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Volume 15. Issue 2. March 2017 |
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Greetings from the Executive Director
New York is (Still) Number 1!
Each year, the
Domestic Violence Counts: National Census of Domestic Violence Services
(coordinated by the National Network to End Domestic Violence) provides a one day unduplicated count of adults and children seeking services from domestic violence programs in all states and the U.S. territories.
Just a few days ago, NYSCADV received preliminary information from the 2016 Census. For the first time, New York had an amazing 100% participation rate of domestic violence programs across the state!
What we have also learned is that New York State has the highest demand for domestic violence services in the country, for the second consecutive year.
Data from the 2016 Census indicate that:
On one day, 6,868 victims of domestic violence received services in New York.
- Of those services, 2,761 victims (including adults and children) received critical non-residential services which include counseling, legal advocacy, and children's support groups.
- On that same day, 1,390 requests for domestic violence services went unmet because of critical funding and staffing shortages. This represents an increase of 45% over the 2015 Census.
- Also in 2016, domestic violence programs reported that 83 staff positions, most of which were direct service advocates, were eliminated. Considering the last two Census reports together, 199 advocate positions were eliminated in 2015 and 2016.
The staggering demand for domestic violence services in our state must be a call to action. New York State has a long and storied history as a national leader; however being Number 1 (still) isn't always something to be proud of.
Your voice is more important than ever!
Thanks to all who participated in our 2017 Budget Advocacy Day initiatives on February 13. Advocates and allies from across the state sent emails, made phone calls, and implemented social media campaigns to send a clear message about the need for increased support for domestic violence advocacy services and primary prevention. There is still time to continue sending this message, and if you have any questions about this process, please contact NYSCADV.
Also, please Save the Date: our 2017 Legislative Advocacy Day is scheduled for Monday May 8th in Albany. I hope that you can participate, and ask that you spread the word as well.
All the best,
Connie
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NYSCADV Budget Advocacy Day
On February 13, 2017, NYSCADV held our 2017 Budget Advocacy Day. Domestic violence p
rograms and allies across the state of New York participated by calling and emailing the Governor and legislators.
If you want to continue the momentum of Budget Advocacy Day,
it's not too late!
You can still help spread the message by contacting legislators and the Governor let them know the specific needs of domestic violence organizations and the survivors they serve around the state.
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NYSCADV Legislative Advocacy Day 2017
Save the Date! On May 8th, join a vibrant, diverse and innovative group of advocates and survivors from across New York State as we raise our voices and relay a unified message to the legislature and governor: it's time to pass meaningful legislation that will promote justice, protect the rights of survivors, and prevent domestic violence in New York State!
DATE
May 8, 2017
WHERE
Empire State Plaza-
Meeting Room 6 Concourse Level
Albany, NY 12242
We encourage everyone to wear purple!
The day's agenda, dates of informational webinars and registration
will be launched soon!
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New York Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemoration
Governor Cuomo today the beginning of Women's History Month and marked this year's celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in New York. To commemorate the centennial, the state launched the Women's Suffrage Commission's website:
www.ny.gov/suffrage. The website launched today provides information about upcoming events across the state, profiles New York suffragists and takes visitors on a tour of New York's historic destinations relevant to the suffrage movement and women's rights.
"This month, we celebrate the critical role that New York played in the fight for a woman's right to vote from the Seneca Falls Convention all the way to the passage of the Women's Equality Agenda in 2015 because in New York we know that women's rights are human rights," Governor Cuomo said. "I encourage all New Yorkers and visitors alike to visit one of these exhibits and trace the historic timeline that New York's women pioneered and to learn about the obstacles that they conquered in the fight for equality."
New York was home to the first-ever Women's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, on July 19 and 20, 1848 and organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Sixty-nine years later, on Nov. 6, 1917, women in New York State won the right to vote.
