TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall hear and possibly take action to determine the method of management for the Maricopa Family Advocacy Center. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The City of Maricopa Police Department began researching the need for a Family Advocacy Center in Western Pinal County since 2014 with the completion of a Human Services Needs Assessment and a formal Domestic Violence call to action. In July 2015 the Police Department formed a partnership with Dignity Health and began meeting with stakeholders to develop a proposal for the Mayor and City Council. In September 2016 a formal presentation was made to the Mayor and City Council through the collaborative efforts of Dignity Health and Honor Health. Any adult or child victim requiring a medical forensic examination must travel 45-60 minutes out of the county for services. In these instances the average amount of time an Officer, Victim Advocate or Volunteer is then out of the City and unavailable for service is 5-7 hours. In October 2016 the City of Maricopa was awarded grant funding through Ak-Chin Indian Community State Shared Revenue Funds in the amount of $278,712 for the first year lease, work stations, equipment and remodeling costs for a Family Advocacy Center. This grant was formally accepted by the City Council in January 2017 contingent upon signed agreements by stakeholders to demonstrate sustainability of the project for three to five years. In April 2017 an update was provided on the proposed Family Advocacy Center during a work session.
No community can create an effective Family Advocacy Center without a basic, solid, specialized law enforcement response to the crimes experienced by victims being served in the Center. If a community wants to co-locate services without law enforcement or prosecution, they can, however it will no longer be a Family Advocacy Center with a multi-disciplinary team approach. Communities that fail to understand the centrality of la...
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