The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the…

The grants to support families in the justice system program (referred to as the justice for families program) was authorized in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice system to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The program supports the following activities for improving the capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court-based and court-related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters. Projects supported by the justice for families program are those that focus on keeping victims and their children safe from further abuse and holding offenders accountable. Through this continuation justice for families project, ywca missoula, in partnership with ries law group, the alexander blewett school of law at the university of montana, and the missoula county justice court, will implement a comprehensive project addressing the following purpose areas: 1) supervised visitation and safe exchange services; 5) court and court-based programs and services; and 6) civil legal assistance for four adjacent counties in western montana. The project will address priority area 3: underserved communities focusing on low-income and american indian families. Specific activities will include: 1) providing seven part-time positions to facilitate supervised visitation and exchange; 2) providing a .53 FTE domestic violence court coordinator to facilitate partner agency coordination and promote victim safety by expediting the court process; and 3) utilizing university of montana school of law students at ywca missoulas legal clinic with supervision by a private law firm specializing in domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.