Grantee Profile: Bienvenidos' Supervised Visitation ProgramJuly 27, 2009 |
Printer-friendly version |
 Tough economic times have motivated many non-profits to get creative about filling mounting budget gaps. The Supervised Visitation Program (SVP) at L.A.-based Bienvenidos is one such example. Developed under the direction of First 5 LA's Social Enterprise Academy, the SVP is a social enterprise venture that is expected to earn the agency more than $200,000 by the end of the year while furthering the agency's social mission. "Last year the funding for one of our programs was cut with almost no notice, so we had to end it even though it was successful," said Diana Buehler, chief operating officer at Bienvenidos. "With revenue from the SVP, we can sustain programs whose grants have ended until we find a new funding stream." The SVP is an extension of an existing program that Bienvenidos has run for more than 10 years. When a parent has been sent to family court, often times they are mandated to have supervised visits with their child in a neutral setting. Bienvenidos has had a long-term contract with L.A. County Superior Court to offer supervised visits to families who cannot afford it. But when a family can afford it, they must pay for visits. For Bienvenidos, that was an opportunity. Buehler and her colleagues developed the SVP to meet the need for supervised visits that are paid for by the family. They added supervisor staff to accommodate the paying clients, designed a fee schedule that is affordable and used existing Bienvenidos locations all over L.A. County to minimize fixed costs. Now in its third month, SVP is working with more than 60 families, and new service sites are planned for Montclair and Lancaster. Bievenidos also hopes to expand visitation times at existing sites. Marketing efforts for the program are also underway. Elizabeth Mariscal, SVP program coordinator, and three other supervisors are setting up brown-bag lunches with judges in 13 courthouses that Bienvenidos works with. They are also going directly to other employees of the court to encourage them to refer parents to Bienvenidos. "We are very proud of our supervised visitation program and feel privileged to be able to witness the interaction between the child with their non-custodial parent in a safe, neutral, and friendly environment," said Mariscal. "We treat all parties with the utmost respect and make the safety of all participants in our program our priority." To learn more about the Supervised Visitation Program, contact Diana Buehler at (213) 785-5918, or click here to download the brochure. To learn more about First 5 LA's Social Enterprise Academy, contact Deliah De La Garza-Adkins at (213) 482-7557. Applications for the 2009-2010 Social Enterprise Academy are now being accepted. For more information or to apply, click here. |
|
