An argument during a discussion over child custody agreements has landed a Grand Valley man in the Warren County Jail.

William F. Birchard, 47, was charged Thursday with second-degree felony strangulation by the State Police at Warren after a woman arrived at the State Police barracks in Warren at 8:58 p.m. Wednesday claiming she had been harassed and then assaulted. Birchard was arraigned Friday by Judge Daniel Miller, who set bail at $75,000 before Birchard was taken to the county jail.

The woman told police she arrived at a Grand Valley address between 4 and 5 a.m. Jan. 3 after agreeing to meet Birchard to discuss child custody arrangements. Birchard allegedly came out of the house and got into the passenger side of the woman’s car. There was a verbal disagreement, according to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, before Birchard allegedly put his hands around the woman’s throat and squeezed it.

The Safe Exchange Zone provides a designated, monitored location for child custody exchanges by offering a neutral and secure meeting point for parents, reducing potential stress and conflict during custody transfers as well as online purchase transactions, providing a safe alternative to meeting strangers at private residences, allowing individuals to complete online sales or purchases with greater confidence.

A state Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, would have established a state grant program to help pay for more safe exchange spaces throughout the state.

While Warren’s Safe Exchange Zone is video monitored and found near the Warren police station, other models for Safe Exchange programs take place in places like YWCA’s or court-affiliated places. Such programs provide a neutral location for parents with high conflict to transfer children for visitation and prevent confrontations, often facilitated by staff with staggered times and video surveillance. Some programs across the country are also supported by programs for domestic violence victims.

The Jamestown, N.Y., YWCA offers one such program that is available six days a week that includes an offender management program to those who are in the supervised visitation/safe exchange program. Participants will engage in weekly one-on-one sessions with an offender case manager free of charge. Referrals for the program can be accepted via court orders, agency referrals and self referrals..

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