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Governor's Message to Protect LGBTQ Students Rights
On February 23rd, Governor Cuomo issued a directive to the state's Education Department requiring that school districts protect transgender students:
"As the federal government seeks to roll back the progress we have achieved toward equality, we in New York will never stop fighting to ensure the LBGTQ community and all Americans are afforded the equal protections guaranteed to them by the United States constitution. The misguided action taken by the federal government last night runs contrary to the New York Promise of individual freedoms. With the stroke of a pen, they seek to move this country backwards. Today, I am urging the State Education Department to issue a directive to all school districts making it clear that - regardless of Washington's action - the rights and protections that had been extended to all students in New York remain unchanged under state law."
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Governor Issued Proclamation Designating February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in NY
Governor Cuomo announced the launch of "Control Isn't Love," a social media advertising campaign to educate teens and adults about the signs of teen dating abuse and where to seek help. The online campaign targets younger audiences and parents through Instagram and Facebook ads that appear throughout February, which New York State marks annually as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
"With this campaign, we are taking an important step to reach teens and young adults in order to educate and crack down on dating abuse," Governor Cuomo said. "By opening communication between parents and their children, we also want to foster serious discussions and smart decisions to assist others in need."
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Governor Cuomo Announced Decisive Actions to Secure Access to Reproductive Health Services in New York
Governor Cuomo announced a series of actions to firmly secure access to reproductive rights in New York State. Through regulatory action, the State will ensure that contraceptive drugs and devices are covered by commercial health insurance policies without co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles regardless of the future of the Affordable Care Act; contraceptives are available in amounts exceeding one month's supply at a time; and all medically necessary abortion services are covered by commercial health insurance policies without co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
The announcement coincided with Women's Marches in Washington D.C., across New York State and across the country, as well as the 44th anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.
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March Is....
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Women's History Month is celebrated annually and highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated every March, and corresponds with
International Women's Day
on March 8.
The National Women's History Project's theme for 2017 is "Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business." The 2017 theme for National Women's History Month honors women who have successfully challenged the role of women in both business and the paid labor force. Women have always worked, but often their work has been undervalued and unpaid.
Click here for more information on National Women's History Month and this year's Honorees.
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March Is...
BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH
March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month. An estimated 10 million Americans are affected by stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) making brain injury the second most prevalent injury and disability in the United States. Symptoms of TBI can be different with each person. Often symptoms are not immediately present or noticeable and can be physical, behavioral or psycho-social depending on the TBI.
Falls and assaults are two of the leading causes of TBI's. Injuries to the face, head and neck are among the most common areas of injury for survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence and many are unaware they have suffered a TBI until weeks, months or years later.
BRAIN INJURY RESOURCES
Brain Injury Association of New York State
BIANYS Family Helpline
BIANYS operates the
Family Helpline, a toll-free information and resource clearinghouse available Monday - Friday, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM EDT, with a voicemail system for after-hours messages. Whether you are seeking information on traumatic brain injury, looking for resources on rehabilitation, or just trying to find your way, the Family Helpline is there to help!
BIANYS
staff maintains an extensive directory of services across the State. Call 1-800-444-6443 or
send them a message
. They have
resources for individuals with brain injury, family members, professionals, schools, or any other interested parties.
NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
New York State Department of Health
The
New York State Department of Health has resources available including background information on types of brain injuries, prevention, medical care, statistical information on the incidences of traumatic brain injury in New York State, and much more.
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NNEDV Condemns ICE Detention of Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence
In El Paso, TX, a victim of domestic violence was seeking an order of protection from her abusive boyfriend when she was arrested in court by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, acting on a tip regarding her whereabouts. The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) condemns ICE's actions, and warns that the implications could be deadly for victims of domestic violence who are undocumented and fear reporting abuse.
"Today, ICE officers in El Paso confirmed our worst fears about the administration's increased and aggressive tactics against immigrants - that survivors of violence will be further silenced and harmed," said Kim Gandy, NNEDV President and CEO.
Perpetrators of domestic violence often use victims' undocumented immigration status as a tactic of abuse - threatening to report them to ICE and have them deported, separating them from their citizen children.
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How Domestic Abusers Can Use Victim's Immigration Status Against them
Abusers can use the threat of deportation to control their partners.
