 The 2011 General Assembly session ended on July 1. This session was full of activity as the RICADV fought to preserve our remaining state funding for the services provided by our six member agencies while simultaneously pursuing a powerful legislative agenda aimed at protecting the lives of Rhode Island victims of domestic violence.
While the session ended with the RICADV and its member agencies facing a 10% cut in state funding, our legislative agenda received broad-based support resulting in successful passage of a bill to make cyberstalking a domestic violence crime and the House and Senate passage of legislation to make strangulation assaults a felony.
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 Public policy advocacy is a crucial component of the Coalition's work to help protect victims and survivors and to hold abusers accountable. But public policy change requires the active civic participation of constituencies. The Coalition's Policy Team works to impact Rhode Island's legislative, the criminal justice, and the economic arenas to create a society that is safe for all its members and intolerant of abuse and violence. The Coalition engages survivors of domestic violence, as well as its six member agencies and the public, to help shape the systems that govern our society. |
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Domestic Violence and Firearms |
Domestic Violence and Firearms: A Model Protocol
 Executive Summary
The purpose of this project was to develop a model policy for Rhode Island’s law enforcement agencies to use when responding to domestic violence calls involving firearms. This document is intended to provide insight to police officers, the judicial system and advocates about the shared and differing practices that law enforcement officers use in these types of cases. In addition, this report will provide recommendations for the purpose of improving the response to domestic abuse calls involving weapons.
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 SAFETY FOR CHILDREN
A report on the impact of Rhode Island's custody system on victims of domestic violence and their children.
Even when victims of domestic violence attempt to live free from violence and protect their children, they too often continue to suffer injustice and abuse throughout the custody and visitation process. As a result of having this issue surface as a priority concern for its members, SOAR (Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships), with the support of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, established the Child Custody and Visitation Advisory Committee (CCVAC) in 2007.
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2010 Legislative Summary
The 2010 General Assembly session ended on June 11. This session was full of small victories, all of which combine to set the Coalition up for a successful 2011 session.
RICADV was thrilled to learn that there were no state budget cuts passed for any domestic violence programs in the Rhode Island FY2011 state budget. In these challenging economic times, this was wonderful news for our six member agencies. RICADV also rolled out an impressive legislative agenda which received broad-based support, including the first-time introduction of the Domestic Violence Child Safety Bill and the Senate passage of the Clarification Bill.
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Policy Projects