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 U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $599,991 Project Grant under the Justice Systems Response to Families Program (CFDA 16.021) to The Mediation Center, a nonprofit organization in Asheville, North Carolina. This 3-year grant, running from October 2024 through September 2027, will fund the implementation of supervised visitation and safe exchange services, as well as the provision of civil legal assistance, for families affected by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania counties of Western North Carolina.

Key activities supported by the grant include hiring a project director, client services coordinator, access coordinator, part-time supervised visitation monitors, and a part-time attorney to provide civil legal services. The project aims to enhance the capacity of the local justice system to respond to and support families impacted by interpersonal violence, with a focus on keeping victims and their children safe while holding offenders accountable. The grant will enable The Mediation Center to collaborate with local partners such as Pisgah Legal Services, SafeLight, SAFE, Steps to Hope, and the North Carolina District Court 29B to deliver these critical services.

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, the mediation center, in partnership with pisgah legal services, safelight, safe, steps to hope, and north carolina district court 29B, will implement a standard project addressing the following purpose areas: 1) supervised visitation and safe exchange; and 6) civil legal assistance in henderson, polk, and transylvania county of western north carolina. Specific activities will include: 1) supporting a 0.40 FTE project director to oversee project implementation; 2) funding a 0.40 FTE client services coordinator for the supervised visitation and safe exchange program; 3) maintain a 0.25 FTE access coordinator; 4) hiring several part-time supervised visitation monitors; and 5) staffing a 0.50 attorney to provide civil legal services. This is a continuation of 2016-FJ-AX-0007.