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 Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $600,000 Project Grant to Citizens Against Physical And Sexual Abuse Inc. (CAPSA) under the Justice Systems Response to Families Program (CFDA 16.021). Through this 3-year project, CAPSA will implement activities to improve the capacity of the civil and criminal justice systems in Cache County, Utah to respond to families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Key services include:

1. Employing a full-time court advocate to provide advocacy and safety planning for underserved victims in court hearings.
2. Hiring a full-time project facilitator to develop a training plan for court staff and stakeholders.
3. Supporting a part-time advocate from sub-grantee Cache Refugee And Immigrant Connection (CRIC) to ensure the needs of immigrant and refugee survivors are represented throughout the court process.

The project aims to enhance coordination between the justice system and community partners to better protect victims and their children while holding offenders accountable, with a focus on advancing racial equity in service delivery.

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 new justice for families project, citizens against physical and sexual abuse, in partnership with first district court of utah and cache refugee and immigrant connection (CRIC), will implement a standard project addressing the following purpose areas: 3) training for court-based and court-related personnel, and 5) court and court-based programs and services for cache county in rural northern utah. The project will address priority area 1: advance racial equity with a local partner serving immigrant and refugee survivors. Specific activities will include: 1) supporting a 1.0 FTE court advocate to provide advocacy and safety planning to underserved victims in court hearings; 2) hiring a 1.0 FTE project facilitator to create a training plan for court staff and stakeholders; and 3) employing a part-time advocate from CRIC to ensure the voices, experiences, and culturally relevant needs of victims are represented at all stages of the court process.