During our webinar series Reopening Your Programs Post
COVID, the Partnership heard a number of important questions
from our members about the ways voluntary participation
requirements do or don’t interact with our state public health
orders—and what that means for screenings, masking, and
quarantine periods. Local organizations have been striving to
maintain healthy environments for survivors and employees, often
with polar opposite state and federal guidance. We committed to
following up with more information, and after speaking with our
contacts at both the state and federal levels, we were able to
compile materials to support your decision-making.
It is our position in all circumstances that survivors deserve
the respect and dignity of conversations that help them make
choices and work through any safety needs they have, including
the difficult choices of how to be safe from abuse in a public
health crisis. Often working with survivors individually can get
the results a program is looking for without enforcing baseline
mandates. It is correct that service providers retain the right
to deny services to someone to preserve the safety of others. It
is also correct that services have to be voluntary, not
conditioned on the survivor participating in other
activities.
+Click here to read more in our 2-page
document, which provides federal statute and
regulation information.
Additional Resources:
For more guidance or technical assistance on this issue, please
contact Jorge Vidal, at jorge@cpedv.org.
