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Adopt and present a resolution honoring the past and present volunteers of the Vacaville Visitation Care Center upon the center’s tenth anniversary of providing a safe place for Solano County families to have their court-ordered supervised visitation and custody exchanges facilitated (Supervisor Vasquez)
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
Supervisor Vasquez requests the Board adopt and present a resolution honoring the past and present volunteers of the Vacaville Visitation Care Center upon the center’s tenth anniversary of providing a safe place for Solano County families to have their court-ordered supervised visitation and custody exchanges facilitated.
SUMMARY:
As a matter of policy, the State of California has made it a priority to protect the best interest of children whose parents find themselves with a custody or visitation matter in one of the Superior Court of California’s Family Law judges. In these cases, some of which stem from issues of domestic violence, the protection and safety of the family and child will be considered by a judge who may order that a child only have contact with a parent when a neutral third person is present during the visitation. To facilitate this, supervised visitation providers allow parents to visit their children when issues of child abuse, child abduction, domestic violence or substance abuse are in question. Prior to 2009, court-ordered supervised visitation was provided by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office at the Rainbow Center in Vacaville.
When the Rainbow Center closed in 2009, Pastor Willie Graham, who is also the founder of Heroes of Solano, a family support men’s support group aimed at lowering the incidence of domestic and family violence, created the Vacaville Visitation Care Center, housed at the Christian Body Life Fellowship church in Vacaville. Seeing the need for supervised visitation services in the southern part of Solano County, Pastor Graham and Heroes of Solano Officer Ollis Carver launched a second supervised visitation care program in Vallejo. The center supported visitation and exchange services for residents of Vallejo and surrounding communities from 2014 to 2017. As a partner with the courts, the Vacaville Visitation Care Center currently sees an estimated 200 clients a year, whose court-ordered visitation or exchanges originate not just from Solano County Superior Court’s Family Law division, but family law courtrooms in neighboring Bay Area counties.
The Vacaville Visitation Care Center is a professional provider, which charges a fee for service. Volunteers, which are an integral part of the visitation center’s operation, are experienced in and trained to provide supervised visitation services and must adhere to a professional code of conduct. The Solano County Board of Supervisors has also recognized and encouraged countywide efforts to reduce domestic violence through by support for the Solano Family Justice Center in Fairfield, which also has provided for supervised visitation services. More than 20 volunteers have worked to make the Vacaville Visitation Center a success over the past decade. Volunteers past and present include: Michelle Wright, Betty Davis, Ollis Carver, Rosie Carver, Linda Delaney, Gary Conover, Gladys Polanco, Angeli S. Mathew, Nealetta Richardson, Billy Moore, Vivian Crear, in addition to Executive Director Willie Graham and Assistant Director Nanette Shaver.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the District 4 FY2018/19 Adopted Budget. The costs associated with preparation and purchase of the resolution materials are included in the Board’s FY2018/19 Adopted Budget.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could choose not to adopt and present this resolution, however, that is not recommended as this is opportunity to recognize and honor those individuals whose work centers on ensuring safe parent-child interaction, which ultimately makes our community safer by reducing potential incidents of domestic violence.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Heroes of Solano County, Vacaville Visitation Care Center
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION