North Dakota needs your support! Human trafficking is a reality in North Dakota and YOU can make a difference.

The North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with Youthworks (Fargo, ND) and the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (“DVCC”) (Minot, ND), is seeking two experienced professionals who are responsible for assisting trafficking victims in accessing services and serving as regional experts for communities. The Navigators will serve as a point of contact for those working with trafficking victims, or those looking to receive training to learn more about human trafficking.

The Eastern ND Human Trafficking Navigator will be employed by Youthworks, and will be based in Fargo, ND. The Western ND Human Trafficking Navigator will be employed by the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and will be based in Minot, ND. Each Navigator will provide referral and supportive case management services, education and community outreach, and development of, or training and technical assistance for, local multi-disciplinary teams in their region.

* This is a full-time position with benefits.

* Pay is commensurate with experience.

* Travel is required.

Recommended skills/experience: Advocacy or case management for victims of commercial sexual exploitation, sexual abuse/assault, domestic violence or labor exploitation. Proficiency in public speaking, collaboration, complex problem solving and meeting facilitation. Over one year relevant experience preferred.

Required education/licensure: Master’s Degree in Human Service related field, or law degree with social service experience preferred. Bachelor’s degree with relevant experience will be considered.  Professional Licensure preferred.

How to apply: Send cover letter, resume and optional letter of recommendation to kflaagan@youthworksnd.org. Please indicate which position(s) the applicant is seeking to be considered for in cover letter.

For more information on the Eastern North Dakota position, please contact Joan at Youthworks at 701.232.8558 or visit www.youthworksnd.org.

For more information on the Western North Dakota position, please contact Dena at DVCC at 701.852.2258.

BISMARCK – CAWS North Dakota will receive $900,000 from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the state of North Dakota’s Office of Attorney General will receive $600,000 from the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to work in partnership under the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Grant Program. North Dakota is one of ten recipients of the grants nationally.

The awards from the Justice Department — administered by the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)—support efforts across the country to combat human trafficking by funding investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking crimes, services for survivors and research.

CAWS North Dakota and the Office of the Attorney General will use the funds to develop comprehensive victim services and encourage proactive law enforcement investigations. A statewide task force will be convened by BCI, CAWS and the U.S. Attorney’s office to oversee the program while two navigators will be hired to serve as case managers in order to streamline services for victims and enhance the collaboration with law enforcement. Additional funding will be used to offer direct services to victims.

“Providing access to victim centered services has been and always will be our priority. This award is the culmination of 18 months of a statewide comprehensive planning that will increase our state’s ability to address the rise in human trafficking cases and ensure victims have access to the services they need,” said CAWS North Dakota’s Executive Director Janelle Moos.

The grants were announced last week by the Attorney General in Seattle, which has been selected as one of sixteen sites for anti-trafficking task force awards, to receive $1.5 million to support law enforcement efforts and services to victims. The Department of Justice will award more than $44 million in grant funding for development of Human Trafficking Task Forces for the next three years. The grants are part of a government-wide effort to combat human trafficking and provide services to survivors, as outlined in Coordination, Collaboration, Capacity: Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States, 2013–2017, released by the White House in January 2014.

National Network to End Domestic Violence releases annual statistics

 

For the ninth annual year, on September 10 the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) conducted a one-day unduplicated count of adults and children seeking domestic violence service in the United States. This census documents the number of individuals who sought services in a single 24-hour period.

 

On that day in North Dakota there were 32 requests for services including emergency shelter, transitional housing and non-residential services, which could not be provided because programs did not have the resources. Out of these unmet requests 22% were for housing.

 

“Our programs are continually asked to do more with less which is unrealistic. Victims are turned away every day because our shelters are full and understaffed and we know they are either going back to live with their abusive partner or are forced into homelessness. This can’t continue,” said Janelle Moos, CAWS North Dakota’s Executive Director.

 

In North Dakota there have been 11 staff positions eliminated in the past year; most of these positions were direct services, such as shelter or legal advocates, so there were fewer advocates to answer calls for help. Nine individual services at local programs were reduced or eliminated in the past year.

 

Across the country, there were 10,871 unmet requests for services on that day, of which 56% were for housing. The most frequently requested nonresidential services that could not be provided were housing advocacy, legal representation and financial assistance.

 

“Domestic violence programs and shelters across the country are operating with less funding, fewer resources, and even fewer staff. The economic environment of the last few years has resulted in a combination of fewer grants, fewer donations from the community and reduced government funds at every level. This shortage of resources within domestic violence programs has been compounded by a reduction in funding for other social services upon which victims often rely, such as low-income housing, mental health services and more,” stated NNEDV.

