Child Protection Center Awarded COVID-19 Assistance Grant

Funding Will Support Supervised Visitation Program

The Child Protection Center, Inc. (CPC) was selected as the recipient of a COVID-19 Assistance Grant through the generosity of the Venice Golf and Country Club Foundation Grant Fund of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

This grant supports CPC’s Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program (CFSVP) and was provided to help the program meet challenges directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. CFSVP has adapted to virtual visitation in order to continue providing its vital services safely as the pandemic affects our community. The positive response to operating through these virtual outlets has resulted in an increase in the number of visits being performed: 746 visits took place in fiscal year 2019, while 302 visits were conducted virtually in the past three months alone.

 Established in 1995, CFSVP provides a safe place for children to interact with parents without the stress of being in the middle of a family argument, observing a parent who is impaired by substance abuse and without uncomfortable conversations that include adult topics. By accessing the CFSVP, the risk of violence to children will decrease. Ongoing parent and child contact, through supervised visitation, has been shown to be crucial to a child’s mental health and ability to build a healthy relationship with the non-custodial parent. 

“This program has allowed me to reestablish a bond with my amazing 13 year old daughter in an environment free of the adult complications between her father and I,” said a CFSVP parent.  

Since 2005, The Venice Golf and Country Club Foundation has been supporting nonprofit agencies that serve the greater Venice area through its grant program. 

In fiscal year 2019, CPC provided 71,299 services to individuals. For more information on CPC or the Supervised Visitation Program, visitwww.cpcsarasota.org or call 941-365-1277