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Services & Resources
Initial Contact Advocacy Network (ICAN)
Defining ICAN
The Initial Contact Advocacy Network (ICAN) is a safety net for all victims and survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking within the TCNJ community. The Network will facilitate access to the myriad of resources and service-providers available to victims/survivors. ICAN will offer alternative entry points to resources for victims/survivors who would otherwise be hesitant to utilize mainstream campus and community services. ICAN will operate as part of TCNJ’s victim-response system through a network of empathetic listeners with an interdisciplinary background. The volunteer members will be knowledgeable of the resources available and trained in effective advocacy skills. The ICAN members will attend training on an ongoing basis and operate under the supervision of the Office of Anti-Violence Initiatives (OAVI).
The network will be made up of ICAN members staffing ICAN sites. These Sites will be advertised on the ICAN website as well as with an ICAN logo placed visibly on or around the door.
At the advertised ICAN Site, the victim/survivor can seek out a particular ICAN member for information, referrals, and resources. The information presented to each victim/survivor will be standardized through dispensing the C.A.R.E. (Choice Advocacy Respect Empowerment) Package.
ICAN Membership
- ICAN members can be TCNJ faculty, staff, or students as long as they are attached to an approved ICAN Site and are able to keep regular hours at the Site.
- ICAN members are not recognized by the federal, state, county, or municipal government at this time; therefore, are not certified by any of the aforementioned branches of government. Because of this, ICAN members do not hold the privilege of legal confidentiality that is afforded to similar, state-recognized agencies.
- All ICAN members must be willing and able to provide resources, information, and services in a uniform and empathetic manner in accordance with the training.
- All ICAN members must be 18 years old or over.
- All ICAN members must complete appropriate documentation including anonymous reports for the Clery act
Current ICAN Members
| Participant | Department | Extn. | Building |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn Bradley | Chemistry Faculty | bradley@tcnj.edu | 3013 | Science Complex |
| Barbara Clark | Health Services Nurse Practitioner |
clarkb@tcnj.edu | 2889 |
Eickhoff |
| Dave Conner | Fraternity & Sorority Programs Asssitant Director |
conner@tcnj.edu | 3125 |
Student Center |
| Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse | Anti-Violence Initiatives Coordinator/Social Worker |
deitch@tcnj.edu | 2272 |
Eickhoff |
| Tabitha Dell'Angelo | Education Faculty | dellange@tcnj.edu | 3354 | Forcina |
| Joe Hadge | Alcohol & Drug Education Program (ADEP) Coordinator |
hadgej@tcnj.edu | 2571 | Eickhoff |
| Lynette Harris | Community Standards Director |
lharris@tcnj.edu | 2201 |
Student Center |
| Holly Heller |
Health Services Nurse Practitioner |
heller@tcnj.edu | 2889 |
Eickhoff |
| Melanie Hinds | Residential Education & Housing Residence Director |
hinds3@tcnj.edu | 2908 | Travers |
| Magda Manetas |
Student Affairs Assistant Vice President for Student Services |
mmanetas@tcnj.edu | 2613 |
Student Center |
| Sally Miller | Athletics Softball Coach |
millers@tcnj.edu | 2365 |
Recreation Center |
| Michael Miragliotta | Residential Education & Housing Residence Director |
miraglio@tcnj.edu | 2182 | New Residence |
| Grecia Montero | Admissions | montero@tcnj.edu | 3101 | Loser |
| Jason Neely | People Soft
|
neely@tcnj.edu | 2201 |
Holman |
| Amanda Norvell | Biology Faculty | norvell@tcnj.edu | 3439 | Biology Building |
| Marcia O'Connell | Biology Faculty Department Chair |
moconnel@tcnj.edu | 2879 | Biology Building |
| Georgeann O'Leary | Health Services Nurse Practitioner |
oleary@tcnj.edu | 2889 | Eickhoff |
| Kellie Perkowsky Hahn | Residential Education & Housing Residence Director |
perkowsk@tcnj.edu | 3465 | Wolfe |
| Anntarie Sims | Commication Studies Faculty | sims@tcnj.edu | 2125 | Kendall |
| Elizabeth Spohr | Women & Gender Studies |
spohr@tcnj.edu | 2539 |
Bliss |
| Felicia Steele | English Faculty | steele@tcnj.edu | 2698 | Bliss |
| Brunelle Tellis | Psychology Department Staff | tellis@tcnj.edu | 2427 | Social Sciences |
| Tina Tormey | Residential Education & Housing Assistant Director |
tormey@tcnj.edu | 3279 | Allen |
| Janice Vermeychuk | Health Services Associate Director/Nurse Practitioner |
vermeyj@tcnj.edu | 2841 |
Eickhoff |
| Linda Young | Health Services Registered Nurse |
lyoung@tcnj.edu | 2889 | Eickhoff |
ICAN Sites
- The ICAN Sites will be advertised on the ICAN website and will serve as the location for ICAN Activations. There exists two types of ICAN Sites: Offices and Centers.
