The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the…

The Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency, Inc. was awarded a $600,000 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women under the Justice Systems Response to Families Program (CFDA 16.021).

Through this 3-year award, the agency will deliver the following services in Cayuga County, New York: 1) Continued supervised visitation and safe custody exchange services, including a full-time coordinator, security officer, and multiple visitation monitors; and 2) Biannual training for court-based and court-related personnel on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking dynamics. The project aims to improve the capacity of the local justice system to respond to families with histories of these targeted crimes, with a focus on enhancing services for the African American community.

The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice system to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The program supports the following activities for improving the capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court-based and court-related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters. Projects supported by the justice for families program are those that focus on keeping victims and their children safe from further abuse and holding offenders accountable. Through this continuation justice for families project, cayuga/seneca community action agency, in partnership with cayuga county family court, cayuga county district attorneys office, cayuga county magistrates association, cayuga county department of social services, cayuga counseling services, and the booker t. Washington community center, will implement a standard project addressing the following purpose areas: 1) supervised visitation and safe exchange and 8) training within the civil justice system for cayuga county, new york. This project will address priority area 1: advance racial equity by partnering with a local community center that focuses on providing services to the african american community. Specific activities will include: 1) continuing supervised visitation and safe custody exchange services with a 1.0 FTE coordinator, 1.0 FTE security officer, and three visitation monitors; and 2) hosting BI-annual training for court-based and court-related personnel on the dynamics of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.