Deputy D
irector of Public Policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Monica McLaughlin, said that undocumented survivors of domestic violence are often in a particularly vulnerable situation. She said that her organization hears reports from undocumented survivors that abusers threaten them with deportation.
"When you look at the power dynamic, it would be easy for a perpetrator to threaten or actually use immigration authorities," she said to ATTN.
McLaughlin said undocumented domestic abuse survivors can apply for a
U visa if they cooperate with law enforcement to prosecute another crime. Congress created the U visa in 2000 when it passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which also included the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act.
Click here to read full article "How Domestic Abusers Can Use Federal Agents"
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In Connecticut, Calling for Help Carries Risks for Victims of Domestic Violence
In Connecticut, data for the years 2011 through 2015 shows that dual arrests have taken place, on average, in 18 percent of all episodes of such violence that result in an arrest. A ProPublica review of data provided by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shows that in Windsor, a town of 29,044, dual arrests accounted for 35 percent of intimate partner arrests in 2015, the last year for which complete data is available. In Ansonia, a city of 19,020, the rate was 37 percent. New Havenhas seen about a fifth of its domestic violence cases result in dual arrests.
Advocates for victims of domestic violence and a number of state legislators have been concerned about the practice for years, but Connecticut hasn't remedied what many see as an unjust and dangerous situation. The heart of the problem, according to legislators and advocates for women, stems from the fact that the state has a mandatory arrest law for cases of reported domestic violence, but lacks a provision that allows police to limit arrests to the person determined to have been the primary aggressor. As a result, victims can wind up being arrested along with their abusers.
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Abrupt Cuts Hinder Illinois Violence Shelters
Illinois officials waited more than five months to alert dozens of domestic violence programs that their funding had been eliminated, an omission that has forced layoffs and other cuts at some facilities, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
No one knows - or is saying - why approximately $9 million in state funding for 62 programs that provide shelter, counseling and advocacy for victims of domestic abuse was left out of a six-month budget that took effect July 1. When providers finally learned they were left empty-handed, they scrambled to make up the lost money by slashing jobs and salaries and expanding client waiting lists.
Although there is no indication officials intended to slice funding for the domestic violence programs, the money won't easily be restored in the state's precarious economic situation. Illinois has operated without a spending plan since July 2015 because of bickering between first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature.
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Utah High School Assignment on Dating Draws Accusations of Gender Bias
School administrators in Salt Lake City went into damage control mode after a parent's complaint about her daughter's assignment gained attention through social media.
Jenn Oxborrow posted a photo of two handouts - one for girls, another for boys - that instructed students at Highland High School to go on a date that costs no more than $5.
The handouts included suggestions for appropriate date behavior, submitted by members of the opposite gender, including guidance that girls should try to eat the food they order and not waste their date's money, and that boys should refrain from "gross noises."
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Texas Representative, John Cornyn Bill to Protect Domestic Violence Housing
U.S. Senator John Cornyn appeared on February 24 in Austin to unveil legislation, to be filed following week, designed to protect housing opportunities for victims of domestic violence.
A rule change at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has endangered grants needed for long-term housing, depriving victims and their families of safe, stable places to live until they can get back on their feet, said Cornyn, R-Texas.
"Sometimes, when the big, nameless, faceless bureaucracies just don't respond, you have to exert a little bit more pressure, and that's what this legislation will do," Cornyn said.
While in Austin, Cornyn met with leaders of domestic violence programs who said the rule change will cut vital federal funding for "transitional housing" - an important step between shelters and permanent housing that includes counseling, child care, career training and classes in parenting, financial management and other subjects.
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Great Britain's Prime Minister Overseeing New DV Laws
Theresa May will directly oversee the creation of new laws to deal with domestic abuse in England and Wales, the government has said. Downing Street said current legislation lacked clarity and it was "unacceptable" that some areas worked harder to tackle abuse than others. A new act would aim to address this inconsistency and make the law work better for victims. Labour said success depended on funding for policing and to support victims. Mrs May said it was an issue she had always attached a "personal importance" to.
