Bureau of Justice Assistance Bja U.S
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file, please contact us at NCJRS.gov. BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE BJA U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S. Department of Justice Janet Reno Attorney General Office of Justice Programs Laurie Robinson Assistant Attorney General Bureau of Justice Assistance Nancy E. Gist Director About the Bureau of Justice Assistance The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program to support drug control and system improvement efforts focused on state and local criminal justice systems. The Bureau's mission, directed by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, is to provide funding and technical assistance to state and local units of government to combat crime and drug abuse. Through funding and technical support, the Bureau assists the states in managing the growing numbers of anti-drug programs and the rapidly increasing volume of drug cases entering the criminal justice system. It also identifies, develops, and shares programs, techniques, and information with the states to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system, as well as provides training and technical assistance to enhance the expertise of criminal justice personnel. The Bureau accomplishes these mandates by funding innovative demonstration programs, some of which are national or multijurisdictional in scope; by evaluating programs to determine what works in drug control and system improvement; and by encouraging the replication of successful models through linkages with the Formula Grant Program and other resources. The Director of the Bureau is appointed by the President and, upon confirmation by the Senate, serves at the President's pleasure. The Director establishes the priorities and objectives of the Bureau and has final authority to approve grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. In establishing its annual program, the Bureau is guided by the ]priorities of the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and the needs of the criminal justice community. This report was prepared under cooperative agreement #95-DD-BX-K011, provided by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The points of view or opinions stated in this document do not represent the official position or policies oft he U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of .lustice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. RESPONDING TO VICTIM SERVICES NEEDS: SELECTIONS FROM WHAT WORKS WORKING MEETINGS State Evaluation Development Program Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs U.S. Department of Justice January 1996 Prepared by Andrea G. Richards Jason R. Lunsford PROPERTY OF National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Box 6000 Rockville, fvlD 20849-6000 Prepared by the Justice Research and Statistics Association 444 North Capitol Street, N.W. Suite 445 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 624-8560 Acknowledgements This report resulted from a cooperative effort by the States and the Bureau of Justice Assistance as part of the State Evaluation Development Program, which is coordinated by the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA). The Justice Research and Statistics Association prepared this document under the direction of Joan C. Weiss, Executive Director. The following JRSA staff compiled the information for this report under the supervision of Kellie J. Dressier, Assistant Director for Special Projects: Andrea G. Richards, Program Associate, and Jason R. Lunsford, Intern. Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................... 1 Colorado The Emergency Courtroom: Denver County Court Protective Orders Court ..... 3 Delaware Victim Services in Rural Policing .................................. 7 Hawaii Multi-Agency Family Violence Program ............................. 8 Iowa Batterer's Education Program .................................... 13 Massachusetts Attorney General's Elderly Protection Project ......................... 21 Quincy Court Domestic Abuse Program ............................. 26 Triad and Community Policing: The Massachusetts Model ............... 34 Mississippi Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center Project ....................... 41 South Mississippi Family Child Center's Child Victim/Witness Program ...... 46 Montana Victim/Witness Assistance Program ................................ 53 New Mexico Jicarilla Apache Tribe Domestic Violence Program ..................... 58 North Dakota Stutsman County Victim/Witness Assistance Program ................... 63 Oregon Malheur County Multi-Disciplinary Team ............................ 68 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) ............. 73 Tennessee The Memphis Police Department's Family Trouble Center ................ 79 Texas Community Justice in Austin .................................... 83 0 0 0 Introduction As part of a continuing effort to provide the criminal justice community with improved access to information on successful programs that are responsive to problems of drug abuse and/or violent crime, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is pleased to present this document which focuses on the victims programs presented at eight BJA State and Local Programs Working Meetings. The State and Local Programs Working Meetings have been in existence since 1993 and have covered the following topics: (1) Rural Issues and Programs; (2) Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Education; (3) Understanding and Combatting Violence; (4) Preventing Drug Abuse and Violent Crime; (5) Successful Collaborative Programs: Improving the Criminal Justice System; (6) Youth, Drugs and Violence; (7) Innovative Courts Programs; and (8) Revitalizing Communities. The victims programs documented in this report are primarily the result of program development and implementation activities supported by BJA's Formula Grant Program to State and local governments and organizations. Additionally, some of the programs were developed as a result of BJA funding through its Discretionary Grant Program. Finally, a few programs were established and sustained with little or no Federal funding, but are of interest to State and local planners for potential replication. 0 0 0 Colorado The Emergency Courtroom: Denver County Court Protective Orders Court Statement of the Problem The most lethal time in domestic abuse cases is when a battered woman is leaving the relationship. This is also the most critical time for judicial intervention. In these cases, litigants in need of immediate individual attention are in a crisis situation, when a judge's decision can have life-saving consequences. In many courts, restraining order cases are squeezed between other matters on the docket and are often heard by judges who do not want to handle these cases but do so as part of a regular rotation. This can lead to irritations due to delays and interruptions of the regular docket and can result in untrained judges making mistakes in high-risk cases. The traditional dispersement of cases to judges leads to a lack of individualized service to the already traumatized victim, as well as delay and inconvenience for other litigants. Goals and Objectives Denver's Emergency Courtroom has two primary goals: (1) to improve judicial intervention in restraining order cases; and (2) to increase citizens' use of the courts when violence and threats are imminent. The objectives designed to meet these goals include the following: to protect victims from violence through court orders; to reduce violence by identification of high-risk cases, safety planning, and appropriate referrals; to humanize the process by providing a smaller and more user-friendly court; and to provide referrals and easy accessibility to outside services. Program Components Since April 1992 the Denver County Court has provided a dedicated Protective Orders Court, in which one judge presides over all restraining order cases and contempt hearings. Unlike the traditional system in which judges try to squeeze protective orders cases between regularly scheduled cases, this court provides ready access, court services, and trained personnel so that the court can intervene when violence is imminent. The courtroom is self-sufficient and the filing process is simplified, since the vast majority of the parties represent themselves. The judge and all staff develop expertis e through regular training in domestic violence matters and maintain close ties with related community agencies such as police, advocates, prosecutors, Legal Aid, and treatment providers. Ongoing training is also provided for police officers and the sheriff concerning the proper handling of domestic violence cases and restraining orders. Volunteer victim advocates as well as volunteer lawyers and guardians ad litem participate actively in the courtroom. The following community programs work in conjunction with the court to provide services to the victims, as well as to the victims' children. Project Safeguard is a domestic violence advocacy program that provides this court with victim advocates, whose function in the court is two-fold: to work with the court to conduct victim orientation, providing information on restraining orders and community services; and to