June, 2009

 

On May 19th, 2009 the Family Justice Center held the “Gift of Presence Interfaith Chaplain Presentation” . The presentation was an overwhelming success, training over 40 member of the faith community, service providers, and laypersons on providing spiritual support to victims of domestic violence.  If you’re interested in learning more about issues of faith and domestic violence, Please contact the Outreach Coordinator at outreachcoord@fjchc.org .

 

Would you like to assist the FJC in the ongoing planning of the Chaplaincy Program? Please attend one of our planning meetings. The next meeting dates are June 2nd at 5:30pm or June 4th at 12:00pm. Both meetings will be held at the FJC. To attend, please e-mail Dotti Groover at dgroover@fjchc.org.

 

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Are you interested in volunteering at the Family Justice Center? The Family Justice Center is always looking for people who are willing to share their time and service to help us to provide a safe and comfortable environment for all those we serve. For more information Please contact the Outreach Coordinator at 813.935.2015 or

outreachcoord@fjchc.org .

 

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On May 15, 2009 The Family Justice Center was spotlighted on WUSF’s ‘Crime in the Sunshine State’ episode of Florida Matters. Florida Matters is a weekly television and radio program geared toward residents of Florida. The episode discussed domestic violence in our area and what services the Family Justice Center is able to offers to victims.  http://www.wusf.usf.edu/Florida_Matters

/2009/FLM_090515_Crime_Sunshine_

State.cfm .

 

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June is National Children’s Awareness Month

 

In the wake of one of the most horrific cases of child abuse in Hillsborough County *, the month of June is recognized as Children's Awareness Month. Sponsored by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Awareness Month focuses on educating people about how to create a safe environments for children. It's primary goal is to have children being less exposed to violence and to make sure they don't spend their time growing up emotionally scarred. During this month we also remember those children who have lost their lives due to violence and work to prevent future childhood trauma and death.

 

*For more information, please click the link below. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/florida.child.thrown/

 

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2008 Domestic Violence Counts

National Census of Domestic Violence  Services:

A 24-Hour Census of Domestic Services

 

 

Florida Summary

 

2,942 Victims Served In One Day:

1,859 domestic violence victims found refuge in

emergency shelters or transitional housing provided

by local domestic violence programs.

1,083 adults and children received non-residential

assistance and services, including individual counseling,

legal advocacy, and children’s support groups.

 

209 Unmet Requests for Services In One Day

Many programs reported a critical shortage of funds and staff to assist victims in need of services such as transportation, childcare, language translation, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and legal representation. Of these unmet requests, 40 were from victims seeking emergency shelter or transitional housing. Programs reported that lack of staffing was a reason that they could not meet domestic violence victims’ request for services. 40% of programs have less than 20 paid staff, including 5% of programs that have less than 10 paid staff. The average starting salary of a full-time, salaried front-line advocate is $25,173.

 

814 Hotline Calls Answered

Domestic violence hotlines are a lifeline for victims in danger, providing support, information, safety planning, and resources. In the 24-hour survey period, domestic violence programs answered more than 34 hotline calls every hour.

 

1,239 Educated in Prevention and Education Trainings

On the survey day, 1,239 individuals in communities across Florida attended 46 training sessions provided by local domestic violence programs, gaining much needed information on domestic violence prevention and early intervention.

 

Attorneys

Victims of domestic violence often need legal assistance with restraining orders and civil and family court matters. Of programs that participated in the Census, only 13% of programs reported being able to regularly connect a victim requesting legal assistance with an attorney.

 

 

For more information on the National Census of Domestic Violence Services, please visit:

http://www.nnedv.org/resources/census/67-census-domestic-violence-counts/232-census2008.html

 

This information was provided by the National Network to End Domestic Violence, www.nnedv.org.

 

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Website to Visit:

The Non-Violence Alliance

 

The Non-Violence Alliance is a national leader in the field of batterer accountability and change. With roots in the domestic violence movement reaching back over twenty years, the Non-Violence Alliance provides expert consultation to private and governmental agencies on intervening effectively with batterers. Co-founder, David Mandel M.A. has presented  for the Family Justice Center on numerous occasions and  brings a wealth of knowledge on children and families impacted by batterers. Recently David Mandel and Associates LLC has been hired to assist Florida DCF in 3 counties as part of their foster care design efforts. DMA LLC will provide the training and technical assistance needed to create domestic violence specialists in each child welfare investigation unit. For more information about the Non-Violence  Alliance or to view their ‘Safe and Together’ blog please visit their website at  www.endingviolence.com.

