Child and spouse abuse threatens the fabric of our entire
society. Concern for the welfare of Navy families and the effects of family
violence on military performance prompted the establishment of the Family
Advocacy Program (FAP) in 1976. Today the FAP is designed to address
the prevention, identification, reporting, intervention, treatment, and
follow-up of child and spouse maltreatment.
Fleet &
Family Support Center (FFSC) has a mandate from NavPers to provide parenting
classes and preventative education in support of the Family Advocacy Program.
The Navy Family Advocacy Center (FAC) is mandated to provide assessment,
intervention, and new parent support team education. The FAC was
designated as a model program site to receive reports of child and spouse abuse
involving military families in the San Diego area.
The Navy's
comprehensive community response to family violence is designed to prevent or to
stop the violence and to minimize its impact on the family and the
Navy.
FAMILY ADVOCACY PROGRAM COMPONENTS INCLUDE:
FLEET
AND FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES
**Education
FFSC's Family
Advocacy has the primary responsibility for Family Advocacy education
programs. FAP provides a series of classes to promote positive
parenting methods, better understanding of child development, and responsible
anger management. FFSC also offers general FAP classes to commands
and individuals to increase awareness of child and spouse abuse and provides
training to command leadership and command Family Advocacy representatives on
family advocacy policies and procedures.
FAMILY ADVOCACY CENTER
RESPONSIBILITIES
**Identification and Reporting
FAP provides training to
help professionals identify abuse. Incidents of abuse or neglect are reported to
the FAC and are coordinated with local child protective and law enforcement
authorities.
**Prevention
The Family Advocacy New Parent Support Team
provides assistance to Navy families that are expecting a child or parents of
newborns. The NPST officers have access to a variety of community
resources to assist parents of newborns. Team members are able to
provide home visits or meet with a parent at Naval Medical Center San Diego
following their clinic appointments.
The Family Advocacy Victim Services
Specialists (VSS) are advocates who contact victims when spouse abuse has been
identified. The VSS can assist victims in providing for their safety
and support. They help victims obtain shelter, temporary restraining orders,
transitional compensation and support and safety planning. The VSS
will also meet with victims at any convenient location.
**Intervention
and Treatment
The case review committee is a team of family advocacy
professionals, managed-care providers, and command representatives that
recommend an appropriate response to identify cases of abuse. The
Navy's intervention may include crisis intervention, emergency shelter,
specialized assessments, rehabilitation, or treatment designed to prevent
further abuse.
The FAC maintains close coordination with civilian social
service providers to ensure Navy families receive quality services that are
sensitive to their needs.
**General life skills education
Each month
FFSC presents a series of important workshops designed to enhance your quality
of life and meet your changing lifestyle needs. Life skills' topics
are primarily preventive and proactive in nature, and aim to prevent or
alleviate difficulties before they seriously affect the individual, family, or
command.
Classes provide knowledge, skills and support to guide you
toward a healthy lifestyle by enhancing self-esteem, strengthening interpersonal
competencies, and increasing awareness about anger and stress management.