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 U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women has awarded a $600,000 Project Grant under the Justice Systems Response to Families Program (CFDA 16.021) to Justice Innovation Inc. doing business as the Center for Justice Innovation and its partners. This 3-year grant will support activities to improve the capacity of courts and communities in Kings County and Richmond County, New York to respond to families affected by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Key initiatives include:

1. Developing and hosting trainings for family and intimate partner violence court judges, staff, and stakeholders on domestic violence, its impact on children, holistic and culturally responsive approaches for survivors and children, and risk factors in family court settings.

2. Adapting and implementing a voluntary, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed offender accountability program for cases involving domestic violence where children were impacted and the parent causing harm is seeking shared parenting or access to the children.

3. Providing up to four weekly offender accountability sessions in English and Spanish facilitated by trained PAVE facilitators.

This grant will support Justice Innovation Inc. and its sub-partners, including the New York State Unified Court System, Sanctuary for Families, Futures Without Violence, and Children's Law Center, in delivering these court-based programs and services to improve the justice system's response to families affected by the targeted crimes.

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, justice innovation INC. Doing business as the center for justice innovation, and its partners, the new york state unified court system, sanctuary for families, futures without violence, and childrens law center, will implement a standard project addressingthe following purpose areas: 3) training for court-based and court-related personnel; and 5) court and court-based programs and services in kings county and richmond county new york. Specific activities under this project include: 1) developing and hosting trainings for family and IDV court judges, court staff, and stakeholders on topics that focus on domestic violence and the impact on children, holistic and culturally responsive approaches to survivors and children who have witnessed domestic violence, community-based support and resources for survivors and children who have witnessed domestic violence, and IPV risk factors in the family court setting; 2) adapting and implementing an offender accountability program that is voluntary, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed for cases in which domestic violence is identified, children were involved, and the parent causing harm is seeking shared parenting or access to the children; and 3) providing up to four offender accountability sessions per week in english and spanish by trained pave facilitators.