Grand Forks was 1 of 8 communities chosen by the U.S. Department of Justice to implement a groundbreaking initiative to reduce and end childhood exposure to violence. Spearheaded by CVIC, the Safer Tomorrows Project achieved excellent outcomes between 2011 and 2016, involving all Grand Forks County public schools, the City of Grand Forks, Lutheran Social Services of ND, and 40 other organizations. CVIC expanded on this project in 2017 with the Safer Tomorrows Road Map.

This national organization recognized CVIC and the Coordinated Community Response Project for advancing a promising practice in domestic violence. CVIC’s data monitoring system tracks all domestic and sexual violence cases through the criminal justice system to improve our community’s response to violence, annually collecting more than 1,000 law enforcement reports and related data and following cases through the court system. We then identify strengths and weaknesses in our response in order to provide training and engage dialogue about policies and procedures to address changes and enhancements.

The Mary Byron Project named the CVIC-led Safer Tomorrows Project as one of three 2016 national winners of its prestigious award for local innovations demonstrating promise in breaking the cycle of intimate partner violence.

In 2013, CVIC was awarded the inaugural Prize for Innovation for spearheading cutting-edge efforts include the Safer Tomorrows Project.

CVIC received national recognition for its groundbreaking work articulating in monetary terms the public benefit of its intervention and prevention work to encourage investment in safety and prevention services.

• CVIC leadership has served on the board of directors of the coalition, providing expertise on board governance, mission-based fundraising, and programming to end violence.
• Staff have been featured presenters and national conferences sponsored by the coalition, most recently in 2019 where we presented our Safer Tomorrows Road Map at NCADV’s annual conference.

CVIC staff has trained law enforcement, dispatch, victim advocacy and campus personnel in 25+ states for organizations including the National Sheriff’s Association, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, National Center for Campus & Public Safety, and Office for Victims of Crime Training & Technical Assistance Center.

• Supervised Visitation Network: CVIC’s director of supervised visitation served on a national review committee developing national standards for supervised visitation centers
• Lethality Assessment Training: CVIC’s director of community collaboration served on a national advisory council for an evidence-based project that trains law enforcement offices to assess for domestic violence lethality risk at the scene of 911 calls.

CVIC leaders lend expertise and experience as peer reviewers of federal grant applications