- Physical modifications to buildings, including minor renovations.
Ensuring victim safety is a guiding principle underlying this Program.
Experience has shown that certain practices may compromise victim
safety rather than enhance it. Certain responses by the authorities
may have the effect of minimizing or trivializing the offender's
criminal behavior. Accordingly, consistent with the goals of ensuring
victim safety while holding perpetrators accountable for the criminal
conduct, applicants are strongly discouraged from proposing projects
that include any activities that may compromise victim safety,
such as the following:
- Mediation, alternative dispute resolution, or family counseling
as a response to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
- Offering perpetrators the option of entering pre-trial diversion
programs;
- Batterer intervention programs that do not use the coercive
power of the criminal justice system to hold batterers accountable
for their behaviors; and
- Provision of services on the condition that victims seek protection
orders, counseling, or some other course of action with which
they disagree.
Program Limitations
Grant funds may not be used for certain activities. Prohibited
activities include but are not limited to civil legal assistance
for the following:
- Alleged batterers or, in the case of mutual arrest, the primary
aggressor.
- Law reform initiatives, including but not limited to appellate
litigation.
- Tort cases
- Child sexual abuse cases
- Cases involving the child protection system
- Criminal defense of victims charged with crimes
- Victim service agency employee cases
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
By statute, eligible entities for the Supervised Visitation Program
are states,(3) Indian
tribal governments, and units of local governments. Applicants
must enter into or expand the scope of existing contracts and
cooperative agreements with public or private nonprofit entities, including
faith-based and community organizations, to provide supervised
visitation and safe visitation exchange of children in situations
involving domestic violence, dating violence, child abuse, sexual
assault, or stalking. All applicants
are required to enter into a collaborative working relationship
with state or local courts and a faith and/or
community-based nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence
or sexual assault victim services organization that represents
the views and concerns of domestic violence and sexual assault
victims.
Units of Local Government
For the purposes of this Program, a unit of local government is
any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or
other general-purpose political subdivision of
a State(4); an Indian tribe
that performs law enforcement functions as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or, for the purpose of assistance eligibility,
any agency of the District of Columbia government or the United
States Government performing law enforcement functions in and for
the District of Columbia or any Trust Territory of the United States. Local
courts, police departments, pre-trial service agencies, district
or city attorneys’ offices, sheriffs’ departments,
probation and parole departments, shelters, nonprofit, nongovernmental
victim services agencies, and universities are not considered
units of local government for the purposes of this grant program
unless they meet the “unit of local government” definition
under 42 U.S.C. § 3791 (see footnote 3 below). Applications
from typically “non-eligible” entities that want to
assert “unit of local government” under 42 U.S.C. § 3791
must include proof of such status. These agencies or organizations
may administer grant funds and assume responsibility for the development
and implementation of the project, but they may not apply directly
to OVW for funding support.
Indian Tribes
For the purposes of this Program, Indian tribe is
defined as any tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or other organized
group or community of Indians, including any Alaska Native village
or regional or village corporation (as defined in or established
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. §1601
et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special programs
and services provided by the United States to Indians because of
their status as Indians (25 U.S.C. § 450b (e). Any applicant
representing a consortium of tribal governments and/or organizations
must submit a resolution from the constituent tribal governments
and/or organizations supporting the application.
For more information about the Legal Assistance for
Victims Grant Program, please contact:
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
800 K Street, N.W., Suite 920
Washington, D.C. 20530
Phone: 202-307-6026
Fax: 202-307-3911
TTY: 202-307-2277
Website: www.usdoj.gov/ovw
Footnote
1. Jaffe, P.G., “Children of
Domestic Violence: Special Challenges in Custody and Visitation
Dispute Resolution.” In J. Carter, C. Heisler, & M. Runner
(Eds.), Domestic Violence and Children: Resolving Custody and
Visitation Disputes, A National Judicial Curriculum (San Francisco:
Family Violence Prevention Fund), pp. 22-30.
2. The term “underserved populations” (42
U.S.C.§ 13925(a)(33) ) includes populations underserved because
of geographic location, underserved racial and ethnic populations,
populations underserved because of special needs (such as language
barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and any other
population determined to be underserved by the Attorney General.
3. For the purposes of this grant
program, a state is defined to include all states, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
4. As defined in 42 U.S.C. § 3791, “unit
of local government” also includes any law enforcement district
or judicial enforcement district that is established under applicable
State law and has the authority to, in a manner independent of
other State entities, establish a budget and impose taxes. |