- ICAN Offices will be staffed by a single ICAN member, part time. This will be typical of most faculty ICAN members. The advertised times and locations will be their faculty offices during their weekly office hours. OAVI will also be an ICAN Office Site.
- ICAN Centers will most likely have more than one ICAN member available either simultaneously or throughout the course of a given time period. This will be the most common for staff ICAN members (i.e. Health services) and some student ICAN members.
- Residential Life senior staff (Graduate Assistants, Assistant Resident Directors, and Professional Staff) who volunteer for ICAN will utilize their on-campus/off-campus office as an ICAN Office. Whenever present in their offices, ICAN members will be accessible to provide ICAN services.
- They will not conduct ICAN Activations or any business within the interest or parameters of ICAN in their personal residences.
Goals of ICAN
ICAN is a victim-centered program. Victim/survivor assistance is second only to victim/survivor safety. Therefore, the dual purpose of ICAN is to advertise to the victim/survivor that a known safe haven is available to her/him and that the person in that safe haven can help her/him become informed about medical, legal, and mental health resources both on and off campus. The goals of ICAN are as follows:
- To first make victim/survivors aware that an ICAN member is not trained to provide professional care to the victim/survivor.
- To hold the victim/survivor in unconditional positive regard and without judgment.
- To minimize re-victimization that occurs from discussing the incident with multiple sources.
- To disclose immediately that confidentiality cannot* be ensured.
- To make the victim/survivor aware of resources both on and off campus via use of the C.A.R.E. Package.
- To always empower the victim/survivor.
- To expedite the victim to professional care where confidentiality can be ensured if desired by the victim/survivor.
*Any questions about the limitations of confidentiality can be directed to Jackie Deitch-Stackhouse, OAVI and ICAN Coordinator
Resources: The C.A.R.E. Package
The particular resources available to the victim/survivor through ICAN are enclosed in the C.A.R.E. Package. The C.A.R.E. Package is by design discrete and plain looking so as not to advertise the victimization of persons activating the services of the ICAN. A list of the contents of this envelope is as follows:
On-campus resources:
- Survivor’s Guide to Sexual Assault
- OAVI Business Card
- Psychological Counseling Services Brochure
- Community Standards Brochure
- Health Services Brochure
- Planned Parenthood Flyer
Off-campus resources:
- Womanspace, Inc. of Mercer County
- Sexual Assault Support Services Brochure
- Womanspace Brochure
- Palmcard
- New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) Brochure
- Mercer County Prosecutors Office
- Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) pamphlet
- Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy pamphlet
- Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB)
- VCCB info packet
- Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN) card
- Health-interested Teens Own Program on Sexuality (HiTOPS) Brochure
Training
ICAN members must complete 20 hours of training to receive a Certificate of Achievement.
The training will be broken down into 8 training modules that will cover the following topics:
- Defining ICAN--Confidentiality Issues, Empathy and Listening Skills, Empowerment
- Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and the Law Enforcement Response
- Sexual Assault, Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Law Enforcement Response
- Stalking Dynamics and the Law Enforcement Response
- Diversity Training
- The Psychological Effects of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse
- Resource and Referral Training, Utilizing the C.A.R.E. Package
- Mandatory Reporting, Protocols and Self-care
Associated Forms
Two (2) review forms will be utilized to ensure that ICAN’s services and members are reviewed and improved on an ongoing basis.
The Confidential Anonymous Review of Services (CARS) form will be included in the C.A.R.E. Package along with an envelope addressed to OAVI. This form will serve as an evaluation tool for all persons utilizing ICAN services. Feedback will be obtained on the helpfulness of the ICAN member and information given, and which services have been sought and will be sought in the future. This form will also serve to remind victim/survivors of all the available resources and provide feedback to OAVI in order to monitor ICAN’s effectiveness.
The ICAN member will also be equipped with a “Consent and Release from Liability Form” that will be filled out in the event a victim/survivor would like to have the ICAN member act on her/his behalf. Filling out the form will involve the three steps of listing the wanted resources, reading the release and consent clause, and signing the document if the terms are agreed with. This document serves the dual purpose of releasing the ICAN member from any liability in the event that a victim/survivor has second thoughts or changes her/his mind. However, in situations where victim/survivors prefer to seek out resources or services directly, this step can be avoided.
For more information on resources available through the OAVI or to arrange a meeting, please contact Jackie at deitch@tcnj.edu.
