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Organization: Exchange Club CASTLE Program: Valued Visits Funder: Children' s Services Advisory Committee RFP: # 5054 Be PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page) 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need ? c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. What: The unacceptable condition requiring change is contact between a parent and child that puts the child at risk. The child is at risk for abuse, at risk of witnessing domestic violence between parents , and at risk of being used in a manipulative manner by estranged parents . Following Florida law , visitation rights are often ordered between a parent and child, even if the parent poses a risk to that child, or has hurt that child in the past . It is unacceptable that these visits take place in the community, without supervision , placing the child, the ex - spouse , and the general community in jeopardy. Who : Children who are at risk of abuse, or are from homes where domestic violence is present. Where : Last year, parents were served in all parts of Indian River County . Provide Data : In Indian River County, in 2001 -2002 , there were over 100 children who came under the supervision of the Department of children and families . There were a total of 555 domestic violence crimes . There were over 1 , 100 abuse reports . These children are eligible for Valued Visits , should visiting a parent pose a risk. Valued Visits has operated at capacity since shortly after opening in October 2000 . There is no waiting list due to a strong corps of volunteers , who help the program expand its capacity as the need arises . 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population ; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program. There are no other supervised visitation centers in Indian River County . Before Valued Visits opened, supervised visit occurred in the offices of Department of Children and Family caseworkers , the homes of relatives , at fast food restaurants , or in police station lobbies . Visits in these locations were often poorly supervised, and inadequately secure . Research shows that the majority of visits scheduled under these conditions were cancelled and did not occur as scheduled, which does not allow the parent/child relationship to mend . 5