Safe Havens Audit Rpt 9-04

Office on Violence Against WomenSafe Havens Supervised Visitation and Exchange ProgramMichigan Demonstration SiteSafety & Accountability Audit Planning AssessmentReport to the Michigan Demonstration Site Advisory CommitteesPrepared by Praxis InternationalJune 25, 2004Exploring the Question: What is the role of a supervised visitation center?1In October 2003, a team comprised of representatives from four Michigan visitation centers,their collaborative partners, and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) technical2assistance providers conducted an assessment in each of the four demonstration sitecommunities in order to explore how centers understood their role in serving families with ahistory of domestic violence.In February 2004, the technical assistance providers (Praxis and NCJFCJ) and local members ofthe four assessment teams met in Mt. Pleasant with the visitation center directors, directors oftheir parent agencies, their domestic violence partners, and staff from the Michigan DomesticViolence Prevention and Treatment Board. They reviewed and discussed preliminary findingsfrom the assessment and the implications for long-term planning. That meeting concluded withplans for a series of audio conferences with the advisory committees to establish common3language and ways of thinking about issues of domestic violence and the centers’ activities.thThese calls would be followed by a June 25 videoconference linking all four centers as theymeet ...