dowNload - National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

RECENT PROGRAMS
Attendees gather at the NCJFCJ’s 2nd New York Child Abuse and Neglect Institute at Pace Law School.
Civil Protection Orders Training
In mid-September, the NCJFCJ convened two days of multi-disciplinary
trainings in Western Oregon on its Civil Protection Orders: A
Guide for Improving Practice (CPO Guide). These collaborative trainings
were made possible because of the judicial leadership of NCJFCJ
Board Member Judge Katherine Tennyson. The trainings were
designed with stakeholders from Oregon’s tri-county area, including
Portland, to improve the protection order process through multidisciplinary
collaboration. They were developed around the needs of
the three jurisdictions that participated in the trainings. Judge Sue
Carbon, past NCJFCJ President and former director of the Office on
Violence Against Women, served as a key faculty member, along with
NCJFCJ member Judge Berryl Anderson, who also co-chairs the CPO
Guide Implementation Committee.
The format of the day-long trainings intentionally provided
opportunities for inter-disciplinary dialogue. Participants included
judges, law enforcement officers, civil attorneys, prosecutors, advocates,
court staff, and probation and parole officers. Many participants
agreed that the training session increased their understanding of the
differing roles played by the system’s various stakeholders. The sessions
also prompted interest in further multi-disciplinary training and
dialogue to enhance awareness of gaps and opportunities for increased
collaboration.
Topics covered during the two trainings included assessing danger
and lethality and examining best practices for enforcement of civil
protection orders. Participants learned to better identify and apply
dangerousness/risk assessment in domestic violence cases, and to
recognize and respond to changes in dangerousness/risk as the victim
navigates the civil justice system. Attendees also addressed the
importance of ensuring access to the civil justice system by enhancing
their cultural awareness. Additionally, participants learned the value of
increased communication between different professionals involved in
the protection order process.
The NCJFCJ looks forward to working further with stakeholders in
the tri-county area around Portland who plan to continue a multidisciplinary
approach to improving the protection order process in
their jurisdictions
Court Training and Improvement Program
On September 11 and 12, 2012, the NCJFCJ provided a two-day,
multi-disciplinary educational program in Detroit for Wayne County,
Michigan judges, attorneys, and custody evaluators. In 2010, Wayne
County received a Court Training and Improvement Program grant
from the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
(OVW). This grant allowed Wayne County to invite the NCJFCJ to
their jurisdiction to provide education on domestic violence in court
cases. Among the faculty were NCJFCJ members Judge Andrew
Crecca and Court of Appeals Justice Amy Ronayne Krause.
Twenty-two judges and referees trained together on the first day
while 28 court attorneys and 12 custody evaluators were trained
simultaneously. On the second day, both groups came together. All
participants increased their knowledge of the impact of domestic
violence and left with a better understanding of how domestic violence
dynamics affect the decision-making and courtroom appearance of
victims and perpetrators.
Topics provided the context in which the violence and controlling
behavior occurred and the impact of domestic violence on children.
Detroit, Michigan
12 JUVENILE AND FAMILY JUSTICE TODAY | WINTER 2013