Family Sunshine Center works closely with law enforcement, EMS, fire departments, dispatchers, hospitals, and other emergency personnel. The resources below are designed to help first responders connect survivors with support and access additional professional tools.
Victim Service Guides
Our Victim Services Directories connect survivors, service providers, first responders, and community members with resources available throughout Family Sunshine Center’s seven-county service area. Each guide includes contact information for emergency assistance, shelter, medical care, counseling, legal and victim services, housing, transportation, and other community support. Select the directory that includes your county to find services available in your area.
Victim Services Directory Butler County
Victim Services Directory Autauga Elmore
Victim Services Directory Chilton County
Victim Services Directory Lowndes Montgomery
Legal Power & Control Wheel
A two-page reference that connects common power-and-control tactics in domestic violence to potentially relevant Alabama laws and provides a plain-language overview of how those tactics may appear in a relationship.
Alabama Human Trafficking Laws and Power and Control Wheel
A two-page resource explaining Alabama’s legal definitions of coercion and deception and illustrating the tactics traffickers may use to control and exploit victims of sex or labor trafficking.
Trauma-Informed Crisis Response
A practical guide for community partners on responding to survivors in crisis through de-escalation, compassionate listening, immediate-needs assessment, safety planning, and survivor-led support.
What to Expect at Family Sunshine Center
A survivor-friendly infographic explaining what happens when someone calls or visits Family Sunshine Center and outlining available counseling, legal advocacy, shelter, safety planning, and referral services.
Family Sunshine Center Residential Services
This infographic provides an overview of Family Sunshine Center’s residential programs, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, Exodus Housing, and Rapid ReHousing, and how survivors can access care.
Addressing Domestic Violence: A Guide for Friends and Family
A practical guide to help friends and family recognize domestic abuse, start supportive conversations, avoid common mistakes, stay connected safely, and help a loved one access services when they are ready.
Addressing Child Sexual Abuse: A Guide for Friends and Family
A supportive guide for parents, caregivers, and trusted adults on recognizing possible child sexual abuse, responding to a disclosure, reporting concerns, seeking medical care, and supporting a child or teen through recovery.
Addressing Sexual Assault: A Guide for Friends and Family of Adult Survivors
A practical guide to understanding sexual assault and trauma, responding compassionately to an adult survivor, explaining medical and reporting options, and providing continued support without taking away the survivor’s choices.
A Teen’s Guide to Safety Planning
A printable workbook that helps teens experiencing dating abuse create a personalized safety plan for school, home, social situations, emotional well-being, emergencies, and technology use.
“I Speak” Language and Situational Identification Guide
A visual communication guide that helps first responders identify a person’s preferred language, access interpretation services, and communicate when human trafficking may be suspected.
Best Practices for Victim Interviews
A quick-reference guide outlining trauma-informed strategies for helping victims feel safe, recall information, and share their experiences during an interview.
Domestic Violence Lethality Screen for Law Enforcement
A trained-use screening tool that helps law enforcement identify domestic violence victims who may face an increased risk of serious or lethal violence and connect them with immediate advocacy services.
Legal Power & Control Wheel
A two-page reference that connects common power-and-control tactics in domestic violence to potentially relevant Alabama laws and provides a plain-language overview of how those tactics may appear in a relationship.
Strangulation Assessment Card
A quick-reference card that helps first responders recognize strangulation symptoms, document victim statements, encourage medical care, and warn victims about potentially serious delayed complications.
Protection Order Service Checklist
A practical checklist outlining safety, documentation, firearm, and coordination considerations for law enforcement officers serving protection orders.
Response to Stalking Report Review Checklist
A supervisory checklist for reviewing stalking reports to ensure officers have documented the pattern of behavior, evidence, threats, victim fear, suspect information, and safety-planning efforts.
Trauma-Informed Crisis Response
A practical guide for community partners on responding to survivors in crisis through de-escalation, compassionate listening, immediate-needs assessment, safety planning, and survivor-led support.
Best Practices for Victim Interviews
A quick-reference guide outlining trauma-informed strategies for helping victims feel safe, recall information, and share their experiences during an interview.
Successful Trauma-Informed Victim Interviews
A practical guide showing law enforcement how to reframe potentially blaming or difficult questions to support victim memory, build trust, and gather stronger information during sexual assault interviews.
