Program areas at PCADV
Pa department of human servicesthe pa department of human services (dhs) provides foundational funding for comprehensive core Domestic Violence services across Pennsylvania. Pcadv passes through 90% of this funding to its 59 local Domestic Violence programs, which provide direct services to nearly 90,000 survivors and their children each year. At the same time, pcadv uses the administrative portion of this funding to provide infrastructure and build capacity for its network of local Domestic Violence programs.the local Domestic Violence programs use these funds to provide a breadth of survivor-centered services to pennsylvanians experiencing Domestic Violence. Many of these services can be life-saving, including 24-hour hotlines, safety planning, counseling and support, support navigating the legal system and court accompaniment, transportation services, prevention, and emergency shelter. Programs also leverage these funds to produce public education and awareness events, provide training to community stakeholders and partners, and engage in systems advocacy to improve access for survivors and their children.in fiscal year 2023, pcadv's 59 local Domestic Violence programs served 82,941 survivors; 6,765 were children. Program staff answered 100,663 hotline calls. The programs collectively sheltered 6,673 survivors and their children for a total of 270,213 shelter nights. In addition to providing these direct services to survivors, the programs hosted, on the whole 5,999 education and awareness activities with more than 113,035 participants. Volunteers committed 88,348 hours to supplement these efforts. Pcadv and its local programs help survivors restore their safety and security through the relocation program. Last fiscal year alone, 1,269 adults, and by extension, 1,369 children, received financial assistance through this program. A total of $941,021 was invested in relocation efforts helping survivors move away from their abusers or remain safely in their own homes after an abuser relocated.pcadv's 16 funded civil legal representation (clr) sites represented a total of 4,167 clients helping them to navigate the legal system while they sought safety. These sites collectively secured $63,149 in court-ordered support for survivors and their children.providing the infrastructure for this work, pcadv staff supported the 59 local programs by conducting 211 training sessions for more than 10,255 participants and responding to 1,465 requests for technical assistance and 4,004 protection from abuse database (pfad) requests for support. Pcadv supports community-level systems advocacy by focusing its efforts on statewide systems change. Staff participated in more than 460 collaborative meetings with stakeholders and partners. In addition, 1,317 new users registered on the online learning center with 17,888 course completions.
Fvpsa arp mobile supplemental funding dhs fvpsa arp mobile pass thru. The purpose of fvpsa arp mobile supplemental funding is to supply funding to gain access to covid-19 testing, vaccines, and mobile health units in the provision of services to victims of Domestic Violence and their dependents. In 2021 the federal government issued american rescue plan act funding to assist with detecting, mitigating, and preventing covid-19. As designated essential service providers, a carve out was made for specific funding under the act for Domestic Violence service providers. Providers used these funds to collaborate with healthcare providers to gain access to testing and healthcare options. In addition, funding was utilized to expand the workforce at local Domestic Violence programs as requests for services increased. Funding was also utilized to provide essential services to survivors of Domestic Violence and their dependents through emergency shelter and safe housing, food insecurity, crisis intervention, counseling and support, accompaniment, and safety planning. Through arp funding, local programs were able to provide rental assistance to 105 individuals, and hotel/motel vouchers to 126 survivors. In addition, programs formed 94 new partnerships for housing assistance. Programs provided technical assistance to 160 new healthcare providers and hospitals and created 254 new healthcare partnerships. New medical systems advocacy projects were created, as well as joint healthcare/dv messaging campaigns. In addition, programs were able to purchase the necessary items to mitigate and prevent the spread of covid-19. Pcadv utilized the funding to increase education and technical assistance efforts, provide culturally relevant training opportunities, and focus on staff wellness.