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NYC Anti-Violence Project Hosting Immigration Legal Clinics in NYC Area
The NYC Anti-Violence Project (AVP), a NYSCADV member program, is hosting legal clinics in the NYC area for LGBTQ individuals. These clinics will provide brief legal advice, referrals or representation. Issues that can be addressed include legal name change, identification document change (passport, etc.), immigration, advance directives, wills, family law, intimate partner violence, and legal support for survivors of hate violence.
Walk-ins are welcome, but those who register will be ensured an interview. Translators are available upon request.
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Vera House: 'Stand With Us' To End Domestic And Sexual Violence
During the month of March, NYSCADV member program, Vera House will be holding a white ribbon campaign across central New York to raise awareness for domestic and sexual violence.
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VAWA Protection: Managing Director Of The Center For Legal Services at My Sisters' Place Interview With Washington Spectator
Jennifer Friedman, Managing Director of Legal Services at NYSCADV member program My Sisters' Place was recently interviewed for an article in the Washington Spectator.
Women's advocates were particularly dismayed by the news that the President is planning "dramatic" federal budget cuts that include all 25 of the grant programs managed by the Office on Violence Against Women, which is housed in the Department of Justice. "We're deeply concerned about cuts in the funding that enables us to provide legal and social services to victims," says Jennifer Friedman, managing director of the Center for Legal Services at My Sisters' Place, Westchester, NY, that provides shelter and counsel to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
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THRIVE: A Framework for Understanding the Community Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence
Prevent Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has released a
new resource to support local IPV prevention efforts in diverse communities.
THRIVE: A Framework for Understanding the Community Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence presented by Lisa Fujie Parks and Ashley Crawford, hosted by the PreventIPV Project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (August 2, 2016)
There is growing understanding that social determinants of health (SDOH) need to be addressed in order to promote health, safety, and health equity. But there are few frameworks and tools that specifically focus on how to address issues like intimate partner violence (IPV) through a SDOH approach. Prevention practitioners working at the community level are asking questions such as: What factors need to be addressed to promote community environments that support safe relationships and decrease rates of IPV? And how can efforts to address these factors decrease inequities in rates of IPV rather than exacerbate them?
In this webinar, Prevention Institute provided an overview of THRIVE, a framework and tool that can help prevention practitioners explore these questions. PI shared work completed in 2016 with support from the Blue Shield of California Foundation to map the community determinants of IPV onto THRIVE. Presenters explored how THRIVE can be used as a practical framework and tool to support local IPV prevention efforts in diverse community contexts.
Objectives:
- Provide an overview of THRIVE, a framework and tool to address the social determinants of health at the community level;
- Discuss the community determinants of IPV using THRIVE; and,
- Explore how THRIVE can be used as a framework and tool to support local IPV prevention efforts in diverse community contexts.
Click here to watch the recorded THRIVE webinar and view additional materials.
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Inter-Generational Activism
How can my agency incorporate true youth engagement, nurture activism and support youth organizing in their schools and communities to address teen dating violence? This FAQ explores the importance of embracing inter-generational activism to realize real social transformation. It highlights ways to truly work with young people.
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Twitter Announces New Safety Features In Latest Effort To Protect Users
Most people who have spent time on Twitter have seen the harassment that can take place within the platform - users taking advantage of the ability to remain anonymous and using it to intimidate, threaten, dox, and otherwise abuse people in a very personal and targeted fashion. In an effort to combat the often rampant abuse on its platform, Twitter announced four new safety features. The changes come in large part from the guidance they've received from the Twitter Trust and Safety Council (of which NNEDV is a member) and feedback from victims of harassment and abuse on the platform.
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Spoofed Grindr Accounts Turned One Man's Life Into a 'Living Hell'
A months-long nightmare was described in a lawsuit filed against Grindr in the Supreme Court of New York. Herrick accuses Grindr of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false advertising, and deceptive business practices for allowing him to be impersonated and turned into an unwitting beacon for stalkers and harassers.
