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“Challenging the Rise in Non-
Stranger Violence”
Casey Gwinn, Esq.
President, National Family Justice Center Alliance
American Judges Association
Denver, CO
October 4, 2010
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.familyjusticecenter.org
Copyright 2010
The Latest Research
• Reduced DV Homicides for Men and
Women of Color
• Criminal Justice System Intervention has
increased safety and reduced homicides in
many communities
• Four women/men still die every day…
• Ongoing re-victimization of victims in
intervention systems
• Decline in abuser accountability in last five
years (www.familyjusticecenter.org)
We Know What Happens
Before Most DV Homicides• www.dangerassessment.com
• www.mosaicmethod.com
• ROC Curves
• Prior history of abuse
• Abuser has access to firearms
• Prior “choking” (Strangulation)
• Failure to comply with court orders
• Unemployment
• Drugs and Alcohol
A Grand Vision
• A future where…
– All the needs of victims are met
– Children are protected
– Violence fades,
– Aggressors are held accountable
– Economic justice increases,
– Families heal and thrive,
– Hope is realized, and
– We ALL work together…
What changes the world for victims
and their children?• Increased safety
• Accountability for the Offender
• Peer/System Advocacy & Support
• Parenting Support
• Alcohol and drug treatment if needed
• Job training/Economic justice
• Changed behavior of their partner
• Wraparound, co-located services – the Verizon Network!
• Resources that meet physical, emotional, and spiritual needs
• HOPE
What changes the world
for offenders?• Accountability/Consistency
• Appropriate punishment with long-term accountability and support
• Affirmation/Respect
• Sensitivity to their family history
• Education/Tools/Life Skills
• Economic justice
• Drug and alcohol treatment
• Wraparound services
• Opportunity for redemption/restoration
• HOPE
When do victims and children die?
When do victims and children get re-
victimized?• When:
– When misdemeanors don’t matter
– Repeat offenders are not held accountable
– Dangerous offenders have guns
– Offenders manipulate the system and avoid real accountability
– The community does not work together to increase safety, offender accountability, and resources for families in need
– Victim Safety is not prioritized
Reaching the Vision
is not an event…
It is a long journey…
From the Women’s Movement, to
the Sexual Assault Movement, to the
Battered Women’s Movement, to
intervention, to prevention, to
specialization…Leading to…
A Big, big problem…
32
Police
Substations
(8 locations)
City Attorney
(3rd Avenue)
Marine Corps
(MCAS
Miramar)
CPS
(Linda Vista)
South Bay
Community
Services
(South Bay)
Becky's House
(Safe House)
The Center
(Hillcrest) Women's
Resource
Center
(Oceanside)
UCSD Hospital
(Hillcrest)
CCS
(Mission Bay)
Border Patrol
(South Bay)Rancho Coastal
Humane
Society
(Encinitas)
San Diego
Mediation
Center
(Downtown)
SART
(Villa View
Hospital)
YWCA
(Downtown)
UPAC
(25th Street)
Navy Family
Advocacy
(32nd Street)
Professionals are scattered
Victims of Our Own Success: The
Inadequacy of “Coordinated,
Community Response” –
• Law Enforcement
• Prosecutors
• Advocates/Shelters
• Judges
• Court Staff
• Probation/Parole
• Military
• Social Services/Advocacy
• Government – City, County
• Government – State, Federal
• Federal agencies
• Medical/Fire
• Media
• Business/Employers
• Education (K-12, Secondary)
• Faith Community
• Parenting Programs
• Pregnancy Services
• Pet Care Services
• Prevention Programs
• Public Health
• Sexual Assault Professionals
• Child Abuse Professionals
• Elder Abuse Professionals
True Collaboration in Most
Communities is Still Rare…
What are the biggest problems
developing true collaboration?• Power and control
• Personality conflicts
• Ego struggles
• Politics/Competition/Limited resources
• Different value systems, priorities, goals
• Different visions for service delivery
• Lack of grace, mercy, forgiveness
• Lack of accountability, mutual respect
• Poor, inconsistent communication
• Lack of compromise, negotiation
• No one listens to survivors and let’s them participate in the design of the service delivery model
• Weak collaborative leadership
Victims of Our Own Success: The
Inadequacy of “Coordinated,
Community Response” –
• Law Enforcement
• Prosecutors
• Advocates/Shelters
• Judges
• Court Staff
• Probation/Parole
• Military
• Social Services/Advocacy
• Government – City, County
• Government – State, Federal
• Federal agencies
• Medical/Fire
• Media
• Business/Employers
• Education (K-12, Secondary)
• Faith Community
• Parenting Programs
• Pregnancy Services
• Pet Care Services
• Prevention Programs
• Public Health
• Sexual Assault Professionals
• Child Abuse Professionals
• Elder Abuse Professionals
Why are some court’s
uncomfortable with participation in a
coordinated community
response/collaborative approach?
