Gaawiin Geyaabi SAVES Demonstration Grant
What Is Gaawiin Geyaabi?
The purpose of the Gaawiin Geyaabi (‘no more’) project is to work toward a state of “no more” by promoting community-wide healing among the people of Odaawaa-Zaaga 'iganiing, the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
In Sawyer County, which surrounds LCO lands, Native Americans account for approximately 19% of the population but 42% of the victims of domestic violence and 45% of the suspects. To address this, the LCO Child Support Program plans to increase the safety of domestic violence victims and survivors currently receiving child support services and increase access to child support services for victims and survivors who need child support but are not currently receiving services.
The LCO Child Support Program plans will draw thoughtfully but with appropriate urgency on the collective insight and practical experience of organizations, community leaders, experts with lived experience and culturally relevant subject matter expertise to implement comprehensive, innovative, and effective cross-system domestic violence policies, procedures, and program services. They will build on existing partnership commitments and conduct additional recruiting to assemble and maintain a robust advisory council that includes subject matter experts and people with lived experience of domestic violence and of the historical trauma that they and other Native Americans have endured.
Drawing on the council’s advice, the LCO Child Support Program will implement a new good cause policy for both child support and its partner public assistance programs. They will also design both in-person and virtual, on-demand trainings—centered as much as possible around Ojibwe values and practices—for staff in child support, the judicial system, and related services and systems. In addition to heightening awareness of domestic violence itself, the trainings will inform child support staff and staff of select partner organizations about the newly formed cross-system case triage coordination and the enhancement of child support and parenting time legal practice.
The LCO Child Support Program will ensure the effectiveness of the program by appointing a coordinator to lead the implementation of an evidence-informed screening and response tools. The screening will include assessing the victim or survivor’s desire for the program to reach out to the person who harmed them and to refer that person to family group conferences that are intended to provide restorative justice and community healing by giving offenders the chance to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.
The LCO Child Support Program will also lead a multi-modal outreach campaign to the community and specifically to survivors and victims to improve program awareness and knowledge of the underlying issues.
Partners
Lac Courte Oreilles Emergency Women’s Shelter
Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Court
Sawyer County Services
Red Cliff Child Support Services Agency
Woodland Collaboration Group
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University
Lac Courte Oreilles Men’s Shelter
American Indians Against Abuse, Wisconsin
Joan Pennell, Professor Emerita of Social Work at North Carolina State University
Wisconsin State Department of Children and Families
The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)
Gaawiin Geyaabi is sponsored by the The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
OCSE awarded $11.2 million to one tribal and 13 state child support agencies to implement comprehensive domestic violence expert-informed services to victims/survivors who need child support. Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security (SAVES) is a new national demonstration model designed to develop, evaluate, and implement model practices for safe access to child support and parenting time services. States and tribes receiving SAVES Demonstration funding will implement comprehensive domestic violence safety policies, procedures, and outreach activities. This will enhance safety for victims/survivors of domestic violence in the child support program and increase access to child support and parenting time services for parents not currently receiving child support due to safety concerns.
“The SAVES Demonstration grants will provide a lifeline for domestic violence victims who have previously been unable to receive critical monetary support for their families due to safety concerns,” said ACF Assistant Secretary January Contreras. “It is important that all parents, especially domestic violence victims, have the support they need to provide for their children’s safety, health, economic security, and overall well-being. These demonstration grants will allow them to do just that by providing a mechanism for them to safely receive greatly needed child support to which they are entitled.”
“The SAVES Demonstration grants will help ensure that survivors can safely access child support services and receive the financial support they need to establish safe, violence-free homes for themselves and their children,” said Tanguler Grey, Commissioner of OCSE. “Ninety percent of domestic violence survivors want child support if they can get it safely. The SAVES Demonstration grants are one more step that OCSE is taking to make the desire for safe access to child support a reality.”
Related articles:
About our Gaawiin Geyaabi’s logo:
We are thrilled to recognize a local Lac Courte Oreilles tribal member Myles Standingcloud for designing the logo for our Gaawiin Geyaabi grant.
The design perfectly captures the essence of our project and the mission to raise awareness, prevent domestic violence, and promote community healing in our community.
The logo features the color purple, which is recognized worldwide as a symbol for domestic violence prevention. It is a strong reminder that we need to work together to prevent this destructive behavior and create a safe and supportive community for everyone.
The central hand conveys the fundamental idea of Gaawiin Geyaabi, which means "no more" in Ojibwemowin. The design also includes a dreamcatcher—a traditional Ojibwe symbol that represents community healing and allows people to dream of a brighter future without violence. It is a beautiful and powerful symbol that embodies the spirit of the Gaawiin Geyaabi grant and the hope for a violence-free community.
The Gaawiin Geyaabi grant, through the Lac Courte Oreilles Child Support Program, is a critical initiative working to provide safe access to resources and support to survivors of domestic violence and working to prevent violence in the future. We believe that by working together, we can create a safe, healthy, and supportive community for all.
We want to thank Myles for designing the Gaawiin Geyaabi grant logo. We are proud to work with such talented and dedicated member of our community. Let us all unite and say Gaawiin Geyaabi – no more domestic violence in our community.
