Agency Requirements

(1) Administration (a) The program administration must assure, to the extent feasible, that any funds allocated for family violence shelter or shelter services will be used to provide services in addition to those already provided by the Department of Finance and Administration. FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTER STANDARDS CHAPTER 0620-3-6 (b) The program administration must be incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation, and be tax- exempt under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. (c) The program administration shall comply with T.C.A. §§37-1-403, 37-1-605 and 71-6-103 by reporting cases of suspected abuse of children to the Department of Children’s Services and suspected cases of abuse of adults to the Department of Human Services. (d) The program administration must submit an annual report of each service funded to include as a minimum the following: statistics on the number and type of persons requesting services; the number of persons served; the type of service rendered and a general description of the social and economic characteristics of the person served; the number and type of referrals, including medical, legal and education services, made to other community resources; and any other information as may be required by the Department. No information contained in the report shall identify any person served or enable any person to determine the identity of such a person. (e) The program administration shall be in compliance with the Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Pro-Children’s Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-227, Part C. Environmental Tobacco Smoke). (2) Governing Boards (a) All agencies must have a governing board which meets regularly with staff. (b) All shelter programs which are incorporated in umbrella agencies must have a separate advisory body in addition to the governing board. (c) A designated member of the advisory body must serve on the governing boards. (d) Membership on the governing board or the advisory body, in the case of a shelter program incorporated into an umbrella agency, must consist of individuals who reside in the community served by the shelter program, who have an understanding of the problem of family violence, who have an interest in the prevention of family violence and who have an interest in the development and provision of services to victims of family violence. (e) Membership of the governing or advisory body should be broad based, must reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the community served and should include representative victims of family violence. (f) Women should hold a significant proportion of key decision-making positions on the governing board or advisory body. (g) Board members must not be related by blood or marriage to other board members or staff, and must use good judgement to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. (3) Personnel Requirements (a) The governing body must adopt and have implemented written program personnel policies which are reviewed annually. These policies, which pertain to paid personnel only, must address: 1. non-discrimination in regard to sex, race, religion, sexual preference, national origin, disability, age or marital status; FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTER STANDARDS CHAPTER 0620-3-6 2. recruitment, selection, promotion, and termination; 3. benefits; 4. vacation, sick leave and annual leave accrual, compensatory time; 5. rules of conduct; 6. disciplinary actions; 7. grievances; 8. supervision; and 9. written work performance evaluation. (b) Written job descriptions for all program positions must be available. These written descriptions shall include but not be limited to: 1. job title; 2. tasks and responsibilities of the job; 3. required skills, knowledge and experience; 4. salary range; and 5. lines of authority. (4) Staff Requirements (a) All staff employed with a shelter should possess an understanding of the issues of family violence. (b) Qualifications 1. program director: minimum requirements include a high school diploma or GED certification and additional life, work or educational experiences which apply to the duties and responsibilities outlined in the job description. 2. support staff: minimum requirements include life, work or educational experiences which apply to the duties and responsibilities outlined in the job description. Such support staff positions could include coordinators, direct service case workers, house managers secretarial, maintenance, bookkeepers, and other such professional service workers. (c) Wage and Hour Requirements. The shelter program positions must be compensated in compliance with applicable federal and state laws which include the Fair Labor Standards Act. (d) Orientation. The shelter program must provide for a staff orientation, to include: 1. insuring overall familiarization with the agency and program purpose, objectives, structure and policy; and 2. specific exposure to and training in the duties of the position. FAMILY VIOLENCE SHELTER STANDARDS CHAPTER 0620-3-6 (e) Staff Development. The shelter program must provide a written plan for staff development and training, to include: 1. initial training for new staff; 2. on-going training for personnel; 3. policy for leaves for conferences, classes or institutes; and 4. regular staff meetings for discussion of program, problems, policies and method of practice. (f) Volunteers. A shelter program must have written policy and a plan on the use of all volunteers (direct service, maintenance, and transportation) to include: 1. an application filed and individual screening; 2. a full description of duties and rights, including confidentiality policy and practices; 3. provision for supervision; 4. provision of role appropriate orientation, initial training and on-going training; 5. guidelines and policy for termination; and 6. policies and procedures for contracting of volunteer services. This policy shall assure non-discrimination in regard to sex, race, religion, sexual preference, national origin, disability, age or marital status in the recruitment, and selection of volunteers and in placement of assignment. Where possible, volunteers should be selected to reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the community served by the shelter program.