LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Monday, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), announced a grant for more than $600,000 that will be given to nearly a dozen programs across the state that help prevent domestic violence and child abuse.
The Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence (ACCARDV), is a state organization that is based out of UAMS, and it is now sharing the most money it has given out since the grant program began three years ago.
The goal is to help with specific projects, hoping to expand resources across the state for victims and their families, and that funding supports nonprofits like Community Connections.
"We do free sports and arts programs for kids with special needs and then things to support their families," said Courtney Leach, Community Connections Executive Director.
"We've learned a lot about how kids with disabilities are at increased risk. I mean, we have kids that are nonverbal, they don't have the ability to communicate. We have kids with lower IQs or pretty severe intellectual impairment where they might not even be aware if they're being taken advantage of so education is key," she added.
The grant will fund a full-time child abuse prevention coordinator who is dedicated to education and family support for Community Connections.
"I just feel like it is going to save lives, change lives, and really throw us into a whole new season of being able to support families raising kids with special needs," Leach explained.
Other grant funding from the commission is also going to support programs that offer free legal aid for domestic violence survivors. That legal aid is something Conway City Attorney Charles Finkenbinder said there's a huge need for.
"Taking away the pressure of having to hire an attorney to go through legal proceedings removes one of the biggest barriers to women taking steps to protect themselves," Finkenbinder said. "A victim of domestic violence can file the paperwork, but maybe not understand, where it goes from here, who's reading it, who has access to it. That's where the trained attorney, skilled in domestic violence can explain what happens next."
Through 11 organizations statewide, their funding will support the same goal of helping victims and working to prevent abuse.
"It's a night and day difference. They understand what their rights are, and they've got someone there fighting to protect those rights, they're a lot more likely to see it through because that biggest pressures there," Finkenbinder said.
According to UAMS, the following organizations and projects will be funded by these grants:
The Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma (ARBEST) program, which operates under the auspices of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, received $98,942 to support a novel collaboration between it and statewide Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs, to develop a comprehensive training and support system to help CASA volunteers combat secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The volunteers work directly with children who are in foster care and are at increased risk of abuse and neglect.
Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence received $100,000 to establish the Parent and Child Legal Aid Program in two divisions of Pulaski County Circuit Court. The program will provide free legal representation and expert testimony to help domestic violence victims and their children obtain orders of protection.
Grandma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides a safe place for child abuse victims and their families in Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, and Searcy counties, received $23,496 to partner with others in the community to provide prevention education to children, families and those who work with children.
Community Connections, a nonprofit group that offers free extracurricular activities for children and young adults with disabilities and their families, received $93,651 to add a full-time family and child abuse prevention coordinator and to expand services and events.
Carter’s Crew, a nonprofit serving youths ages 12-17 and their parents in Central Arkansas received $97,330 to add parenting classes, support groups, family nights, career readiness workshops, reading and financial literacy programs, intensive case management, and access to food and clothing pantries.
White County Domestic Violence Prevention, which helps victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, received $30,599 to expand services for at-risk children and families in the community. The services include parenting classes for people facing custody issues, domestic violence charges or otherwise needing help rebuilding their families.
Arkansas Children’s received $15,565 for an initiative to support admitted patients who are victims of physical or sexual abuse or other forms of maltreatment and provide education, support, and referrals for other families with long-term admissions. It will also educate parents about infant health, safe sleep practices, shaken baby syndrome, home safety, and hot car dangers, and hopes to expand to the hospital’s northwest Arkansas campus in its second year.
Center for Arkansas Legal Services received $50,000 to continue a program that assesses helpline callers so the group can provide more legal representation to families at risk for child abuse. The money will also provide monthly community help desks.
White River Women’s Shelter received $50,000 to continue programs in crisis counseling, personal advocacy, and case management for at-risk clients, provide classes in child abuse prevention, parenting skills, the impact of domestic violence on children and healthy family dynamics, and offer community awareness events.
Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center in El Dorado received $50,000 to help it provide a parenting and life-skills program, a re-entry program for incarcerated parents, and a home visitation program for parents.
Cooper-Anthony Mercy Children’s Advocacy Center in Hot Springs and Benton, which provides essential services to abused children, received $50,000 to continue an elementary school program in Saline, Garland, Grant, and Montgomery counties. The program uses the Monique Barr Foundation curriculum, which is designed to protect children from bullying, child abuse, and exploitation.