Effective Victim-Interview
A comprehensive training resource that helps law enforcement conduct trauma-informed sexual assault interviews that support victim memory, disclosure, safety, and participation in the investigative process.
Domestic Violence Lethality Screen for Law Enforcement
A trained-use screening tool that helps law enforcement identify domestic violence victims who may face an increased risk of serious or lethal violence and connect them with immediate advocacy services.
Legal Power & Control Wheel
A two-page reference that connects common power-and-control tactics in domestic violence to potentially relevant Alabama laws and provides a plain-language overview of how those tactics may appear in a relationship.
Protection Order Service Checklist
A practical checklist outlining safety, documentation, firearm, and coordination considerations for law enforcement officers serving protection orders.
Response to Protection Order Violations Checklist
A report-review checklist that helps law enforcement document protection-order violations thoroughly, assess victim safety, investigate firearm access, and gather information needed for enforcement.
Enforcing Protection Orders
A law enforcement guide to recognizing, validating, and enforcing protection orders across state, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions.
Full Faith and Credit
A quick-reference resource explaining law enforcement’s responsibility to enforce valid protection orders regardless of where they were issued.
Firearms and Protection from Abuse Orders
An Alabama-specific reference explaining when firearm possession may be prohibited under a Protection from Abuse Order and what officers should consider before making an arrest.
Stalking & Harassment Assessment & Risk Profile (SHARP)
SHARP is a 48-item online assessment designed specifically to evaluate stalking and harassment. It provides an overall risk profile based on factors linked to escalation, physical or sexual violence, harm to others, continued stalking, and disruption to a victim’s life.
Take it Down
Take It Down is a free, anonymous service that helps remove or prevent the online sharing of nude or sexually explicit images and videos taken when a person was under age 18. The service creates a digital fingerprint of the content without uploading the image or video from the user’s device.
StopNCII: Prevent Intimate Image Sharing
StopNCII is a free tool that helps adults stop private sexual images or videos from being shared online without their permission. The image or video stays on the user’s device. Only a digital fingerprint is shared with participating online platforms so they can detect and block the content.
CyberTipline: Report Child Sexual Exploitation
The CyberTipline allows anyone to report suspected child sexual exploitation, including online enticement, sextortion, child sex trafficking, or sexual images involving a child. Reports can be made online to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 24 hours a day.
Law Enforcement Response to Stalking Report Checklist
A supervisory checklist for reviewing stalking reports to ensure officers have documented the pattern of behavior, evidence, threats, victim fear, suspect information, and safety-planning efforts.
Documentation Tips for Survivors of Technology Abuse and Stalking
A practical guide to safely documenting technology-facilitated abuse and stalking, recognizing patterns, preserving evidence, and preparing information that may be useful to advocates, law enforcement, or the courts.
Stalking Incident and Behavior Log
A survivor-focused log for recording stalking incidents, locations, witnesses, evidence, and reports to help identify patterns and support civil or criminal legal action.
Strangulation Assessment Card
A quick-reference card that helps first responders recognize strangulation symptoms, document victim statements, encourage medical care, and warn victims about potentially serious delayed complications.
Strangulation Quick Reference Guide
A field guide outlining warning signs, health risks, evidence considerations, and interview questions for responding to and investigating strangulation incidents.
Strangulation Roll-Call Training Card
A brief law enforcement training resource explaining the lethality of strangulation and the questions, observations, photographs, and medical information officers should document.
Strangulation and Suffocation Investigative Worksheet
A detailed worksheet for documenting the circumstances, symptoms, evidence, medical response, offender behavior, and victim experience in strangulation or suffocation investigations.
Alabama Human Trafficking Laws and Power and Control Wheel
A two-page resource explaining Alabama’s legal definitions of coercion and deception and illustrating the tactics traffickers may use to control and exploit victims of sex or labor trafficking.
Human Trafficking Investigations Tip Sheet
A step-by-step guide for law enforcement covering immediate and follow-up actions in human trafficking investigations, including victim safety, services, interviews, evidence collection, and case development.
Human Trafficking Police Case Report Checklist
A checklist designed to help officers, investigators, and supervisors document the facts and evidence needed for thorough human trafficking reports and effective prosecution.
Human Trafficking Investigations Toolkit
A comprehensive toolkit to help law enforcement agencies assess and strengthen their policies, training, partnerships, reporting, and trauma-informed response to human trafficking cases.