The Domestic Violence Coordinating Council is pleased to recognize Barbara Benezet of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Program, and Probation and Parole’s Domestic Violence Supervision Units as the 2024 DVCC Outstanding Service Award recipients.
Barbara Benezet
Barbara Benezet has worked at CHILD, Inc’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Program in the New Castle County Courthouse for at least twenty years. Jacquie Chacona, an Attorney at Delaware Volunteer Legal Services said “Barbara has been a constant in an arena that has seen consistent change. She is a bridge and a beacon from the past and toward the future. I truly cannot overstate her impact on individual clients’ lives and the delivery of services to clients. Barbara is not one to sit silently by and let things fall apart. She is an advocate for her clients as well as for the DVAP program. She has remarkable historical knowledge, experience, and wisdom that she freely shares to ensure past mistakes are not repeated. Barbara genuinely cares and puts all her efforts and passion into making a difference. She is tenacious, relentless, and persistent when advocating for her clients.”
Melissa Pennachi said “Barbara has been a constant and steady presence for over twenty years, through leadership and staff changes, COVID, and its aftermath. Advocates across the State rely on her knowledge and expertise on working with victims through this process and making sure they are receiving the best trauma informed care.”
Probation and Parole’s Domestic Violence Supervision Units
Four Domestic Violence Supervision Units, with locations across Probation & Parole regional offices in all three counties, provide enhanced community supervision of individuals who are convicted of domestic violence-related crimes and are sentenced to probation by the Court. The 22 Probation Officers assigned to these units exclusively handle 946 domestic violence offenders and are specially trained to address the unique needs and challenges of domestic violence cases, with a focus on victim safety and offender accountability. Officers employ practices such as swift action in response to non-compliance, proactive victim engagement and intervention, and active collaboration with treatment providers and local law enforcement. Domestic Violence Officers work side-by-side with Victim Service Advocates (VSAs), which reflects Probation & Parole’s “All hands approach” to domestic violence. VSAs lean on their training and experience to reach out proactively to all victims in domestic violence cases to provide one-on-one safety planning, information about the criminal justice system, help navigating the PFA process, accompanying victims to court accompaniments, and initiating victim service referrals. Domestic Violence Officers engage with the courts and community-serving agencies, including the Domestic Violence High Risk Team for Kent County, in a comprehensive approach to keep victims safe and help guide probationers to lead productive and law-abiding lives.
Commissioner Terra Taylor said “Our Domestic Violence Units have demonstrated thinking ‘outside the box’ and going above and beyond to accomplish their mission. As an example, most recently, in 2022 this team leveraged grant funds through the Delaware Criminal Justice Council to establish an ‘After Hours Domestic Violence Response Team Hotline’. This service assigns on-call Probation Officers during non-business overnight hours on weeknights and 24 hours a day on weekends to engage with local law enforcement when police come into contact in the community with suspects who are serving probation for domestic violence offenses…. This innovation is just the latest example of how our Domestic Violence Units are acting to close gaps in service and provide a continuum of support for victims and public safety.”
The DVCC presented the recipients with their awards during the Governor’s Proclamation signing for Domestic Violence Awareness Month on October 25, 2024.