Herrick's civil complaint against the company states that despite contacting Grindr more than 50 times, Grindr hasn't offered a single response beyond auto-replies saying that it's looking into the profiles he's reported. Even after a judge signed an injunctive relief order to force Grindr to stop the impersonating profiles, they persist: Herrick says that at least 24 men have come to his home and work since then. In total, he counts over 700 sex-soliciting men thrown into his daily life by the spoofed accounts since the ordeal began.
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How to Protect Yourself from Creepy, Phone Snooping Spyware
Motherboard showed how powerful off-the-shelf, $170 spyware really is. For a day, reporter Joseph Cox used a piece of software on his phone to surreptitiously collect GPS location data, intercept phone calls, and silently steal photos.
Although a hacker can only infect a phone if they have physical access to the device, the threat from this type of malware is very real. It is heavily used by, and marketed towards, jealous lovers to spy on their spouses. For around two decades, people have used spyware for this purpose, with many cases ending up in violence or even murder.
What can potential victims of this type of surveillance do to check if they're being monitored? What are some of the best practices to keep in mind to make installing the malware harder? And what can those who are certainly being spied on do?
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Defining Trauma Informed Services
More and more professionals working with survivors of violence use the terms "trauma-informed services" and "trauma-informed care." These concepts grew out of findings about trauma's effects on war veterans. Today, the terms are commonly considered effective approaches for working with people who have experienced other types of trauma, including domestic and sexual violence.
Some domestic and sexual violence victim advocates are concerned, however, about how a trauma-informed approach fits into the grassroots, survivor-centered model that grounds the movement to end domestic and sexual violence.
To understand
how the concept of a trauma-informed approach is both viewed and applied in addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) commissioned a project to capture the national landscape of understanding about trauma-informed policies and practices for OVW stakeholders.
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Firearms and Domestic Violence: The Intersections
Domestic abusers and firearms are a deadly combination. Research published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the presence of a gun in domestic violence situations significantly increases the risk of homicide, endangering victims, other family members, bystanders and coworkers. Professionals who work in law enforcement and advocacy have found that to reduce domestic violence homicide, the criminal justice system must consistently enforce existing laws and coordinate closely with community organizations.
On October 7, 2016, the Justice Department hosted a panel of experts, including scholars and practitioners, to discuss this potentially deadly intersection.
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SUNY Resource for Victims of Sexual Assault & Violence Now Translated Into More Than 100 Languages
The State University of New York announced an expanded offering of its Sexual Assault and Violence Response (SAVR) resources for victims and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence. In addition to the local contacts and information previously available, SUNY has translated the Affirmative Consent, Amnesty, and Bill of Rights provisions of Enough is Enough legislation into more than 100 languages, developed a visa and immigration resource specific to international and immigrant victims and survivors of violence, and will be making all of its resources publicly available so that any college, State agency, or community organization can access them for free.
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Spouses Battered or Subjected to Extreme Cruelty by A, E(3), H or G Visa Holders Are Eligible to Apply for Work Authorization
USCIS is now accepting employment authorization applications from abused immigrant spouses of H, G, A and E (3) visa holders.
The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 amended Section 106 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide access to legal work authorization for abused spouses of certain work visa holders. The implementation of this law will offer much needed protection to immigrant spouses of work, diplomatic and foreign government employee visa holders. This will also apply to abused spouses on visas obtained based on their marriage to a visa holder who is an abusive spouse.
This work authorization will promote greater reporting of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual violence crimes perpetrated against dependent visa holder spouses and children living in visa holder families. Survivors will be able to flee abusers with their children and work while they pursue avenues available to them to transfer from legal immigration status dependent on their abusers to other forms of legal immigration status that they are eligible to receive. Most will qualify for U visas based on the battering or extreme cruelty they have suffered.
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Immigration Financial Support- Using the I-864 to Transition to Self-Sufficiency
End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) has released a pre-recorded webinar title,
Immigration Financial Support - Using the I-864 to Transition to Self-sufficiency.
The recording is now available free of charge in EVAWI's webinar archive. This training will help advocates, law enforcement and other professionals identify clients/survivors who might be able to benefit from the Form I-864. Learn easy questions that can be added to your intake procedure to screen for potential eligibility, and learn to better asses the scope of support to which an individual might be eligible, and what steps may be taken to enforce the support obligation.