 

          

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The Family Justice Center Training Academy

 

Nuts and Bolts:

  The Basics of Domestic Violence

Advocacy  Training

June 1st and 2nd and July 6th and 7th, 2009         

8:30am to 5:00pm

FJC

***12 CEU’s***

 

Nuts and Bolts is a four part (FJC 101, 201, 301, 401), 2 Day training offered to advocates, volunteers, interns, clergy, and other community based providers who work with victims of domestic violence. Topics include, dynamics of domestic violence, safety planning, lethality  assessment, confidentiality, boundaries, working with diverse populations, dating  violence, and effects of domestic violence on children and adolescents. 

 

 

Children with Sexual Acting Out Behaviors

June 9th, 2009 from 9:00am to 11:00am

FJC

*** 2 CEU’s***

 

An introductory course for professionals working with children, sponsored by the Sexual Abuse Intervention Network.  This course enables participants to distinguish between normal and problematic sexual behaviors in children.  Topics including characteristics of sexually abusive youth, defining childhood sexual abuse, strategies for preventing further victimization and the legal process in Hillsborough County are also covered in this course.

 

 

FJC Orientation for new On-Site Partners

 June 15th, 2009 from 9:00 am to 12:30pm

FJC

 

Basic operational procedures of the FJC, and vital safety policies

 and   procedures, equipment, and scheduling procedures between agencies.

 

 

The Child Welfare Domestic Violence

Cross-System Training Series Presents:

 

Substance Abuse

June 10th, 12pm to 4pm, June 26th, 9am to 12pm

FJC

Facilitator:  Erica Tarasovitch

*** 3 CEU’s***

 

This training is designed to assist service providers with identifying  substance abuse and intervention strategies.  Effects of substance abuse on children and considerations to be taken when working with substance abusing survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence will also be discussed.

 

 

Please Register for All Trainings at

http://www.fjchc.org/public/events.html

 

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National Institute of Crime Prevention

In conjunction with the

Family Justice Center of Hillsborough County

Presents:

Free Domestic Violence Training

  Tampa, Florida   

 June 15-17, 2009

Family Justice Center

 

WHO SHOULD

ATTEND?

 

Law Enforcement Supervisors, Patrol Officer, Detectives, Investigators, Victim Advocates, Victim Service Providers, Prosecutors, Judges, Counselors, Educators, Nurses, and Social Workers.

 

Presenters 

Sergeant William Rousseau (Retired) and Captain Rod Reder (Retired)

 

  SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED:

 

When Women Kill, Strangulation, Law Enforcement, Officer as Abusers, Typologies of Abusers, Women Who Use Violence, Primary Aggressor, Developing a Coordinated Community Response, Effects on Children, Intimate Partner Rape.

 

 

To register please visit:     

 http://fjchc.org/public/events.html

 

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Hillsborough County Sexual Abuse Intervention Network

 

Presents:

 

“A Developmental Approach to the Assessment of Children with Sexual Behavior Problems”

 

Presenter:  Craig Latham, Ph.D., Latham Consulting Group, LLC.

 

Friday, September 4, 2009

8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Family Justice Center

9309 N. Florida Avenue

Tampa, Florida

 

Register for this free training at www.fjchc.org/public/events.html

 

Who should attend?  This FREE training is funded for professionals working in Hillsborough County.  Persons who do not work in Hillsborough County can email Renee Ristow at rristow@fjchc.org to put their name on a space available list.  This training is designed for psychologists, therapists, juvenile probation, juvenile diversion program staff and other professionals working with youth with sexual behavior problems

 

About the presenter:  Dr. Latham has worked with violent and emotionally disturbed adolescents since 1980.  He was the Sr. Forensic Child Psychologist for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and served as a consultant to the United States Secret Service.  In 1990, Dr. Latham left state service for private practice.  Dr. Latham currently remains in private practice and continues to serve as a consultant to various local, state and federal agencies. He is active in many professional and advocacy organizations including the Massachusetts Adolescent Sexual Offender Coalition; Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers; and is an adjunct faculty member at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, where he teaches the Forensic Specialty track.

