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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-169 MOU - Stop VAWA 2013 Grant STOP VAWA 2013 LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT PROJECT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into by and between: Jackson County SART (JC SART , a sexual assault victim services provider and coordinator; the Ashland Police Department (APD a law enforcement agency; and Sexual Assault Victim Services (SAVS), a sexual assault victim advocacy provider managed by Community Works. This MOU is the complete agreement between JC SART, APD and SAVS and may be amended only by written agreement signed by each of the parties involved. It defines the roles and responsibilities of each party in designing and implementing the "You Have Options" program and in APD's accompanying restructuring of its sexual assault response policies and protocols. The MOU also notes the benefits each partner brings to the project. As the grant applicant, JC SART accepts full responsibility for the performance of the collective agencies. Applicant: Jackson County SART The non-profit JC SART is the state-mandated SART for Jackson County and has been providing services to sexual assault victims since 2005. JC SART runs the 24/7 SANE program (serving adults, adolescents and children) peer support groups for victims, and a sexual violence prevention program for high school and middle school students, teachers, parents and staff in the Ashland and Talent/Phoenix school districts in Oregon. JC SART is the organizing body for agencies providing services to sexual assault survivors and runs the monthly Response Review meetings for member agencies from law enforcement, the District Attorney's office, advocacy, Children's Advocacy Center, Department of Human Services and related social service agencies. Benefits of partnership: JC SART has a history of success in partnering with multiple agencies to create new programs: the SART itself; our pediatric response program, with the Children's Advocacy Center and Community Works; and our sexual violence prevention program, with local law enforcement agencies and Community Works. In addition to coordinating the SART during this current project's development, we will be supplying the SANE nurses who are integral to victim care and perpetrator identification and investigation. Like Community Works, SART has working ties with many social service agencies and organizations who serve marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as the Maslow Project (homeless youth), Living Opportunities (the disabled). Lotus Rising (LGBTQ) and the Northwest Seasonal Workers Association (migrant workers), and we will be reaching out to connect them to this project. Roles and Responsibilities • Ensure 24/7 availability of acute SANE nurse response, including forensic evidence collection and documentation (SANEs, SANE Program Manager) • Provide SANEs as needed for court testimony (SANEs) • Coordinate monthly Response Review to evaluate team response and case progress and to ensure multi-agency response continues smoothly (SANE Program Manager) • Participate in regular review and revision of project practices and protocols (Executive Director) • Participate in community outreach and education about the project, especially in vulnerable population sites such as Southern Oregon University and retirement communities (Executive Director) • Collaborate in connecting social service agencies more closely to the project (Executive Director) • Conduct and participate in partner cross-trainings (SANE Program Manager, Executive Director) • Train all SANEs on law enforcement practices and protocols as they develop (SANE Program Manager, Executive Director) • Keep accurate data, including data compiled from partners; keep abreast of project progress; provide required grant reports (Development Director) Partner: Ashland Police Department History of Partnership: JC SART and APD began their partnership at the very first SART planning meeting in 2000 and have become particularly close and dedicated collaborators in combatting sexual violence. They have consulted extensively with us and with Community Works in assessing their response and developing this project to improve it. APD has also contributed significant time and resources to help create our collaborative sexual violence prevention program, now ongoing in Ashland and Phoenix/Talent school districts (including class presentations, staff and parent training, Internet safety presentations). Benefits of Partnership: APD is the primary driver of this program's creation and implementation and will be key to its success. They have invested much time and thought in understanding why so few victims come forward to report sexual assault and why investigating this crime necessarily differs from investigating others. Their wish to design the "You Have Options" for eventual (free) wide adoption is another sign of their dedication. APD's willingness to reexamine long-entrenched law enforcement procedures to improve their response is exemplary, as is their interest in engaging with