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Resources for protecting Domestic Violence Immigrant Survivors
The Immigrant Defense Project has several community resources including a 2 page Know Your Rights flyer (available in eight languages), ICE Raid Toolkits and planning guides for those at risk of deportation. In addition to community resources, they also operate a Criminal Immigration hotline and have additional resource guides for criminal defenders, immigration attorneys, judges, and prosecutors.
Click here to view the Immigrant Defense Project'
s Resource Guides.
The National Latin@ Network, a project of Casa de Esperanza, has put together a Question & Answer (Q&A) document for advocates and attorneys serving immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. The Q&A on immigrant survivors of gender-based violence includes information for undocumented survivors and survivors who may be eligible for VAWA self-petitions, U visas, T visas or those applying for gender-based asylum.
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The Department of Homeland Security's Interactive Infographic on Protections for Immigrant Victims
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an
infographic detailing the protections afforded to immigrant victims. This interactive infographic describes qualifications and benefits for each form of immigration relief designed to help immigrant victims. Clicking on each form of relief, a link takes you to a DHS webpage with further information, brochures and applications forms. We strongly recommend this tool to be used and disseminated by the following professionals, to help inform immigrant victims of their rights and available protections:
- Law enforcement-this information should be available in police stations and in police cruisers to assist law enforcement officers in identifying victims eligible for immigration protections and informing victims about legal protections available to them
- Courts-this information should be available as one of the standard forms of legal information available to the public at courthouses and in clerks offices across the country
- Victim Advocates and Attorneys-this information will be useful for screening, providing information to clients, and identifying the forms of immigration relief and benefits an immigrant victim may be eligible to receive
- Healthcare and mental health care providers and social workers-this infographic will help healthcare providers identify victims whom they treat who are eligible for immigration protections
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National Resource Center on Domestic Violence special collection highlighting the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other tax credits for survivors
Since its inception, the EITC has been heralded as one of the most successful anti-poverty strategies in the United States, and numerous other tax credit programs have followed. Today there are tax credit programs for low-income workers with children and other dependents and for individuals seeking higher education, as well as outreach efforts designed specifically for underserved populations.
This collection highlights key resources for the EITC, the Child Tax Credit, Health Coverage Tax Credits, and others. It includes general information and fact sheets, reports and research, information about how tax credits affect eligibility for other federal benefits, resources to access state specific statistics and contact information, and resources specific to three underserved populations (Native Americans, workers who are immigrants, and workers with disabilities). It also provides information on free tax preparation services across the country and ways to avoid predatory lending and tax services.
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2017 NCVRW Resource Guide Available in English
OVC is pleased to announce the release of the 2017 National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) Resource Guide. NCVRW will be commemorated April 2-8, 2017, and the resource guide promotes this year's theme-Strength. Resilience. Justice.
The Guide provides all the materials necessary to promote public awareness campaigns for NCVRW and throughout the year. Campaign materials include planning tips, artwork, crime and victimization fact sheets, and more.
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Center for Survivor Agency & Justice Releases Accounting for Economic Security Atlas
There is no safety for survivors of domestic violence without economic security, and there is no economic security without social equality. Domestic violence can only be meaningfully addressed with a paradigmatic shift in the way in which individuals and institutions respond to survivors' economic needs. This Atlas sets forth an approach to advocacy for survivors, which shifts the underlying goal from economic self-sufficiency to economic agency and places the intersecting identities of survivors at the center of our work.
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New National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center
The Office on Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the launch of the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC). NHTTAC offers a variety of resources to help build capacity to serve survivors of trafficking and those at risk of trafficking.
By applying a public health approach, NHTTAC holistically builds the capacity of communities to identify and respond to the complex needs of all survivors of human trafficking and address the root causes that make individuals, families, and communities vulnerable to trafficking. Survivors and those at risk of human trafficking need coordinated and trauma-informed services before, during, and after their trafficking exploitation, regardless of their age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or type of exploitation.