 

In the 24-hour survey period in the United States there were 67,646 victims served and 20,845 local and state hotline calls answered by staff.

 

In North Dakota 375 victims were served on this day. A total of 160 domestic violence victims (78 children and 82 adults) found refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing provided by local domestic violence programs. There were 215 adults and children who received non-residential assistance and services, including counseling, legal advocacy and children’s support groups, as well as 109 hotline calls answered.

 

According to NNEDV, out of 1,916 identified domestic violence programs in the United States 1,697 participated in the 2014 National Census of Domestic Violence Services. In North Dakota 19 out of 20 identified local domestic violence programs participated.

 

For more information about these statistics or the complete count, go to nnedv.org/census.

 

 

 

CAWS North Dakota is currently accepting applications for the 2015 Women’s Opportunity Scholarship Fund. This scholarship provides higher education opportunities to low-income women who wish to enter, or are currently attending a North Dakota college or university.

The fund assists scholarship recipients in a number of ways. It helps them to break the bonds of poverty and enhance their lives and the lives of their families intellectually, culturally, and environmentally.

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must; be low income according to federal poverty guidelines; be current residents of North Dakota; and plan to attend a North Dakota college, university, or trade school (certain exceptions may be made for those living on North Dakota borders). Scholarships applications are accepted March through mid-June of each year. Awards are announced in mid-August.

The fund was established by a generous donor who believed in creating opportunities for women through higher education. It was enhanced in 2001 by a legal settlement with Nine West Corporation – brokered by former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp – and by individual contributions. Contributions to the Women’s Opportunity Scholarship Fund are always welcome, and may be sent as earmarked contributions to the CAWS North Dakota office. To download a scholarship application click here. For more information on the scholarship please contact Dana Mees at 888-255-6240 ext. 14.

CAWS North Dakota contracts with Heartview Foundation to provide mental health and substance abuse services

 

Bismarck– CAWS North Dakota announced Monday they will be contracting with Heartview Foundation to provide mental health and substance abuse services, to victims receiving services through six crisis intervention centers located in oil producing counties of western North Dakota, using funding recently awarded under the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Bakken Region Enhanced Response to Victims Initiative.

 

According to The National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health, domestic violence and other lifetime trauma can have significant mental health consequences. Additionally, living with mental health conditions or addiction increases a person’s risk of experiencing abuse in the future. In 2013 alone, 52% of North Dakota domestic violence victims receiving services reported suffering from a mental illness. Of the 1,013 new victims in 2013, served through one of the twenty North Dakota crisis intervention centers, 49% indicated the abuser, the victim or both had a history of alcohol use and 20% indicated the abuser, the victim or both had a history of drug use associated with domestic violence.

 

Under the contract Heartview Foundation will provide an innovative, alternative and cost-effective approach to providing substance abuse services through telehealth. Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care. Heartview is the only private substance abuse agency using Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) compliant teleports with HIPPA compliant policies and procedures for adoption at remotes sites, such as the crisis intervention centers. Any client with access to internet and a PC, tablet or smart-phone can access the private network.

 

“Heartview views this collaboration as a pioneering opportunity to bring needed services to the Bakken Region through new technology,” said Kurt Snyder, Executive Director of Heartview Foundation. “We’re well aware of how often substance abuse is part of the equation in domestic violence and sexual abuse.”

 

This opportunity will also provide training to staff at crisis intervention centers in the following areas: substance abuse screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment; mental health first aid; medication monitoring and administration.

 

“We are very excited about our new partnership with the Heartview Foundation. The services they will be offering in the Bakken will address the longstanding unmet substance abuse and mental health needs while also building the capacity of crisis centers to address the long term effects of trauma on victims,” said Janelle Moos, CAWS North Dakota’s Executive Director.

 

Heartview Foundation is a drug and alcohol treatment program located in Bismarck, ND since 1964. They have provided addiction treatment services to over 26,000 individuals and families. Heartview Foundation is the longest-running non-profit, private, alcohol/drug treatment provider in the state of North Dakota. For more information, Kurt Snyder can be contacted at 701-426-8677.

 

CAWS North Dakota is a nonprofit membership organization representing the 20 domestic violence and sexual assault crisis centers throughout the state. It is the mission of CAWS North Dakota to provide leadership and support in the identification, intervention, and prevention of domestic and sexual violence. For more information, please visit www.cawsnorthdakota.org.