The BRAVE committee was established under the leadership of the Crown Attorney’s Office, Ministry of the Attorney General in 1998. It is a long standing committee with 13 member agencies who have a strong commitment to the purpose and goals of the committee.
Member Groups
- Brant Community Healthcare System
- Brantford Native Housing
- Brantford Police Service
- Children’s Aid Society of Brant
- Dalhousie Place Supervised Access
- Family Counselling Centre of Brant
- Ganohkwa Sra Family Assault Support Services
- Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
- Ministry of the Attorney General (Crown Attorney)
- Ministry of the Attorney General Victim/Witness Assistance Program
- Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services
- Ontario Provincial Police
- Sexual Assault Centre of Brant
- Six Nations Police
- Victim Services of Brant
Mission Statement/Purpose
The primary function of the BRAVE Committee is to coordinate the community’s response to domestic violence to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions; victims of domestic violence are protected from harm and receive the assistance they request and need and that jointly established protocols are followed by the participating agencies.
Objectives
- To advocate for improvements in existing systems and support services for victims and their children and the offender.
- To secure additional funding as required to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence.
- To reduce the incidence of domestic violence within our community through prevention and intervention initiatives.
- To co-ordinate and improve the flow of information between agencies to ensure a sound knowledge base for the application of domestic violence protocols.
- To promote education and training amongst agencies to deal with cross cultural issues with respect to domestic violence within our community.
- To coordinate the compilation of statistics from member agencies to ensure protocols and programs are current and meeting client need.
- To review problematic domestic violence cases to identify and remedy gaps in the system.
- To coordinate and set up a system to ensure that the member agencies are accountable to each other in the delivery of their respective services.
Decision-Making Process
- BRAVE is currently chaired by Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services for a two year term (2007/8-2009/10).
- The Chair will be selected by the committee on a regular basis.
- Decisions are based on the BRAVE Mission and Goals and Objectives as well as the “Strategic Plan for the one stop Hub model of service delivery” (BRAVE current major project).
- A quorum for meetings for BRAVE will be one-half plus one of the members then serving.
- The members of BRAVE will strive to achieve consensus on issues.
- Decisions having an impact on the approved budget, or affecting the nature of the service model, will be made through a formal motion.
- The approval of motions requires a vote of 50% plus one of members in attendance.
- The chairperson of BRAVE may vote to make or to break a tie.
- BRAVE will produce documentation in a timely manner as required by funders.
Roles and Responsibilities of Collaborative Members
- Members of BRAVE will ensure that the terms of reference are reviewed every three years.
- As required, the Chair of BRAVE will take a leadership role to ensure that projects are conducted in a manner that satisfies the requirements of the funder and adheres to the goals and objectives of the committee.
- All members will approve all formal proposals, projects etc prior to submission.
- Members agree to work toward the goals of the committee and commit time and resources to BRAVE as necessary.
How the funds will be managed
- Funds for a collaborative project will be held in trust by the organization designated by the committee or the funder.
- The funds will be managed by the sponsor organization or the organization designated by the committee. It is the responsibility of the designated organization to ensue that the funds are appropriately managed and audited.
- All invoices will be paid in a timely manner.
- Financial statements will be produced by the sponsor organization as requested.
- Any significant changes to the budget must be approved by the committee and the funder.
Frequency of Meetings
- Meetings are held, at minimum, on a monthly basis. Should the need arise additional meetings will be scheduled at the call of the Chair.
Membership
- Organizations in Brantford and Brant County that are providing services to victims of domestic violence are invited to attend including but not limited to housing, education etc.
- Organizations that are members of BRAVE must send representatives that have the authority to make decisions for the organization.
Subcommittees and Ad Hoc Committees
- The ALERT committee continues to be accountable to BRAVE with 5 members of BRAVE regularly sitting on ALERT. This is an on-going committee.
- Other Ad Hoc committees will be struck as necessary – may be on-going or time limited in nature.
- All committees report back to BRAVE on a regular basis.
- BRAVE is a strong community player with representation on the Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and the Domestic Violence Advisory Committee.
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