 

About the workshop:  This workshop will focus on a threat assessment approach to assessing treatment needs and risk in children that is similar to the model used by the U.S. Secret Service in analyzing the potential for violence of sources and incorporating it into a developmentally sophisticated assessment.  This workshop will also provide an overview of legal and ethical  issues that arise in the assessment of children; data gathering techniques, including structured interviewing, self report inventories, offender specific psychological tests, generic psychological tests etc; psychological, actuarial and interview techniques as well as suggestions about report writing for the courts and treatment providers.  For more information visit www.fjchc.org/public/events.html.

 

Licensed mental health providers (LCSW, LMHC, LMFT), psychologists and school psychologists can receive 6 Continuing Education Credits at no cost through the Family Justice Center of Hillsborough County- Provider #50-7820 (expires 3/2011).

                                        

 

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Child Welfare and Domestic Violence

Cross-System Training Series

Upcoming Trainings

 

Cultural Competency – The focus of this training is to understand how domestic violence crosses over all socio-economic classes, races, and ethnicity.  Helping child welfare participants to make better decisions about how domestic violence impacts families & children and understand how cultural issues impact family acceptance of service. Helping others gain a better understanding of cultural competency and domestic violence.

July 8, 2009 from 1pm to 4pm, July 24 from 9am to noon

 

Understanding Batterers and Batterers Intervention Programs – This training will focus on understanding the Model used in psycho-educational treatment and the learning how to increase communication between BIP providers and child welfare professionals. Additionally, participants will look at how domestic violence impacts our society as a whole. ***3 CEU’s***

August 12, 2009 from 1pm to 4pm, August 28, 2009 from 9am to noon

 

Compassion Fatigue – This class focuses on how exposure to family violence affects those in the helping professions.  Discussion will consist of coping and adapting measures to assist in the prevention of burn-out.***3 CEU’s***

September 9, 2009 from1pm to 4pm, September 25 from 9am to noon

 

The Child Welfare/Domestic Violence Training series is designed for all staff who works in the child welfare and/or domestic violence systems. It is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of issues facing families impacted by child welfare and domestic violence issues. The goal is to help all professionals understand the complex issues of both child welfare and domestic violence advocates, and begin to develop a common understanding and language.

 

Most training will be posted on www.centerforchildwelfare.org 

for viewing after the last training in the month is offered. This is to allow as many staff as possible to benefit from this series.

 

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Community Meetings

 

­ FJC Partner Council

 Meetings are held the last Wednesday of every month.   The next meeting will be on June 24th, 2009 at 9 am at the Family Justice Center.

­ Sexual Abuse Intervention Network (SAIN)

 Meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be on June 17th, 2009 at 9 am at the Family Justice Center. Contact Renee Ristow at: rristow@fjchc.org with any questions.

­ Sexual Violence Task Force

Meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.  The next meeting will be  on June 24th, 2009 at Noon. Contact Barbara McCormick at:

bmccormick@crisiscenter.com with any questions.

 

    Hillsborough County Domestic Violence Task Force Committee  Meetings:

­ Domestic Violence Task Force

July 9th, 2009 at 10:30a at the Crisis Center

 

­ Fatality Review Planning Committee

( Formerly Project L.A.U.R.A)

 June 5th, 2009 at 3:00p at the Family Justice Center. Contact  Roseanne Cupoli at: rocupoli@thespring.org or 813-247-5433 ext. 309.

 

 

­    Public Policy Committee

(working on DV and Child Welfare project). July 21st, 2009 at 3:00pm at the Family Justice Center. Contact Nikki Daniels at: ndaniels@fjchc.org or 813-490-9401.

 

 

­   Community Education & Awareness Committee

June 18th, 2009 at 9:00am at The Family Justice Center.  Contact Donna Vento at: dmvento@thespring.org or

813-247-5433 ext. 315

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                

 

 

 

 

The Family Justice Center of Hillsborough County

9309 North Florida Avenue

Suite 109

Tampa, Florida 33612

 

The FJC Training Academy is made possible by the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.