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 new justice for families project, the new york state unified court system for the monroe county integrated domestic violence court (idvc) and DV courts, with its partners, the legal aid society of rochester (lasroc), and willow domestic violence center, 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; 8) training within the civil justice system in monroe county, NY. Specific activities under this project include: 1) supporting a 1.0 FTE resource coordinator in the monroe county idvc to closely monitor defendant/respondent participation in court mandated programs and create a compliance calendar; 2) providing comprehensive training for judges and court personnel with topics to include immigration consequences, language access and barriers, orders of protection, firearm surrender, cultural competency, and risk assessment; 3) providing civil legal services to victims of domestic violence and nonoffending parents in matters that involve allegations of child sexual abuse; that relate to family matters, including civil protection orders, custody, and divorce and legal issues that often arise because of these cases.