Legal Advocacy for Domestic Violence Victims:

          This segment of the Cowan Coalition program is provided through a grant from the Kentucky Justice Cabinet, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and funds two legal advocates who work with domestic violence victims who must encounter a very intimidating court system as they seek safety and legal protections for themselves and their dependant children.  These advocates work in the Family Court systems in Anderson, Boyle, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Powell, Scott and Woodford counties, all part of the Bluegrass Area Development District.  Safe Alternatives outreach office is used in the Richmond area.

Legal Services for Domestic Violence Victims:

          This grant provides for an attorney to assist domestic violence victims in court throughout the Bluegrass Area Development District.  This grant is funded by the Department of Justice cabinet, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  The attorney offers advice and counsel in matters pertaining to domestic violence petitions and hearings along with other legal matters perpetuated by domestic violence.

Licensed Early Learning Center:

          The Early Learning Center provides quality care for pre-schoolers ages 2 to 5 years of age without reguard to race, religion, sex, or national origin.  The staff at the Center are trained professionals who have experience working with children.  The Center will limit enrollment to 31 children, which will allow us to provide a more effective structured program for learning.

Supportive Housing Projects:

The Center has two supportive housing projects, one in Fayette County and one serving Boyle and Madison Counties:

• Fayette County:  This local program is made possible through a grant in collaboration with Volunteers of America (VOA) to help disabled women and their families find and maintain permanent housing (focusing primarily on disabled women who are also victims of domestic violence).  The Cowan Coalition's primary role in this grant is the employment of a case manager for the project who provides direct services including counseling, support groups, referrals, transportation to services, community advocacy, ect., as well as providing clothing and household goods for participants through our second-hand outlet, Second Glance.




• Madison and Boyle Counties:  This supportive housing project, run from the Safe Connections outreach office, is made possible through a grant in conjunction with two partner agencies:  The Bluegrass Mental Health and Retardation Board and Kentucky River Foothills.  The Cowan Coalition's role in this grant is to provide a sase manager who works with landlords in these rural communities to arrange permanent housing for domestic violence victims and their dependent children.  He also provides direct services including counseling, support groups, referrals, transportation to services, community advocacy, etc., for the residents of the project, as well as other domestic violence victims in the surrounding counties.  Project participants can also receive clothing and household items through Second Glance, although this grant does not provide funds for this purpose.

Second Glance:

          This is the Cowan Coalition's retail outlet for lightly used clothing and household items.  The shop is open to the public and provides vouchers to program participants to receive the items they need.  Referring Organizations must provide a referral letter to accompany clients for shopping.  Second Glance will provide vouchers for domestic violence victims who are referred from other agencies along with victims devastated by fire to shop for clothing and household items for themselves and their children.  Second Glance is supported by donations, retail sales, and a portion of the VOA housing grant.

Youth Services Department:

          This program provides a youth services coordinator and several part-time youth workers (paid and student volunteers) who operate after-school and summer camp programs at the Cowan Center.  They provide student pick-up from area schools and transportation to the Cowan Center where they participate in recreation, tutoring, and homework sessions until they are picked up by their parents for the evening.  The summer camp program, Camp Discover, begins as soon as school is dismissed for summer vacation.  Students participate in a five day per week program which provides opportunities for educational enrichment, entertainment and recreation, field trips, and community interaction with various businesses and diverse populations.  This program is partially funded with program fees.

Supervised Visitation/Exchange Program:

          The primary purpose of the supervised visitation program is to provide visitation and exchange services for children and families who require an extraordinarily safe environment.  The goals also include allowing children to have supervised visitation with a parent who requires some form of monitoring, supervising exchanges of children between custodial parents and non-custodial parents, and supervising a child's phone contact with a parent.  Children are able to continue contact with both parents in a safe environment.

          The Cowan Coalition is currently under contract with Foothills Community Action Partnership to provide supervised visitation services in the Bluegrass Fayette region for the Community Collaboration for Children program.  This program is a one year contract with Foothills.  Cowan Coalition agrees to abide by all contractual agreements and goals of Foothills.

Other Programs Offered:

Family Self Sufficiency

Early Intervention Program (Bluegrass Prevention Center)

Zero Tolerance Program (Bluegrass Prevention Center)