Hud rapid rehousing and emergency solutions grantsrapid re-housing (rrh) is a rental assistance program funded through the department of housing and urban development (hud). No survivor should have to choose between homelessness or staying with an abusive partner. Rrh provides a tangible solution to address the reality survivors often face. Rental assistance is short-term, usually between six and twelve months, but is flexible and highly tailored to each survivor's needs. Rrh paired with Domestic Violence advocacy supports survivors in obtaining and maintaining housing stability. Pcadv is the applicant and passes through funding to programs to lessen the administrative burden of utilizing this money, primarily to support rural and under-resourced programs within the pa continuums of care's balance of state. The member programs that are a part of this project offer support through the lens of the Domestic Violence housing first philosophy, which focuses on first getting survivors into stable housing with ongoing support as they rebuild their lives. This support is provided without any prerequisites and services are specific to the needs of each individual survivor. Pcadv continues to identify other funding streams that support the overall goal of rrh and pairs with rrh to support the range of survivors' needs that contribute to housing and financial stability. Since its launch in 2018, pcadv's rapid rehousing program has grown to appx. $15 million annually in funds to support survivor housing, providing funding to 28 programs and fiscal support to 54 counties. Since fy21, more than 1,175 households have received safe housing supports through pcadv's rrh program. Pcadv pairs hud's emergency solutions grant (esg) program with rapid rehousing to meet critical needs in emergency shelter and homelessness prevention. In 2021, pcadv was awarded $6,248,163 in through esg's covid program which supported survivors and member programs through the beginning fy24. This project supported 1730 households and 2069 clients throughout the commonwealth.
Voca civil legal helplinethis initial three-year project funded an innovative new civil legal resource for victims of crime in Pennsylvania. Pa safe law is civil legal helpline staffed by licensed attorneys which victims of crime can access via toll-free hotline, through live-chat or by email. Pasafelaw.com also serves as a resource site for victims seeking information on civil legal topics including divorce, custody, protections orders, immigration, housing, and financial support. The site is available in both english and spanish languages.with pcadv as the project lead, helpline staff further support victims with an established partner referral network including: the Pennsylvania Coalition Against rape (pcar), the Pennsylvania immigration resource center (pirc), and the Pennsylvania legal aid network (plan). Pa safe law attorneys also facilitate free no-fault divorce clinics for rural, under-served communities across the commonwealth. Pa safe law does not provide civil representation, but helps victims understand the process for filing and completing a no-fault divorce in Pennsylvania as well as helping them complete the necessary paperwork to file.in fiscal year 2022, pa safe law attorneys assisted 811 victims of crime, about 90% of which were survivors of Domestic Violence. Helpline staff also held 6 pro-bono divorce clinics and 13 trainings for approximately 100 attorneys and advocates across the state.cdc delta impactin march 2023 , pcadv was awarded $2.5 million, over five years , for Domestic Violence prevention enhancement and leadership through alliances (delta) ahead grant from the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc). The program funds both statewide collaborative prevention initiatives and community-level programming through two local Domestic Violence programs.pcadv convened a collaborative statewide leadership team of leaders who represent diverse sectors in government, non-profit, education, social services and law. The leadership team collectively created a five-year (2021-2016) state action plan outlining a bold vision and concrete plan for increasing prevention as a priority in Pennsylvania and ensuring the health and safety of all persons in Pennsylvania. The plan includes a needs assessment which measures the prevalence of community level risk factors across the state, including neighborhood support and cohesion, neighborhood poverty, diminished economic opportunities and substance use. Research suggests that women facing economic disadvantages resulting from the pay gap increases their exposure to know risk factors for intimate partner Violence (ipv). Pcadv authored a report on the rates of pay inequity and its connection to the occurrence of ipv. This report analyzes how pay inequity creates conditions like poverty and housing insecurity, which are risk factors for ipv. The report also explores potential action steps to decrease the pay gap, thereby decreasing the prevalence and severity of risk factors. Community level programming included be the change, a healthy relationships program being shared with schools in columbia and montour counties. This program prioritizes the use of hot spot mapping, which asks students to identify safe and unsafe areas of their school or community and explain why those areas feel unsafe. This information is then used to help the schools build healthier and safer environments for students and measure their progress. In a study of a similar program that used hot spot mapping, the mapping was proven more effective at creating safer environments than the curriculum. The Domestic Violence center of chester county (dvccc) is training and supporting coaches to use coaching boys into men (cbim) throughout chester county. Cbim is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program implemented with high school and community athletic teams. It features a series of structured, 10-15 minute conversations led by the coach, to speak with their athletes about different topics related to healthy relationships like personal responsibility, consent, digital disrespect and relationship abuse. Pre and post-tests administered to the 86 athletes who have taken this program show a 16% increase in the ability to recognize abuse and a 4.4% increase in willingness to intervene.