• Sworn to be impartial
• See no appropriate judicial role
• Fear of ethical violations
• Fear of political repercussions
• Already overworked
• Dislike the issue or the advocates
• Personal Baggage
• Take a look at the Public Defender’s Letter
& NYT Article, “Fierce Entanglements”
A Lesson in 1998
Food, Shelter, Clothing, Transp.
Safety, Protection, Security
Connection, Support,
Community
Self-Respect
Agency/
Healing
Hope
Vision Economic Justice/Healing
• Safe and Affordable Housing
• Safe and Affordable Transportation
• Safe and Affordable Childcare
• Affordable Healthcare
• Affordable Education/Job Skills
• Jobs that are family-friendly/well-paying
• Sufficient Income Supplements/Support
• Restoration; timely payment of all losses & costs,
broadly define; actualized & prospective
• Economic safety net; government & community
• Access to Civil/Criminal Legal Systems
Documented Outcomes
• Drug Courts
• DV Courts
• Collaborative Service Delivery Models –
Family Justice Centers, Multi-Disciplinary
Teams, High Risk Teams, and other types
of multi-agency collaborations
Recent outcomes provide
encouraging signs…
The new collaborations are... simply problem-solving
partnerships, groups of practitioners and researchers convened
to "unpack" particular problems; craft solutions to them; and
implement, adapt, and evaluate those solutions....
[T]he new atmosphere of knowledge-driven interagency
collaborations holds the prospect that very innovative, and
sometimes very complex, interventions can be designed....
[T]here are clashes of cultures to be bridged, pitfalls to be
avoided or survived, and standards and methods to be worked
out. All this is well worth doing. Collaborations promise new
knowledge and insights for researchers, new and powerful ways
of doing business for practitioners, and progress in the crucial
agenda of crime control...."
David Kennedy, Ph.D., Harvard University
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
Lessons from Our Past:
The September 11 Commission Report
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
The 9/11 Commission Report:
Final Report of the National Commission
on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States
“Earlier in this report we detailed various missed opportunities to thwart the 9/11 plot. Information was not shared, sometimes inadvertently or because of legal misunderstandings. Analysis was not pooled. Effective operations were not launched. Often the handoffs of information were lost across the divide separating the foreign and domestic agencies of the government.
However the specific problems are labeled, we believe they are symptoms of the government’s broader inability to adapt how it manages problems to the new challenges of the twenty-first century. The agencies are like a set of specialists in a hospital, each ordering tests, looking for symptoms, and prescribing medications. What is missing is the attending physician who makes sure they work as a team.”
Page 353
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
“We recommend significant changes in the organization of
the government. We know that the quality of the people
is more important than the quality of the wiring diagrams.
Some of the saddest aspects of the 9/11 story are the
outstanding efforts of so many individual officials
straining, often without success, against the boundaries
of the possible. Good people can overcome bad
structures. They should not have to.”
Page 399
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
Despite good intentions,
collaborations often fail.
What sets apart those that
succeed?
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
What do we Know about
Collaboration?
Lessons from the Research
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
Lessons from Research:
Characteristics of Highly
Effective Teams
A clear and elevating goal
A unified commitment to the goal
A results-driven structure
The right people on the team
Effective leadership
A climate conducive to collaborating
Standards of excellence
External support and recognition
Adapted from: Team Work, Larson, Carl E. and LaFasto, M.J., Sage Series, 1989
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
High performance teams have both a clear
understanding of the goal to be achieved and a belief
that the goal embodies a worthwhile or important result.
– The greater the clarity of understanding regarding the nature of
the problem being addressed, the more effective people are at
solving the problem.
– The degree of challenge, the sense of urgency, the belief that the
accomplishment will make a significant and measurable
difference makes the work compelling.
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
What Does the Research Say?
• The most effective teams are those who are focused squarely on the result because whether or not the team succeeds clearly makes a difference.
• The greatest threat to successfully working toward a clear and elevating goal is politics and personal agenda.
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
The importance of structure is not its specific design. More important is whether a structure is in place that is appropriate for the achievement of the performance objectives.
To be successful, a team’s structure should be designed around the results to be achieved.
