MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody is to provide access to the best possible source of information and tangible assistance to those working in the field of domestic violence and child protection and custody. The Resource Center will chart a future in which child protection and custody cases involving family violence are handled in a manner which recognizes the complexity of the legal, cultural, and psychological dynamics and provides protection and relief  for all victims in the family.

HISTORY

The Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody (Resource Center), a project of the Family Violence Department (FVD) of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), was established in 1993 when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided funding for a state-of-the-art network of four domestic violence resource centers: the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, the Battered Women's Justice Project, the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence, and the Resource Center.  In 1998, HHS awarded funds to establish a fifth resource center: Sacred Circle, National Resource Center to End Violence Against Native Women.  Collectively, these resource centers are known as the Domestic Violence Resource Network.

 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCE NETWORK (DVRN)

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence • 6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300 • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17112 • Phone: 800-537-2238 • TTY: 800-553-2508 • Fax: 717-545-9456 • Provides comprehensive information and resources, policy development, and technical assistance to enhance prevention and response efforts of professionals and volunteers involved in responding to domestic violence.

National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence • 383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 304 • San Francisco, California 94103-5133 • Phone: 888-792-2873 • TTY: 800-595-4889 • Fax: 415-252-8991 • Provides resource and training materials, clinical tools, technical assistance, information and referrals, training, and models for local, state, and national health policy-making for those interested in improving health care’s response to domestic violence.

Sacred Circle, National Resource Center to End Violence Against Native Women • 722 Saint Joseph Street • Rapid City, South Dakota 57701 • Phone: 877-733-7623 (red road) • Fax: 605-341-2472 • Provides technical assistance, policy development, training institutes and resource information regarding domestic violence and sexual assault to assist Native Nations and tribal organizations in the development of tribal strategies and responses to stop violence against native women.

Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody • National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges • P.O. Box 8970 • Reno, Nevada 89507 • Phone: 800-527-3223 • TTY: 800-855-2880 • Fax: 775-784-6160 • Provides technical assistance, materials, training assistance, and policy development at the local, state, and national level for those working in the field of domestic violence and child protection and custody.

DVRN COLLABORATIVE PARTNER

The partnership between the DVRN and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (Hotline) began in August, 1995.  The Hotline serves as a critical partner in the prevention and resource assistance efforts of the DVRN.  The partners actively coordinate efforts to routinely inform and support each other’s work and to systematically develop and enhance individual as well as joint resources and project. Although the organizational structures and services vary, the DVRN and Hotline have fostered a natural alliance in the common goal to make a society in which safety and justice for all women and children are not just a priority, but a reality.  The Hotline provides the following services: 

National Domestic Violence Hotline (a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence) • P.O. Box 161810 • Austin, Texas 78716 • Hotline: 800-799-7233 • TTY: 800-787-3224 • Fax: 512-453-8541 • Operates a toll-free, 24-hour hotline which provides crisis intervention, information about sources of assistance for individuals, referrals to battered women’s shelters and programs, social service agencies, and legal programs, and materials in a variety of formats and languages. • Serves individuals living in all 50 states through bilingual advocates (Spanish and English), with access to translators in 139 languages.

DVRN COLLABORATIVE AGENCIES

The DVRN has four crucial collaborative agencies that assist the DVRN in providing a comprehensive response to victims of family violence and their children.  The collaborative agencies include:

Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence • 450 Sutter Street, Suite 600 • San Francisco, California 94108 • Phone: 415-954-9988 ext. 315 • Fax: 415-954-9999 • Serves as a forum for, and clearinghouse on information, research, resources and critical issues about violence against women in Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community • University of Minnesota, School of Social Work • 290 Peters Hall • 1404 Gortner Avenue • St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-6142 • Toll Free Phone: 877-643-8222 • Local Phone: 612-624-5357 • Fax: 612-624-9201 • Provides an interdisciplinary vehicle and forum by which scholars, practitioners, and observers of family violence in the African American community will have the continual opportunity to articulate their perspectives on family violence through research findings, the examination of service delivery and intervention mechanisms, and the identification of appropriate and effective responses to prevent/reduce family violence in the African American community.

National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence (ALIANZA) • P.O. Box 672, Triborough Station • New York, New York 10035 • Toll Free Phone: 800-342-9908 • Local Phone: 646-672-1404 • Toll Free Fax: 800-216-2404 • Local Fax: 646-672-0360 • Promotes understanding, sustains dialogue, and generates solutions to move toward the elimination of domestic violence affecting Latino communities, with an understanding of the sacredness of all relations and communities by providing technical and training assistance, community education and development, culturally competent research, and public policy work.

Women of Color Network (a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence) • 6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300 • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17112 • Toll Free Phone: 800-537-2238 • TTY: 800-553-2508 • Fax: 717-545-9456 • Supports and promotes the efforts of women of color activists in the United States and Territories to develop culturally relevant approaches that address domestic violence and sexual assault.

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE RESOURCE CENTER ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: CHILD PROTECTION AND CUSTODY

Technical Assistance

The Resource Center provides a variety of technical assistance to those working in the field of domestic violence and child protection and custody, including judges, court workers, advocates, lawyers, child protective workers, law enforcement personnel, and other professionals.  The Resource Center features a staff with diverse professional and educational backgrounds working together to provide the best in technical assistance.  While staff are prohibited from providing legal advice to individuals requesting assistance with their personal cases, staff members do work to assess the needs of each caller and tailor assistance to meet those needs.  Available technical assistance includes:

• Customized information packets;
• General phone information;
• Program materials;
• Access to publications;
• National experts database;
• Domestic violence statute database;
• Resources, working and training materials;
• Synergy newsletter distributed twice a year; and
• Specialized assistance to Greenbook Initiative grantees and Safe Havens grantees.

Training Assistance
 
The NCJFCJ and its Family Violence Department bring many years of quality, national-level training experience to the resource center. Staff members work in conjunction with those in the field to develop training on the impact of domestic violence on children and child protection and custody issues in the context of family violence. Staff works cooperatively with callers to develop and provide training appropriate to the unique needs of each community or professional group. Staff also works in conjunction with national experts to develop and provide training materials.
 
Policy Development
 
Services for battered mothers and the impact of domestic violence on children are continuing areas of scholarship, research, public policy, and the law. The resource center provides leadership to improve services and court practices by:

• Convening annually a multidisciplinary panel of experts to assist in the development of policy recommendations;
• Developing special projects to address needs in the field;
• Gathering experts and consultants in policy working groups to tackle specific complex issues.

Publications
 
The FVD has created a number of leading family violence publications, all of which are available through the Resource Center.  These publications provide comprehensive suggestions for model court practice; legislation in family violence; and policy for collaboration among child protection workers, domestic violence service providers, and the courts.  

For those needing immediate assistance, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 (TTY: 800-787-3224).

Family Violence Department - (800) 527-3223 or (800) 52-PEACE
Fax (775) 784-6160 - Wash. DC (202) 558-0026 - fvdinfo@ncjfcj.org