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Domestic‑violence advocate urges OCTO investments to speed access to protection orders and benefits
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Summary
Kylie Hogan of DC Safe told the committee that fragmented government databases slow first responders and survivors, urging OCTO to invest in user‑friendly tools and streamlined data access; she cited VineLink as an example for returns of service notifications.
Kylie Hogan, director of systems advocacy at DC Safe, told the Committee on Public Works and Operations that survivors of domestic violence and first responders are hindered by fragmented government databases and difficult interfaces.
Hogan said DC Safe is the only 24/7 crisis intervention agency for domestic violence in the city and that the group served more than 12,000 clients last year. She said the nonprofit partners with roughly 14 agencies that rely on databases developed or maintained by OCTO, including the Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Human Services, and that the patchwork of systems often requires officers and survivors to jump between records in time‑sensitive situations.
"District residents, survivors of domestic violence, and other victims of crime can experience this in ways that compromise their immediate safety and hinder their path to stability," Hogan said. She told the committee officers sometimes cannot quickly determine whether an order of protection has been served or whether a stay‑away order is still in effect because data fields and user interfaces are inconsistent; in some cases an expiration field shows a placeholder date such as "02/1999," producing confusion during calls for service.
Hogan suggested OCTO and partner agencies explore streamlined tools that surface critical case information to first responders and cited examples in other jurisdictions. She said Virginia judges have used a system called VineLink to upload returns of service; the system allows petitioners to receive notifications and quickly view service records. "We like that for two reasons: you can look it up, it's really easy, and petitioners get a really quick notification that this has been served," Hogan said.
Hogan also described enrollment and case‑management problems at DHS, saying her organization hears repeated reports that families must re‑submit paperwork or have difficulty enrolling infants in benefits because case systems do not reliably transfer or validate information. She urged the committee to consider modest investments in user‑friendly technology and cross‑agency data integrations to reduce delays, improve safety and save staff time.
Hogan emphasized her testimony was not an indictment of OCTO staff, whom she described as "courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, and timely," but said the system design and user interfaces could be improved to serve survivors and first responders better.
