Family Advocacy Program

Stress Management
Stress — you can handle it, a stress, and relaxation class. The class focuses on individual learning techniques to manage stressors, identify, and decrease triggers of anger, and learn relaxation exercises. This class is the second Tuesday of each month, from 11 a.m. to noon. A class certificate of attendance will be provided upon completion. To register, please call +1 (803)751-5256. 

Anger Management; Learn to choose effective methods to handle anger.
Learn your triggers to anger and to manage your anger effectively. The class is the second Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. A class certificate of attendance will be provided upon completion. For more information please call +1 (803)751-5256.

Baby Basics
Baby Basics is a workshop for expecting parents. You will learn the basics of taking care of infants including: handling, diapering, dressing, bathing, safety concerns, feeding, when baby is sick, and postpartum care. Participants will receive a baby bundle. To register, please call +1 (803)751-5256.

Healthy Relationships Class
Building a healthy relationship does not develop overnight. It takes cultivation and commitment. In this class, topics discussed will include open communication, handling conflict, the role of independence and respect, and how to recognize, grow, and maintain healthy relationships. The class is held the first Tuesday of each month from 11 a.m. to noon. Join us and bring your lunch. We can also bring this class to your unit. Please call +1 (803)751-5256 for more information.

The New Parent Support Program (NPSP) promotes healthy Families through a variety of services including home visits, support groups, and parenting classes. We help Soldiers and Families learn to cope with stress, isolation, post-deployment reunions, and the everyday demands of parenthood. Army Families who are expecting a child or who have children up to age three can participate in all of our services confidentially and free of charge. For additional information call +1 (803)751-5256 or email ACS. 

Each installation has developed unique New Parent Support Program services that include:

• Home visits: Scheduled at your convenience, home visits bring you education and reassurance right to your own home on many topics, including breastfeeding, sleeping, nutrition, potty training, age-appropriate discipline, developmental screenings, sibling rivalry, stress management, deployment issues, and time management. NPSP-Home Visitors are supportive and caring licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) or registered nurses (RNs). They have extensive experience working with young children and are sensitive to your unique challenges as a military Family.
• Expectant Parent Workshop: Helps to provide valuable information about pregnancy and postpartum health, basic infant care, infant massage, parenting skills, safety, discipline, stress management, deployment issues, and community resources.
• Play groups: Scheduled regularly at installations, they help children learn through play in a supportive atmosphere that benefits parents as well. Activities include story time, crafts, and music.

Contact your installation Army Community Service (ACS) Family Advocacy Program for more information. You can also call Military OneSource for more information and referrals (CONUS: +1 (800)342-9647; OCONUS: 00-800-3429-6477; To call collect with operator assistance OCONUS: +1 (484)530-5908.

The Victim Advocacy Program helps empower victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) to make decisions that can improve their quality of life. Victim Advocates provide victims with information on their rights, provide emergency shelter, establish safety planning, file for protection orders, assist with child care costs, and accompany victims to court proceedings and /or meetings with lawyers, police officers, and command. In addition they can make referrals to local resources for a variety of needs. Victim Advocates are not attorneys and cannot provide legal advise. Information on obtaining an attorney can be provided. For more information or support services contact a Victim Advocate at +1 (803)429-4870.

Restricted Reporting:

Restricted reporting allows an adult victim of IPV to disclose the details of his or her abuse to specifically identified individuals. Upon doing so, a victim can receive medical treatment and victim advocacy services without requiring that notice be given to the victim’s or alleged offender’s commander or law enforcement.

Victims who desire restricted reporting must report to one of the following specified individuals:

• Victim Advocate
• Victim Advocate Supervisor
• Healthcare Provider

Disclosure of domestic abuse to persons other than those covered by this policy may result in an investigation of the allegations by law enforcement and clinical intervention from FAP. There are exceptions to this policy; for more information call +1 (803)751-5256.

Unrestricted Reporting:

Victims of IPV who want to pursue an official investigation of an incident should use current reporting channels, e.g. chain of command, Family Advocacy Program, or law enforcement. Upon notification of a domestic abuse incident, victim advocacy services and Family Advocacy Program clinical services will be offered to the victim.

Safety During an Explosive Incident or When Preparing to Leave

Go to an area that has an exit.
Not a bathroom (near hard surfaces), kitchen (knives), or near weapons.

Stay in a room with a phone.
Call 911, a friend or a neighbor, if possible. Inform them if there are weapons in the home.

Know your escape route.

Practice how to get out of your home safely. Visualize your escape route.

Have a packed bag ready.
Keep it hidden in a handy place in order to leave quickly, or leave the bag elsewhere if the abuser searches your home. Have money, keys, and important documents in this bag. (See list below)

Devise a code word or signal.
Tell your children, grandchildren or neighbors so you can communicate to them that you need the police.

Trust your judgment.
Consider anything that you feel will keep you safe and give you time to figure out what to do next. Sometimes it is best to flee, sometimes to placate the abuser-anything that works to protect yourself and the children.

Know where you are going.
Plan where you will go if you have to leave home, even if you don’t think you’ll need to.

Open a Checking/Savings Account:
This should be done in a different banking institution than the one where you and your partner banked together and should only be opened in your name. If you have an order of protection make sure they have a copy of it and are aware that your partner is not authorized any kind of access to your account.

Safety When Preparing to Leave

Leaving Can Be the Most Dangerous Time!
Victim Advocates can assist you with temporary shelter and obtaining an order of protection. Make sure it is a place that can protect you and your children or grandchildren.

Cell phone use.
Depending on the type of phone you have the offender can obtain access to calls, texts, and your location. You will need to turn the locator off on the phone or buy a trac phone giving the number only to people you trust. This applies to tablets as well.

If you are in a dangerous situation, CALL 911!!!!

Call a domestic violence victim service program:

Columbia, SC Sister Care: 24 Hour Crisis Line +1 (803)765-9428

Ft. Jackson Victim Advocate: 24 Hour On-Call Phone +1 (803)429-4870

Family Advocacy Program Office 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, +1 (803)751-5256

Other Precautions
Leave money, extra keys, copies of important documents and clothing with friends or co-workers in advance, so you can leave quickly, if necessary. Inform your employer if there is an order of protection in effect. Change your routes and shopping habits if necessary. Avoid status updates on social media, for example, Facebook.

Items to Take When Leaving
If I decide to leave my abuser, it is important to take certain items with me. I may also want to give an extra copy of papers and an extra set of clothing to a friend just in case I have to leave quickly. Items on the following list are the most important to take. If there is time, I might take other items or store them somewhere outside my home so I can get to them easily.

Family Advocacy
Fort Jackson Office
9810 Lee Rd.
Tel. +1 (803)751-5256

24 hour Domestic Violence +1 (803)429-4870