Medical and behavioral health practitioners, nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations, licensed social workers, child welfare professionals, housing authorities, and public health agencies can provide comprehensive and survivor-informed services by building their skills and knowledge with NHTTAC.
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Webinars, Events & Trainings
(descriptions are taken directly from the host's event announcements)
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National Center for Victims of Crime
Safety and Justice Challenge - Pima County, AZ and St. Louis County, MO
March 7, 2017
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
Efforts are underway around the country to fix our criminal justice system. What does this mean for victims? What do victims need from the system to repair their lives? Most jurisdictions are talking about how to make the justice system better for the offender but few are incorporating the voices of victims as part of these efforts. Join us on March 7, 2017 at 2:00pm EST for a webinar featuring two of the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge sites - Pima County, AZ and St. Louis County, MO. This webinar will highlight how the two jurisdictions are reducing the population of incarcerated persons while also helping victims attain justice. The MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge is supporting a network of competitively selected local jurisdictions committed to finding ways to safely reduce jail incarceration. The Foundation has partnered with the National Center for Victims of Crime to gather information from victim and victim advocates on how victims can remain safe and access the services they need, while simultaneously reducing the number of incarcerated individuals.
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Battered Women's Justice Project
We See You: Supervising Stalking Offenders March 15, 2017 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Stalking is a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. Often, violations of no contact orders, calls from jail, and other forms of harassment constitute violations of stalking laws, yet these violations are often not prosecuted to the full extent. Because stalking laws often have stiffer statutory penalties, practitioners should know how to document evidence of stalking and request that prosecutors issue new charges. Supervising agents and other system players should educate stalking victims to recognize and document stalking in a way that allows the system to be the primary presenter of evidence during a trial. Community partners who understand the nature and dynamics of stalking can enhance public safety and help save lives. This session will provide an overview of stalking and suggestions on how to supervise probationers and parolees who engage in stalking behavior.
Participants will be able to:
- Discuss the challenges and opportunities related to the community supervision of stalking offenders/cases;
- Describe the critical role that community corrections professionals can play in holding stalking offenders accountable for their crimes and promote the safety of victims; Identify resources available to assist community corrections in supervising stalking cases;
- Be able to recognize and document stalking behavior.
Presenter:
James Henderson, Technical Assistance Provider, Probation Project, BWJP
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Battered Women's Justice Project
Military Response to Enforcing Military and Civilian Protection Orders
March 20, 2017
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Navigating the military response to domestic violence can be daunting when assisting military-related victims. The area that may be the most complicated is protection orders: both those issued by civilian courts and those by military commanders. During this webinar, the presenter will explain key features and players within the military system and their role in the issuance, service, jurisdiction, and enforceability of protection orders to include firearms possession and use. Presenter: Brian Clubb, Military & Veterans Advocacy Program Manager, BWJP
Click here to
register for the webinar "Military Response to Enforcing Military and Civilian Protection Orders."
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Center for Survivor Agency & Justice
Race Equity Approaches to Domestic & Sexual Violence: A Research & Community Lawyering Perspective
March 23, 2017
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST
Domestic and sexual violence survivors and those who advocate for them are well aware of the role race and ethnicity plays in accessing economic security and safety. Data suggests that racial/ethnic disparities have deep roots in local communities and are endemic. This webinar will identify and explore some tools/strategies that have been developed by race equity advocates, and their applicability in the context of DV/SA. The format will be an interactive discussion of issues and remedies. Webinar participants will:
- Understand the 7 identified race equity tools and their origin in the mind sciences.
- Learn how the tools have been used to transform advocacy in other arenas.
- Understand how the tools might be applied to the survivor community.
- Understand how to use complex systems analysis to reconceptualize race and power as they unfold in the community and how to fashion race conscious remedies.
- Engage with each other about challenges and benefits of adopting this race equity approach.
