Explanation
This ordinance will authorize the Director of the Office of Violence Prevention to enter into a one-year contract with Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for the amount of $345,130.00 to provide domestic violence support services related to the Advocacy Crisis Team (ACT-DV) program in partnership with the Columbus Division of Police. The Advocacy Crisis Team (ACT-DV) officially launched as a co-response pilot partnership between The Center for Family Safety and Healing (TCFSH) and Columbus Division of Police (CPD) in May of 2023. ACT-DV advocates respond on domestic violence runs with CPD officers. Officers secure the scene and focus on interviewing, reporting writing and evidence collection while advocates listen to survivors and provide triage safety supports.
By February 2024, the ACT-DV program expanded to two of the six CPD zones. It is the goal of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Columbus Division of Police to expand the ACT-DV co-response as the standard protocol for all domestic violence / intimate partner violence cases involving firearms and/or strangulation.
Bid Waiver Justification: A bid waiver is being requested in order to keep the consistency with the Advocacy Crisis Team (ACT-DV) program. Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital created the Advocacy Crisis Team (ACT-DV) alongside the Columbus Division of Police. It is important to keep the continuity of these relationships and trust between the Columbus Division of Police, Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the program participants. A new vendor would have to come in and start from the very beginning to obtain this knowledge, understanding, and trust.
EMERGENCY DESIGNATION: Emergency action is being requested so that the contract can be entered into as soon as possible to prevent a lapse in domestic violence support servi...
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