victim service providers every step of the way. Roles and responsibilities (all performed by APD Detective Carrie Hull or an approved, qualified officer) • Design and implement the "You Have Options" program and new department protocols, working in partnership with JC SART, SAVS and other community agencies • Investigate sexual assault cases, prioritizing victims' individual needs • Ensure all victims, regardless of reporting status, have access to medical care and advocacy • Attend monthly Response Reviews to assess response and case progress with partners • Supervise creation of website to facilitate anonymous reporting and web portal for other participating LE agencies • Supervise creation of agency database for more accurate tracking of reports • Regularly collect and analyze data for grant reports and program assessment • Train all department staff to follow new protocols and procedures • Arrange and conduct two statewide symposiums and two trainings for participating LE agencies • Conduct community education about program, with partners Partner: Community Works History of Partnership: Community Works has been a highly active member of JC SART since its inception and provides acute and after-care services to victims of domestic and sexual violence in close collaboration with the services offered by JC SART. The two agencies have partnered on multiple grants, collaboratively helping to fund coordinated SANE and advocacy services, counseling services for vulnerable populations such as the disabled, and acute services for rural victims. Community Works' SAVS is also a key partner, along with APD, in JC SART's school violence prevention efforts. JC SART and Community Works collaboratively track cases in order to ensure wrap-around services for victims and collaboratively review the response policies and protocols of each agency. Benefits of partnership: Community Works SAVS is the sole provider of the advocacy services that will be an essential part of this project. SAVS also strongly supports the victim-centered approach this project seeks to build upon. Because SAVS has collaborated extensively with both JC SART and APD, all partners are confident we can work together effectively and efficiently. We also trust we can address any problems or differences productively and straightforwardly. Because Community Works provides numerous social services to the community, its partnership will help us both identify and meet sexual assault victims' multiple needs. For example, it has staff dedicated to Hispanic Services and Youth Services and runs the county domestic violence shelter. Community Works is also acutely aware of the economic costs that sexual assault can bring. Its wide-ranging experience and expertise have helped the project's design - and will continue to be invaluable as the project moves through to completion. Roles and responsibilities: • Dedicate 16 hours per week to sexual assault victim advocacy -prioritizing victims served by APD, regardless of reporting status - and to project-related activities (APD advocate). • Provide peer support, information, referral, advocacy and crisis intervention, counseling by phone and in person and follow-up services to victims of sexual assault • At least once a month provide on-call coverage and needed hospital accompaniments for SAVS (APD advocate), joining with acute advocates to ensure advocacy is available to victims around the clock • Complete SAVS training (APD advocate); participate in cross-trainings with partner agencies, as needed (APD advocate and acute advocates, SAVS Manager) • Gather and keep accurate data, including client satisfaction forms, to help evaluate project progress and meet CVSD reporting requirements (APD advocate, SAVS Manager and Community Works staff) • Take part in community outreach and education about the program with partners, as needed (APD advocate) • Contribute to review and revision of project policies and protocols, as needed (APD advocate and/or SAVS Manager), serving as liaison between CW and APD. • Attend monthly JC SART response review meetings Timeframe: This MOU will commence on July 1, 2013 and will dissolve at the end of the VAWA grant funding period on June 30, 2015. Confidentiality. In order to ensure the safety of clients, all parties to the memorandum of understanding agree to adhere to the confidentiality expectations as outlined in the VAWA Grant Agreement. JACKSON COUNTY SART Authorized Official: _ Sy9a nI~AC (1 E XK - 1 r. Sig ature Printed Name and Title Address: f\A r i nAk L Ant O r ASVJ C W\ 9- O (L Telephone(s): 5 L{ I e `f O - C)C09 E-Mail Address: C SC Ck- ©n ASHL,/A~NDPOLICE DEPARTMENT Authorized Official: IA C07 L- Signature Prin d Name and Title Address: 1155 E MA,N 5T ASIILA"+ Oe Q,7520 Telephone(s): 5Lai 4I.-S10 PP TO FORM E-Mail Address: COr e(g1 c~SL.(q .d•e r,u3 J A~ 114 ~A , natty V, 1 - 3 Date COMMUNITY WORKS/SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM SERVICES Authorized Official: Q,~~ G ( N(,Z~(L- LOG Sign re Printkd Nr Title Address: ~,,~L~w ' Telephone(s): 6'LI ~ 7-I' Y3q 3 X Z Y7 L.~L _ W orls - E-Mail Address: ~lS r. 2 c @ ~(L"tr