NCJ Number
212531
Date Published
August 2005
Length
172 pages
Annotation
This report provides evaluation findings for two domestic violence programs within the Alaska Court System: a court advocate for petitioners and a family law facilitator for parents.
Abstract
In 2002, the Alaska Court System requested funding from the United States Department of Justice for the implementation of innovative programming designed to respond to the needs of domestic violence cases. The programming involved the appointment of an advocate for petitioners in domestic violence cases, a family law facilitator for parents in domestic violence cases, and new case management software for domestic violence case handling. The Judicial Council was approached to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs; this report presents the evaluations of the first two programs: the court advocate and the facilitator programs. Data included the files of 1,072 domestic violence cases and interviews on perceptions of project implementation and outcomes with 16 participants, judicial officers, court administrators, family law help center staff, and court staff. Overall, the findings revealed that the implementation of the advocate and facilitator programs went smoothly. Both programs were designed to increase the frequency and utility of long term protective orders, yet the findings indicated that neither program achieved this goal: in 2002, 35 percent of petitions resulted in long term hearings compared to 36 percent during the study period 2003-2004. However, a 10 percent increase was noted for child custody and visitation orders in 2003-2004 compared to 2002 data. Interview data suggested the new programs improved services to participants in domestic violence cases. The Judicial Council recommends that the Alaska Court System continue to assess these programs over the next several years to determine their long-term utility. Footnotes, tables, figures, Appendixes