RCS Fresno

Free Advocacy Training

Join us!

Free advocacy training by

Nancy K.D. Lemon 

of the Family Violence Appellate Project

Parking is free. MCLE credit available. Seating is limited to 40 persons.

Please CLICK HERE for registration

FVAP Flyer

Information provided is from the given flyer above

AGENDA

Check-in/Welcome (8:30-9:30am)

Workshop A (9:30-10:45am)     

How to Help Domestic Violence Survivors Lay a Record for Appeal in Their Family Court Cases

  • This training will cover what a trial court record is, why the record is important to a DV survivor’s ability to appeal if the family court makes the wrong decision, and how domestic violence advocates and other non-attorneys can help DV survivors prepare their cases for trial and lay a record for appeal without crossing into the territory of providing legal advice. The goal is to provide DV advocates with tools to help them support and work with their clients who are going through the family court process without a lawyer (for lay advocates).

Break (10:45-11:00am)

Workshop B (11:00am-12:30pm)

California’s Statutes Protecting Survivors of Domestic Violence & Their Children in Family Court, and the Science Behind Them 

  • While California has enacted several key statutes that are designed to protect survivors of domestic violence and their children in family court, these statutes are underutilized in trial courts and there are very few appellate decisions interpreting them. This training focuses on the content of the statutes and how they work together. It also describes the neuroscience and social science data that supports the emphasis of the statutes on preventing children’s further exposure to abuse and strengthening the child’s bond with the non-abusive parent. By grounding the statutes in this data, attorneys and advocates can better explain the importance of the statutes to bench officers and their clients and more effectively represent and support their abused clients who are parents (for lay advocates & attorneys).

Lunch (12:30-1:30pm)

Workshop C (1:30-2:45pm)

“How to Lay a Record for Appeal” 

  • This training covers the “Top 10” things that trial attorneys can do to make sure a domestic violence or family law case is positioned for a possible appeal.  The goals of this training are not only to increase the number of cases available for possible appeal, but to enhance the trial court representation available to survivors of domestic violence. While the training is specific to DV and family law cases, attorneys practicing in other areas are welcome, and the training has broader application insofar as much of it covers civil procedure issues (for attorneys).

The following agencies pledge their support for increased advocacy on behalf of sexual violence survivors in the Central Valley:

Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault of Kern County; Calaveras Crisis Center; Center for Non-Violence Community of Tuolomne County; Central California Legal Services; Community Action Partnership of Madera County; Family Services of Tulare County; Family Violence Appellate Project; Haven Women’s Center of Stanislaus County; Kene Me-Wu American Indian Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program; Kings Community Action Organization; Marjaree Mason Center; Mountain Crisis Center of Mariposa County; Operation Care of Amador County; Project First Step; RCS Fresno; The Resource Connection; Valley Crisis Center of Merced County; Wild Iris Family Counseling and Crisis Center of Inyo and Mono Counties; Women’s Center – High Desert; Women’s Center – Youth & Family Services

Community Outreach at Caruthers Elementary School; Head Start Program

RCS Fresno will be at presenting at Caruthers Elementary School; a Head Start Program. The topics that will be covered: What is Sexual Assault, the types of SA, good and bad touch for children, Trauma, and RCS Services.

For more information please contact RCS Fresno office at 559-497-2900

Community Outreach at Ivy Community Center; Head Start Program

RCS Fresno will be at presenting at Ivy Community Center; a Head Start Program. The topics that will be covered: What is Sexual Assault, the types of SA, good and bad touch for children, Trauma, and RCS Services.

For more information please contact RCS Fresno office at 559-497-2900

Working with Central Valley Colleges

Posted on by Priscilla Meza

by Monte Jewell, RCS Fresno

Studies show 18 to 20 percent of women students are sexually assaulted. Twenty-four hour access to off-campus confidential help is one of the key recommendations made to campus administrators in the First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to help students traumatized by sexual violence.

On October 17th, 2014, new Department of Education rules brought sweeping changes to campus policies on sexual violence. California’s new affirmative consent standard also transformed investigation and response to sexual assault allegations on college campuses.

RCS’s 24-hour crisis line was started in 1973 by Fresno State students and has provided free and confidential, off-campus help to Fresno State students concerned about sexual violence for more than 40 years.

With Jessica Adams of the Fresno State Women’s Resource Center, the Fresno State Title IX office and others RCS advocates are working hard to protect college students’ access to 24-hour free and confidential help. RCS services are fully confidential under California Evidence Code 1035.2.

RCS Fresno Welcomes New Board Members

Posted on by Priscilla Meza

Congratulations and welcome to RCS Fresno’s Board of Directors! Thank you for helping to end rape and sexual violence and empower survivors, while supporting safe, consensual relationships in Fresno County. (You can read about our history and the rest of our board members on the About Us part of our website.)

Please join us and welcome (in alphabetical order):

Sgt. Jeffrey Kertson

Deputy Chief, ICAC Task Force, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Units,

Fresno County Sheriff’s Office

Bernadette T. Muscat, Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Criminology,

California State University, Fresno

Kendra Rogers

Director of Community Investment,

Granville Homes

Jan Slagter, Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Women’s Studies,

California State University, Fresno

Lisa Sondergaard Smittcamp

Fresno County District Attorney-Elect