The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is continuing to update resources related to COVID-19 and will post updated information as it is made available.
Court-issued civil protection orders provide domestic violence victims with important options while influencing batterers to stop the abuse. An integrated and consistent protection order system that coordinates issuing, serving, and enforcing court orders promotes victim safety and helps save lives. The NCJFCJ recognizes that an effective civil protection order system relies upon the interplay and interdependence of each profession’s work; judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, advocates, civil attorneys, and others. We seek to increase the capacity of communities, courts, judges, and related professionals to enhance victim safety and offender accountability through effective protection order practices.
The NCJFCJ works within a network of national organizations to promote improved civil protection order practice. We offer technical assistance to courts, judges, and other professionals to address challenges and emerging needs identified by those involved in the issuance, service, and enforcement of protection orders. In addition, we conduct webinars and workshops on topics concerning protection orders, including custody and visitation, victim autonomy, compliance review, and firearms surrender. We also provide on-site multi-disciplinary training based on an interactive curriculum designed to help communities assist victims with a unified, cohesive, and reliable response. The participatory workshop model for this curriculum brings together the various professionals needed to implement system change and improvement through coordinated community responses. Our roundtables and other structured discussions with judges and justice system professionals explore the challenging issues involving the protection order process and identify possible strategies for addressing those issues. These discussions often lead to the development of new materials or resources for judges and other professionals. Together, the NCJFCJ’s technical assistance, training, and resource development offer courts and communities the opportunity to enhance their ability to safeguard victims of domestic violence, provide for children’s safety and wellbeing through the use of child-related relief in civil protection orders, and hold abusers accountable.
Below is a list of links to other TA providers with additional CPO resources:
Working with Interpreters in a Court Setting
This webinar was hosted by The National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit in collaboration with the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Working with an interpreter is essential to ensuring victim safety for individuals with limited English proficiency in the civil protection order process.
This webinar will provide participants with:
This webinar focuses on how five different jurisdictions have used methods such as telephonic and video conferencing to hold hearings for the issuance of and compliance with civil protection orders in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The panelists include:
The NCJFCJ convened a group of national subject matter experts in 2009 to examine what new guidance was needed to promote improved practices in CPO cases. The group's efforts culminated in the creation of the Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice (CPO Guide). The document offers a Common Ground segment reflecting overall essential values and details specific guidance by profession.
The CPO Guide lists the following as universal values for professions:
The original CPO Guide provides guidance for the following professions/disciplines: Advocates, Civil Attorneys, Courts & Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Prosecutors. Recent CPO Guide supplements provide guidance for two additional disciplines: Court Personnel and Court Supervision.
We offer a variety of technical assistance including access to publications (see Publications), webinars (recordings available, see Webinars), on-site and remote training (see TA Request), consultation or system collaboration and improvement (see TA Request or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and other assistance tailored to specific requests.
We do not provide direct services, legal advice, or legal assistance on individual cases. If you or someone you know is in danger, please contact 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
We provide online and in person training and phone consultation to communities and professionals interested in improving their civil protection order systems. To submit a request, please use the form below.
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