Federal Grants for Domestic Violence in Pinellas County
If you were arrested for felony or misdemeanor domestic violence in Pinellas County, FL, including any form of domestic battery, violation of an injunction for protection, or violation of a no contact provision, then contact an attorney at Sammis Law Firm.
This article explains why domestic violence crimes are treated differently in Pinellas County, FL, and how federal grant money is used in this county.
According to CASA Pinellas, Pinellas County is ranked 5th out of 67 counties for the highest rates of domestic violence in Florida. On October 1, 2018, a $864,210 federal grant took effect in Pinellas County, FL. The grant, aimed at combating domestic violence, was awarded by the Office of Violence Against Women under the U.S. Department of Justice, with the funds provided through the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
The grant money was used to improve the response in Pinellas County to criminal misdemeanor acts of domestic violence. Using federal funds, the court system in Pinellas partnered with the following groups:
- the Pinellas County’s Office of Justice Coordination;
- the Pinellas County Sheriff; and
- two non-profits in Pinellas County whose mission is to stop domestic abuse:
- Religious Community Services, or RCS, in Clearwater; and
- Community Action Stops Abuse, or CASA, in St. Petersburg.
The grant money also provides training for the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office, the Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender’s Office, and the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office to recognize the special needs of those from the LGTBQ community and those who may be victims of human trafficking.
The grant money required more defendants to undergo drug testing more frequently. Defendants on probation for domestic violence were required to undergo more testing for alcohol and substance abuse, increasing from five to six times a year to twice a month. The drug testing is paid for with money from the grant.
In 2019, the Pinellas Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Court entered its second year of the $864,210 three-year grant. In the second year, funding was used to provide more victim assistance, expand the Batterer Intervention Program availability in the jail, and increase drug testing and electronic monitoring of domestic violence probationers.
On October 1, 2020, the Administrative Office of the Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Clearwater, Florida, issued a press release announcing that Pinellas County received a $549,992.00 grant for the Domestic Violence Initiatives.
The grant started on October 1, 2020, the first day of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The grant focused on helping domestic violence victims involved in a divorce or dealing with family law issues by:
- Funding the services of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) if a judge believes domestic violence might be a factor in a related family case. The GAL would screen the case for Intimate Partner Violence or IPV, looking for signs of coercive control, emotional abuse, economic abuse, physical abuse, or stalking;
- Providing lawyers to help petitioners seeking a violence-related restraining order, with attorneys taking on 50 cases; and
- Funding staff at the intake centers in the Clerk of the Circuit Courts offices in St. Petersburg and Clearwater to work 40 hours a week from CASA in St. Petersburg and RCS Pinellas in Clearwater.
