Initial Report and Recommendations - Alaska Department of Law

It is also clear that there is a substantial need for greater cooperation, education,and coordination among domestic violence and sexual assault service providers that serverural Alaska communities throughout the state. There are 21 domestic violence andsexual assault programs listed with the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault(CDVSA) Community Outreach, but they lack sufficient resources to reach large sectionsof rural Alaska. As a result, many rural Alaska communities lack safe houses or othersafe shelters for those who are victims of domestic violence and/or child abuse. 66Furthermore, in many communities, no single local entity has been identified either toserve as a coordinating point of contact for safety issues, or to facilitate communitydevelopment. The Commission recommends that the CDVSA support the AlaskaNetwork on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to identify specific needs withinindividual rural communities for improvement of safety and to coordinate efforts byexisting domestic violence and child abuse organizations, including Child AdvocacyCenters, to provide technical assistance and consultation to help every rural communitydevelop a safety plan. The Commission also recommends increased domestic violenceprogram funding for rural Alaska. 67“Some of the things that I think are important to address—within yourCommission—is training our own people to help our own people. Giving them theresources that they need, which is something that is being done here also. But givingthem those resources in a manner that is when they’re working with a family, they cansay the things that they need to say. And having our people in our own communitieshaving the voice and the strength to say that something is going on within a home that’snot right. If a child is being hurt, if a wife is being battered, if an Elder is not being takencare of. Because, as we know, silence is acceptance. So I think part of our owncommunity responsibility is teaching the people how to say this is not okay and to standup. And then to start creating those support networks around the people who arespeaking.”Paulette Moreno, SitkaThe Commission recommends that Congress provide funding to form and helpstaff a tribal justice association as a conduit for communications, including a tribaljudicial web site. Through the new tribal justice association, additional funds should beacquired to produce educational materials and handbooks, forms, computer software, andcodes that are respectful and supportive of Alaska Native traditions, customs, practices,and values, and that could be adapted for use by individual tribes. Efforts involving theUniversity of Alaska, tribal organizations, and other appropriate judicial training entitiesshould support the provision of consistent, quality training and technical assistance fortribal judicial systems. This should include cross training between tribal judicial systemsand all law enforcement entities (i.e., municipal, state, tribal, and federal), the AlaskaCourt System, 68 Alaska Department of Law, Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board,Probation and Parole, and the Office of Children’s Services. 69Collaboration should also take place between the state and the federal governmentto enhance drug and alcohol enforcement. Lack of adequate Postal Service Investigator66676869For a map showing the locations of all domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault programs inAlaska, see Appendix A.Recommendation 6.For a map showing the location of all the State Courts and magistrates, see Appendix A.Recommendation 7.Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission - Page 44