The District of Columbia Children'S

“The tax return is prepared by an outside accountant and reviewed by the organization's senior management and board finance committee. The final form 990 is distributed to the board of directors for review prior to filing the return.”

“Prospective board members are asked to share information about any business and personal dealings that may present a conflict with their role as a safe shores board member. Further, they are informed during the board recruitment phase that they will have to sign a conflict of interest form upon election to the board. Each year safe shores' board chair and executive director hold individual meetings with every board member. On the agenda at each of those meetings is a review of the board member's current professional and community commitments to determine whether there are any conflicts of interest. If a potential conflict is identified, that information is shared with the board's executive committee. If the executive committee has reasonable cause to believe that that member has failed to disclose this conflict of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and afford the member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose. If, after hearing the member's response and after making further investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the governing board or committee determines the member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action, which may include requiring the member to resign from safe shores' board of directors.”

“The executive committee serves as the compensation committee unless there are board members with specific professional knowledge of human resources and compensation. In that case, the board chair appoints an ad hoc committee. The committee reviews data about "comparable" salary and benefits. In the past these data came from multiple sources, including surveys provided by independent consultants, as well as businesses that work with multiple nonprofits in our region. At an official meeting of the board of directors, the compensation committee presents its recommendation, including the comparables on which the recommendation is based, to the rest of the board for consideration, discussion and a vote.”

“Senior management determines the compensation of all other staff.”

“Governing documents disclosure explanation the organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Safe shores provides survivor-centered intervention, hope and healing for children and families affected by abuse, trauma and violence in the district of columbia, and works to prevent and end child abuse and neglect through promising practices, policies and partnerships.”

“Client advocacy services program: safe shores' client advocacy services program is a child victim's first point of contact with safe shores. It works with children and their non-offending caregivers throughout the continuum of services. This means helping them access critical information, short- and long-term resources, and tailored, individualized support as these young crime victims and their caregivers move toward healing, reclaiming their sense of agency and self-efficacy, and restoring their sense of trust and hope. The client advocacy services program provides crisis support, ongoing advocacy, follow-up, referrals to community services, and information on crime victims' rights and programs to assist crime victims. Through this program, safe shores also provides child victims and their families with new transitional clothing, meals, and emergency financial assistance.”

“Teen advocacy initiative adolescents between the ages of 13 to 17 who have been sexually assaulted in the district of columbia have the right to an advocate pursuant to dc's sexual assault and victims' rights amendment act of 2019. Safe shores teen advocates are on call around the clock to be dispatched to help teen survivors in the midst of crisis understand their options and support them in their choices. Teen advocates travel to where the survivors is--at a hospital or elsewhere in the community, as soon as the crime is reported. Examples of the support a teen advocate might provide include referrals to medical care, mental health care, or legal aid. Prevention and outreach program - safe shores' prevention and outreach program is rooted in the belief that adults are the first line of defense in protecting children from abuse. Deploying evidence-informed training curricula and also by participating in community events to provide basic information to the public, safe shores provides adults who work with and/or care for children in various settings with information about the impact of child abuse and child trauma and equips them with skills to recognize, respond to, and prevent abuse. Mdt advancement and support program -safe shores serves as the hub of the wheel of dc's legally mandated, multi-disciplinary team (mdt) response to children impacted by abuse in the district of columbia. Safe shores' coordination of the mdt's joint work with child victims and cultivation of collaborative working relationships among the various mdt agencies improves the public system's response to child abuse victims and their families in the district of columbia. By helping public agencies with different mandates and professional cultures work together more effectively and providing them with up-to-date information about changes in the field of child protection and updated knowledge about child health and development, safe shores strengthens these professionals' skills and knowledge, thereby fostering enhanced and cost-saving system efficiency while keeping the needs of child victims at the center of this work. Maintaining a healthy mdt partnership for nearly three decades requires constant and focused attention, particularly since personnel and leadership at public agencies change regularly. There is a need for ongoing orientation, training, and relationship-building to achieve optimal outcomes for victimized children. Our mdt advancement and support program is dedicated to meeting this need.”