In addition to helping the victims of domestic violence, a three-year grant from the Office on Violence Against Women will help the city establish a Batterers’ Intervention Program.

Carbondale has not had such a program since 2006 and the closest programs are at least 40 miles away, which makes it hard for Jackson County judges to use the classes as a legal response.

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“It’s something we have needed in the area for a while,” Cathy McClanahan, executive director of the Women’s Center in Carbondale, said.

She described the 12- week programs as centers for accountability that explain to batterers the cycle of violence. The Illinois Department of Human Services will oversee the statewide program and additional training will be needed for those directing the program.

That training will be provided through the grant.

The Carbondale City Council will vote on an ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting that gives the Carbondale Police Department $162,000 of the $291,000 grant for the next fiscal year.

City Manager Kevin Baity said the money would be given to the Police Department, which will pay different agencies including The Women’s Center.

He said the city has received the grant, titled the Grant to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program, as it has been identified as an area in need of the funds. The proposed ordinance on the grant states the city has received the grant every year, but one year since 1997 totaling nearly $2 million in funds.

McClanahan said while the focus of this three-year grant will be perpetrator accountability; the last grant was for a six-year period and was focused on getting legal help for victims of domestic violence.

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The grant gave advocates from the Women’s Center training on where to refer someone for legal assistance through the SIU Police Department and the SIU Domestic Violence Clinic.

“It helped get people all the way through the legal system with affordable legal assistance,” she said.

Through the six-year grant, McClanahan said the county developed consistent protocol with domestic violence cases.

Now, advocates from the Women’s Center will help train Carbondale police officers and patrol officers on strategies to improve the response to domestic violence with special populations.

Two areas they will work on include response to people with disabilities who experience violence, and those with limited English proficiency.

The Women’s Center employs three Spanish-speaking advocates and has representatives from the women’s studies and international women’s group on call to translate other languages.

The Jackson County State’s Attorney Office and the Carbondale Police Department’s Records Management System will also install a paperless case management system to, “enhance the enforcement and prosecution of domestic violence cases and protection orders,” according to the proposed ordinance.

Baity said while the city has accepted the full grant, the money will also go to help the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Office and will help those outside of the city limits.

Also at the meeting 

The council will vote to purchase radio equipment from Roy Walker Communications in Makanda, Ill. for the new fire station on North Glenview Drive. The proposed ordinance states when Fire Station No. 2 is completed, it will be the primary Emergency Operations Center for the city and will thus need to move radio equipment from the existing station on Oakland Avenue and from City Hall.

“Staff has worked closely with the city’s telecommunication vendor, Roy Walker Communications of Makanda, Ill., to determine the specific communication needs of the new Fire Station and EOC. During this process every effort was made to reuse, relocate, and reinstall existing equipment and appurtenances,” the ordinance states.

City staff has proposed the city purchase additional services to move the equipment for $29,445.

The city council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Carbondale Civic Center.

Sarah Schneider can be reached at [email protected] 

or 536-3311 ext. 254.