歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Court officials and project partners recently gathered at the Beltrami County Courthouse to signify a partnership between the county and North Homes Children and Family Services to enter the next stage in developing a supervised visitation and safe exchange center.

After receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 Office on Violence Against Women, officials within the domestic violence court system have been hard at work for the past couple of years searching for a local partner organization to help develop a center where families can easily navigate supervised visitations and custody exchanges.

Through the new center, visitation services will provide a controlled environment that allows a child to spend time with their non-custodial parent while the interaction is monitored by trained employees, ensuring the safety of the child.

District Court Judge Annie Claesson-Huseby noted that the center is a much-needed resource for families in the community.

鈥淭he need for a supervised visitation center and safe exchange center has long been recognized with regards to families whose children have been removed from the home due to abuse or neglect allegations,鈥� she noted. 鈥淏ut over time (it has) also emerged as an important service for families with a history of domestic violence or families who are engaged in a contested custody dispute.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

The county has partnered with North Homes Children and Family Services, a regional organization that will manage the day-to-day operations of the supervised visitation and safe exchange center out of its Bemidji location.

North Homes has offices in Bemidji, Duluth and Grand Rapids. The organization currently offers outpatient mental health programs, residential treatment for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, school-based mental health programs and more.

For CEO Jim Christmas, being able to offer a space for supervised visitations and safe exchanges aligns closely with the values of North Homes.

鈥淜eeping kids safe, treating them in the context of community and family is really paramount to our service continuum,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good fit, it鈥檚 a service we鈥檙e excited to offer. 鈥� We鈥檙e all about providing services in the context of community and the context of family and trying to keep kids as close to home as possible and as safe as possible within their homes and families.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Domestic Violence Court Coordinator Deb Baer has been heavily involved in the project, expressing that the partnership will offer peace of mind for families who have been tasked with locating third-party organizations or other people to monitor their visitations and exchanges.

鈥淲e came up with the solution that something like this would be a benefit to our community where it was just really lacking that service,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a week that goes by, really, that we鈥檙e not sitting in court hearing 鈥業鈥檇 like to see my children and I don鈥檛 know how鈥� 鈥� and 鈥榃e need to use a third party, but the court doesn鈥檛 really know who that is or how to monitor that.鈥欌��

When the center is ready to start offering these new services, Baer said that North Homes will be equipped to facilitate visitations and exchanges in a 鈥渉ealthy manner鈥� that heavily focuses on the well-being of the children and victims.

鈥淒omestic violence cases are some of the most complex and dangerous cases that the court hears and when you have children that are involved in that case, it adds to the trauma and the complexity,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or that reason, we need to think about the children in these cases鈥� We need to make sure that the children are part of that plan.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

With the partnership between the county and North Homes officially set, the next phase is the development of the center, which will include creating policies and procedures and hiring staff for the center.

In her comments to the group of project partners and court officials who have worked to get the project up and running, Claesson-Huseby brought attention to the traditional greeting of the Masai tribe in Africa. Instead of asking 鈥淗ow are you?鈥� or 鈥淗ow is your day?鈥� members of the tribe ask each other, 鈥淎nd how are the children?鈥�

鈥淭hey do that because the tribe believes that the monitoring and the well-being of their children is the best way to determine the future health and the prosperity of their society as a whole,鈥� she explained. 鈥淗ere in Beltrami County, the establishment of a supervised visitation and safe exchange center helps us to create a future when we鈥檙e asked 鈥楬ow are the children doing?鈥� we can respond by saying, 鈥楾he children are safe, the children are well.鈥欌��