Nashville’s Journey/Leading Change
Nashville’s Journey: How to transform the way your city responds to victims of interpersonal violence
Workshop Description: Nashville, TN was once one of the cutting-edge cities in America for its work addressing domestic violence. However, with unanticipated changes, specialized units and victim services began to fall apart. After a two-year Praxis Safety & Accountability Audit, the city of Nashville recommitted to prioritizing victims of interpersonal violence through multiple changes in the criminal justice system and the commitment to develop two Family Justice Centers – one within the courthouse and one within the community. Multi-disciplinary teams were created to tackle the findings of the assessment and training and outreach efforts increased substantially. All of these changes came from the city taking responsibility for supporting victims and holding offenders accountable through the formation of the Metro Nashville Office of Family Safety. In this workshop, you will learn about Nashville’s journey and key takeaways to develop your own innovative programming and practices throughout your city.
Objectives:
- Learn how city can institutionalize victim centered work by tasking an independent entity within the government structure
- Gain hope by learning about the amount of positive change and accountability can come from conducting a Praxis safety and accountability audit
- Understand how client services, high risk teams, and training and outreach programming can enhance your cities response to interpersonal violence.
- Understand the difference between a court-based and community-based FJC and the benefits of having both.
Office of Family Safety Overview
Workshop Description: This training provides an in-depth exploration of the mission, programs, and collaborative efforts of the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Office of Family Safety. Participants will learn how the office enhances victim safety and offender accountability through crisis intervention, advocacy, training, outreach, and the coordination of multi-disciplinary teams at Family Safety Centers. This training offers valuable insights into the resources, practices, and partnerships that support victims of interpersonal violence.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the mission and services of the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Office of Family Safety and its Family Safety Centers.
- Explore how multi-disciplinary teams and community collaboration contribute to increased victim safety and offender accountability.