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, essex county family justice center, in partnership with the safe house, essex newark legal services, and new jersey superior court essex vicinage, will implement a standard project addressing the following purpose areas: 3) training for court-based and court-related personnel; 5) court and court-based programs and services; 6) civil legal assistance, and 8) training within the civil justice system for essex county, new jersey. Specific activities will include: 1) providing a 1.0 FTE pro SE victim advocate located at the courthouse to provide direct services, court accompaniments, and court advocacy; 2) maintaining a part-time BI-lingual court advocate; 3) providing a legal screener (ATTORNEY) at the family justice center to assist at least 150 survivors with family law, immigration, custody or other legal services related to their victimization; and 4) developing a virtual training curriculum for court staff and two in-person annual training events for up to 200 court employees on topics related to domestic violence.