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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
State Receives $500K in Grant Funding for VINE Protective Order Victim Notification Service
FRANKFORT, Ky.– Gov. Steve Beshear today announced the receipt of $500,000 in federal grant funding to support the VINE Protective Order service for victim notification. The funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The award is a matching grant and will result in $1 million in total funding for the system that provides automated notification to registered victims throughout the Commonwealth when an Emergency Protection Order or a Domestic Violence Order has been served on the perpetrator. This period of time, immediately after a protective order has been served, is an extremely dangerous time in domestic violence situations and advance warning enables victims to implement their individual safety plans.
“Knowing their protective order has been served, and being able to keep up with the continuing status of that order, provides a peace of mind for victims that they deserve,” Gov. Beshear said.
“The Mary Byron Project exists to develop and celebrate innovative solutions to domestic violence and, today, we celebrate Governor Beshear’s and Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown’s efforts to secure funds to continue this important program that the Mary Byron Project pioneered here in Kentucky,” said Marcia L. Roth, executive director of the Mary Byron Project. “VINE Protective Order is a key part of an essential safety net, providing victims with information during the dangerous, and potentially lethal, time when they become public with the private abuse they have been enduring at home.”
Kentucky’s VINE Protective Order (VPO) is one of three victim notification services currently operated by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. The Department has managed the VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) system for nearly 15 years, and VINE Courts since 2007. Governor Beshear brought all of these services under a single umbrella of protection known as “Public Safety First” in Fall 2008. The new initiative included the addition of VINE Protective Order and the expansion of existing services. The project was completed in the first quarter of 2009.
Victims have access to all of the automated notification services: VINE Protective Order, VINE, and VINE Courts, all through a single number: 1-800-511-1670. Since the department added VINE Protective Order, calls have increased by more than 200 percent, and notifications by 110 percent.
VINE Protective Order interfaces with Kentucky’s domestic violence protective order database, LINK (Law Information Network of Kentucky). It is updated at 15-minute intervals to provide anonymous telephone calls for victims 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This service is available in English and Spanish and has 24-hour VINE operator assistance.
The Department of Corrections contracts with Louisville-based Apprissâ Inc., developer of the VINE system, to deliver all of its victim-notification services.
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