CIS Offices are located in both Cody and Powell and are open, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. However, due to staffing and budgeting shortages, both of these locations are closed approximately 30% each week or 2.5 hours per day. However, there is always someone "on call" on when staff members are not in CIS offices. At those times we are generally in court, with law enforcement, at a local emergency room, doing community presentations, in meetings or working with clients at legal, medical or social service appointments and/or helping to locate housing or jobs. CIS cannot afford to pay overtime and therefore must require staff to take flex time to compensate for hours worked outside of normal office hours. The combination of flex time, paid time off and hours spent working with and for clients outside of the office, leads to the "closed" sign being posted 30% of any given week in both Cody and Powell. CIS Powell Office and 24-hour crisis line are listed in area phone books. The Cody office is listed on this website. Additionally, all Park County law enforcement officers carry cards that list the Wyoming Victim Bill of Rights in addition to all contact information for CIS and other emergency, health and social service providers. The 24-hour crisis line is toll-free and staffed by volunteers and regular-paid staff. CIS maintains 2 separate on-call schedules for Park County: (1) for the Cody area and (1) for the Powell area. Callers receive empathy and peer counseling support for their crisis as well as a chance to discuss their options and receive information and referral. When a victim calls the office they can speak directly to staff during office hours, if available. When the caller gets the answering machine, it instructs the victim to call the toll-free crisis line. When a victim calls the crisis line, the CIS Answering Service will answer within 8 rings to connect the caller with a CIS advocate. The Answering Service operator determines where in Park County the victim is calling from and then can patch the call through to the CIS advocate on-call in either Cody or Powell. 24-hour crisis intervention is also provided by volunteers and staff. Advocates meet face to face with victims at CIS offices, shelters, area hospitals and law enforcement centers. Additionally, these advocates provide crisis intervention at the scene of the crime when accompanied by law enforcement.

Cody and Powell Police Departments and both area hospital emergency rooms get the on-call schedule appropriate to their city. The Park County Sheriff's Department receives both the Cody and Powell on-call schedule and can determine which advocate to contact directly, based on the location of the incident. The addition of 2 crisis line schedules has greatly reduced the response time of CIS advocates to crime victims.

Crisis Line Volunteers are recruited annually from throughout Park County and initial 40 hour volunteer training rotates between the Cody and Powell offices of CIS. CIS strives to maintain a balance of volunteers from all areas of Park County. Additionally, volunteers are regularly debriefed on the crisis calls they received in addition to on-going training. To sign up for the next Advocate Training classes, contact the CIS Cody office at 307-272-4754 to register. Volunteers must be able to pass a back ground check, have their own phone and a vehicle with current liability insurance as well as be able to pass a DMV check.

Fund raising volunteers are recruited from the community, family and friends as well as local groups and churches. They provide a variety of duties for our annual golf tournament, craft fair and various other events such as bake sales, raffles, yard sales etc. Most fund raising volunteers come back year after year to help with all of our annual events. The CIS 7 member board of directors have a recruiting policy in place and usually consists of 1 Powell resident and 6 Cody residents. Retention of board members is outlined in the CIS organizational By Laws. Most members fulfill 3 consecutive 2-year terms and complete a full 6 years of service. Other types of volunteer service can include; lawn care, indoor/outdoor painting, facilities maintenance. Also, help with heavy lifting of appliances, furniture and equipment at CIS offices or for relocation assistance for CIS clients. Additionally, CIS offers training for volunteers to provide supervised visitation and custody exchange services of children with their non-custodial parent. (40-hours of advocate training and successful passage of background checks required). All volunteers who come into contact with CIS clients must agree to and sign the CIS Confidentiality Policy.

CIS does not discriminate for access to services on the basis of race/ethnicity, language, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, social class, economic status, education, marital status, religious affiliation, residency or HIV status. CIS policies and procedures complies with all applicable nondiscrimination requirements of the Victims of Crime Act; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; The Age Discrimination Act of 1975; The Department of Justice Nondiscrimination Regulations 28C.F.R. Part 42, Subparts C, D, E and G, Subtitle A; and Title II of the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Park County annually has approximately 300 to 400 Hispanic migrant workers in Park County. To address victimizations of persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), CIS has a Spanish-speaking volunteer to provide translation services to Migrant Farm Worker victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking county-wide. Additionally clients with Limited English Proficient (LEP) are provided with meaningful access to all CIS services, which could include a combination of oral interpretation and/or written translation of vital documents.

CIS advocates will make every effort to make sure those persons with disabilities and special needs have access to all services offered by CIS. The CIS office, shelter and supervised visitation/exchange facilities in Powell are ADA compliant and equipped with security systems that include both audible and visual alarms. A committee of volunteer persons with disabilities meets as needed to tour the Powell CIS facility to gather suggestions for accessibility improvements. Additionally, the CIS board of directors holds an annual planning retreat and reviews its Disability Self-Assessment plan to assure that the goals of this plan are being met in a timely manner.

Persons identifying as a member of the LGBTQ community will continue to be provided the same access to services as persons who identify as heterosexual. Additional confidentiality precautions are required of advocates as victims are placed in shelter. Examples include such things as requiring advocates to refer to all perpetrators of all clients in a generic manner, such as "partner" or simply by name, rather than by relationship, such as "husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend". CIS shelters and transitional housing are on a 'first come, first serve' basis to avoid mixing populations of gender identification, and dual diagnosis, such as mental illness and substance abuse.