Kids Bridge Family Visitation Center

In 1997 the Seventh Judicial Circuit Judges asked the Junior Service League of St. Augustine to create a visitation center in St. Johns County. The Judges believed our community had a pressing need for a visitation center to which they could refer families involved in cases such as divorce, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and substance abuse. The Junior Service League of St. Augustine answered the call, raised the much-needed funds, and in March of 2002, Kids Bridge opened its doors.

Kids Bridge provides a safe, neutral, home-like setting for the maintenance of family relationships during times of separation due to divorce, domestic violence and abuse allegations. Prior to its inception, children and families in crisis did not have a safe haven to heal. Children locked in hostile custody battles were forced to be exchanged in fast food and school parking lots, which often lead to arguments. Parents also did not have a safe place to participate in court-ordered supervised visits with their children. Kids Bridge has changed all of this.

With this in mind and in keeping with its mission, Kids Bridge, Inc. currently provides the following to the families of St. Johns County:

• On-Site Supervised Visits - The safety, wellbeing and emotional healing of children and families is of the utmost importance to the staff and volunteers of Kids Bridge. Providing a comfortable and safe environment allows children and parents the opportunity to heal as they begin to reestablish bonds broken by anger and miscommunication. These staff-intensive visits are often necessary to assist families that are so torn apart that they can no longer communicate without the fear of hurt and violence prevailing. During the visit, Center staff or a trained volunteer physically supervises the entire visit; another staff member often supervises via monitors that are located in each room and in the playground area. At the completion of each visit, a detailed report documenting observations and the family’s progress is completed and maintained in each client case file.
• On-Site Unsupervised Visits - As families begin the healing process and positive communication can be established, less intrusive visits are provided. With the comfort in knowing that help is not far away and yet giving families the needed sense of privacy, staff observes the visit via monitors instead of physically being in the room. This gives families a chance to find a more intimate common ground. At the completion of the visit, a detailed report denoting observations and progress is also documented in the case file.
• Monitored Exchange Services - Sadly, many children find themselves caught in the middle of irreconcilable custody disputes despite the opportunities to heal. In these cases, parents can allocate time but unfortunately cannot meet each other without conflict. Prior to the conception of Kids Bridge, parents were forced to exchange custody of their children in fast-food restaurant and school parking lots; often leading to painful confrontations and fateful violence. In fact, 98% of these referred families have restraining orders against one another. In such extreme cases, common ground is needed to ensure that both children and parents are safe while complying with court- ordered sanctions.

Over 200 lives were positively changed in the last fiscal year as a result of receiving services at Kids Bridge, Inc., a 50% increase over the past fiscal year. Due to the exponential population growth in St. Johns County, Kids Bridge expects to experience continued growth in the need for supervised visitation and monitored exchange services. Keeping up with the increasing number of families in desperate need of support who are referred by the Court and the Family Integrity Program is of paramount importance.

The Junior Service League of St. Augustine continues to actively support this project for the health and wellbeing of the families living in their community. As with past Junior Service League projects, it is the goal of the JSL to assist Kids Bridge with establishing sources of revenue that will allow the organization to successfully operate independently.