Schedule of Events

 
During my studies and experiences in the criminal Justice field, I have decided I wanted to go down the path of Law Enforcement after I graduate. I have learned different aspects of Law Enforcement, but never realized the depth law enforcement has taken in issues like homelessness and related matters. Interning with the Oxnard Police Department Homeless Liaison Unit, I have been educated on the humanitarian side of policing. The Oxnard Police Department has the Homeless Liaison Unit comprised of Sergeant Trickle, Senior Police Officer Ramirez II, and others are assigned fulltime to address public safety issues related to the homeless population. During the internship I compiled a list of resources for West Ventura County. With a partner, calls were made to numbers we were given from the 2019 resources sheet. Through calls and internet searches we made Google Sheets with basic information needed by the officers to make referrals or obtain technical assistance. Also, a Google Slides presentation was made for officers using the spreadsheet made and guidelines given to us by the officer we were working under. They use these resources in lieu of arrests whenever possible. This presentation will be conducted with a PowerPoint with more information and will be approved by the Criminal Justice faculty sponsors before presented.

The Ventura County Family Justice Center (VCFJC) opened in January of 2020; its primary goal is to provide services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The VCFJC is based on the larger family justice center movement, which has revolutionized how family violence and victimization are addressed in the US. Family Justice Centers (FJCs) flip a system that was initially designed for the professionals who serve survivors, by instead prioritizing survivors who need to work with professionals. The purpose of our research study is to better understand evaluation research, as well as the history, background, and scholarly research on FJCs in order to design the most effective way to conduct an evaluation of the VCFJC. We first began by reading extensively about evaluation research and FJCs, then we created an annotated bibliography of the existing literature and used this to create a literature review. With our research, we were able to acquire a more in-depth understanding of evaluation research and FJCs. Based on our background knowledge acquired from our research, we were able to begin identifying and developing a research design strategy for a future evaluation of the VCFJC. This evaluation will eventually allow the VCFJC to help its community members and vulnerable populations, as well as allow the university to have a direct community impact. Our hope is that insights drawn from this longer-term study will be useful for the program staff and key stakeholders to direct on-going programming, as well as launching future initiatives.

As a society, we place a great emphasis on the importance of education and when it comes to those who are living behind bars there is no difference. Education can be a transformative mechanism to support re-entry for individuals who are incarcerated. The Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at Cal Lutheran seek to support all types of students. They are creating educational opportunities in non-traditional spaces that can be mutually beneficial for CLU students and incarcerated students while supporting community agencies. As a CRIM Culver Research Fellow,  I will explore the innovative work toward the development of a CLU Center for Educational Re- Entry and Development (CERED) that focuses on four areas: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, "Pathway 101" workshops, Community Outreach, and Prison education research.  In particular, I will cover two years of prison education exploration from the inside and outside of jail through the lens of a student in an Inside-Out Prison Exchange course at Todd Road Jail and as a Culver Research Assistant helping to create programs and workshops for incarcerated students at a jail. Finally, this presentation will provide insight on this journey to support the growth of prison education, pre, and post-pandemic.

I began to develop an interest in helping combat the problem of family violence after responding to a domestic violence call during a ride along with a local police officer. As a Criminology and Criminal Justice student I am now interning with a non-profit agency to help address the issue of family violence and human trafficking. Through a sixty-hour domestic violence (D.V.) and human trafficking (H.T.) caseworker training as a volunteer through Interface Children and Family Services, I have expanded on my knowledge from my criminal justice courses. Currently, I am transitioning into becoming a Crisis Hotline Responder, in which my duty would be to answer and respond to calls that are being placed by potential victims of trafficking. Within these calls, I would hopefully be able to provide the victim with housing resources, safety procedures, and legal advice that will allow them to remove themselves from the situation. What my brief experience with Interface has already taught me, is the significance in educating and emphasizing the issues of both trafficking and family violence. With a greater social understanding of both of these topics, as well as how they overlap, there will hopefully come a larger scale of prevention and response to those that find themselves trapped within these situations.