Faculty: Kip Holley, Research Associate, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity Bill Kennedy, Law Office of William Kennedy, Race Equity Project Lisalyn Jacobs, Legal & Policy Director, Center for Survivor Agency & Justice Camille Holmes, Principal, CDH Consulting Key Audience: This webinar is particularly geared toward lawyers, legal advocates, and advocates working with survivors. It is also relevant to program managers, directors, and policy makers. It is open to LAV, Rural, CLASSP, Underserved, State/Territorial Coalitions, and Tribal Coalition grantees of the Office on Violence Aganst Women, and all other nonprofit service providers who work to enhance advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.* Click here to register for the webinar Race Equity Approaches to Domestic & Sexual Violence: A Research & Community Lawyering Perspective.
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NYSCADV
Legislative Advocacy Day 2017
May 8, 2017
Thousands of New Yorkers are impacted by abuse - in fact, New York STILL has the highest demand for domestic violence services in the country. Our state must respond with solutions that meet the diverse needs of survivors and their families, and that work to prevent domestic violence from occurring in the first place. As a coalition representing domestic violence programs and the survivors they serve across New York State, NYSCADV knows that the best legislation comes when the voices of survivors and advocates are heard. And this is what NYSCADV's annual Legislative Advocacy Day is for: to convey a unified message, representative of the unique needs of a diverse range of survivors, to our state government that will protect rights, promote justice, and prevent domestic violence.
On May 8th, join a vibrant, diverse and innovative group of advocates and allies from across New York State to raise our voices and relay a unified message to the legislature and governor: it's time pass meaningful legislation to protect survivors of domestic violence in New York State!
Join Us!
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NYSCADV
Best Practices for Conducting Participant Satisfactions Surveys
May 16, 2017 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
OR
May 18, 2017 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Cris Sullivan will provide concrete tips and tools to help you think through the nuts and bolts of collecting outcome surveys from those using your services: when do you collect the information? How? How often? From whom?
About Cris Sullivan:
Cris M. Sullivan is the Director of the Research Consortium on Gender-based Violence and Professor of Ecological/Community Psychology at Michigan State University (MSU). In addition to her MSU appointments, Dr. Sullivan was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to chair the Michigan Domestic & Sexual Violence Prevention & Treatment Board, and she is Senior Research Advisor to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Dr. Sullivan is internationally recognized for her expertise in evaluating domestic violence and sexual assault programs. Her reputation led the Family Violence Prevention & Services Administration (FVPSA) to enlist her help in 2006 in creating two outcomes that are now used by all FVPSA grantees across the county. In 2012, she developed a Theory of Change describing the process through which domestic violence programs improve the lives of survivors and their children (http://www.dvevidenceproject.org), and this model has been enthusiastically adopted nationally. She has written evaluation manuals for programs and provides trainings on this topic that are well-received, and her work is highly regarded by policy makers, academics and advocates.
*Content delivered will be the same in both webinars. Please register for only one session.
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New York Model for Batterer Programs
Domestic Violence Offender Accountability & Court Mandated Batterer Programs
May 18-19, 2017
New City, NY
Special Guest
: Dr. Evan Stark is a sociologist, forensic social worker and award-winning researcher. Dr. Stark's book, Coercive Control: The Entrapment of Women in Personal Life (Oxford, 2007), has strengthened the definition of domestic violence and deepened our understanding of the scope of work with men who batter.
Background & Focus of the NY Model for Batterer Programs
In 1978, VCS Inc. developed the first batterer program in New York. Ten years later, VCS partnered with Catholic Charities of Buffalo NY to best resolve controversy generated by batterer programs regarding their purpose. Are programs appropriate as treatment and rehabilitation or best used for accountability and monitoring? Can they achieve both? By listening to the collective wisdom of battered women's advocates across the country, the NY Model for Batterer Programs was developed. This clear and replicable design, consistently updated, contributes to the efforts to eliminate and prevent domestic violence. Measurable outcomes support the efficacy of NY Model Batterer Programs. Who Should Attend The training is designed for judges, court clerks and other court personnel, probation and parole officers, prosecutors, defense bar, and domestic violence advocates. This training is also useful for those who work in batterer programs and with domestic violence offenders in other venues. Social Workers and CASAC and CPP professionals are especially invited and will hear invaluable information that will inform their practice.
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Employment Opportunities
(descriptions are taken directly from the host's employment announcements)
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