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, the winnebago county circuit court and its partners, winnebago county, the 17TH judicial circuit family violence coordinating council, winnebago county states attorneys office, winnebago county public defenders office, winnebago county circuit clerk, winnebago county court services; city of rockford family peace center, remedies renewing lives, rockford sexual assault counseling, INC., rockford alliance against sexual exploitation, regional access and mobilization project, the ARC of winnebago, boone, and ogle counties, the liam foundation, ywca of northwestern illinois, childrens safe harbor, prairie state legal services, and northern illinois university college of law, 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. Specific activities will include: 1) continuing the domestic violence coordinated court to monitor offender compliance with court orders; 2) continuing the domestic violence assistance center (dvac) to assist victims with filing for orders of protection; 3) providing training for court-based and court-related personnel and provide training within the civil justice system; and 4) providing civil legal assistance to victims by continuing to enhance and support training of pro bono attorneys. This is a continuation of 15JOVW-21-GG-00215-jffx.