Trust among team members is central…
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
What Does the Research Say?
• Collaboration flourishes in a climate of trust.
• Trust allows team members to stay problem-focused.
• Trust promotes more efficient communication and coordination.
• Trust improves the quality of collaborative outcomes.
• Trust leads to compensating (one team member picks up the slack when another team member falters).
– Compensating is positively correlated with success. Teams that are able to function in this way are able to achieve higher levels of performance.
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
Standards of Excellence
• A standard is the pressure to achieve a required or expected level of performance.
• Standards define those relevant and very intricate expectations that eventually determine whether the level of performance is acceptable.
Madeline Carter
Center for Effective Public Policy
What Does the Research Say?
• There are three variables integral to establishing and sustaining standards of excellence.
– The extent to which:• Standards are clearly and concretely articulated.
• Team members require one another to perform according to the established standards of excellence.
• A team exerts pressure on itself to make those changes that will improve the performance standards.
– Successful teams do not become complacent. They actively work at finding reasons to be dissatisfied with their performance. Each performance is an opportunity to discover ways of doing it better next time.
What is the future in family
violence intervention?• Collaborative, coordinated community approaches
• Co-located services (Victim-centered)
• Multi-disciplinary and multi-agency services
• New communities/cultures with increasing focus on prevention…the “before”
• Criminal and civil justice system professionals and community-based domestic violence/sexual assault programs, counseling services, medical services, spiritual support, economic assistance, and…
• A rejection of the categorical social service referral system…
• Creating vehicles for community capacity building with accountability to survivors
Don’t Buy the Lie…That You
Cannot Afford It…
The Cost of One MurderCost
Four Police Responses $ 1,582
Two Temporary Restraining Orders 1,400
180 day Jail Term $19,292
Two years Probation $ 5,104
One Emergency Room Visit $ 1,855
Two weeks in a DV Shelter $ 2,094
One week @ Polinsky x 3 $ 4,200
One Year of Foster Care x 3 $18,756
Coroner’s Autopsies (2) $ 5,510
Court Prosecution $1,500,000
State Prison Sentence (2 life terms) $1,000,000
TOTAL $2,558,793Source: HHSA – Office of Violence Prevention
San Diego Family Justice Center
Military
Clinical
Program
SD
Deaf
MHS
APS
SDFJC
Foundation
Children’s
Hospital
Crime
Victims
Fund
Probation
Victim
Witness
Travelers
Aid
District
Attorney
CCS
Chaplains
SDPD
DV Unit
SDVLP
City
Attorney
Volunteer
Program
Forensic
Medical
Unit
FJC
Dept
Dress for
Success
UPACFJC
Legal
Network
CAMP
HOPE
YWCA
CWS
Human
Trafficking
The San Diego FJC Building
• 707 Broadway
– Sufficient Space -
39,213 sf
– Sufficient Parking
– Close to Court
– Close to public
transportation
– Free space for all
participating agencies
Central to the FJC Vision…
Camp
HOPEC
Camp Hope for Children
Impacted by Family Violence• To heal
• To give hope
• To have fun
Go to:
www.camphopesandiego.org
Tepee Village &
Meeting Circle
Water Play
Water Play
Water Play - Kayaking
Fishing
Catching Frogs
Family Justice Center –
Initial Outcomes• Natural client peer support
• Broad cross-section of victims/clients
• “Dropping charges” significantly reduced (30/70)
• Client support/safety dramatically increased
• Less focus on criminal justice system as sole or primary response
• Strong sense of “community” developing among service providers
• Collaboration, Efficiency
• Dramatic reductions in homicides in FJC systems
• 30, 22, 18, 13, 9, 7, 5, 5, 3 in 2008…Aiming for ZERO in one year…
Oprah Endorses the FJC
Model - 2003
FJC Movement
• 60 Operating FJCs
• ½ coordinated by
shelters/community-
based DV agencies
• ½ coordinated by
District Attorney’s
Offices or Police
Departments
• 140 Communities in
active planning
discussions
• Centers in 10
countries
• Rural
• Suburban
• Urban
• Tribal
• Regional Centers
• FJCs in VAWA
• Obama
Administration Focus
Tulane University Survey
Range of Co-Located Services in
Centers• Criminal Justice
• Medical Services
• Civil Legal Services
• Child Care/Child trauma/Advocacy Services
• Child Welfare
• Subject Matter Focus Areas: Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault/Stalking/Elder Abuse
• Living Provisions/Needs
• Financial & Employment Assistance
• Public Benefits
• Social Services
• Spiritual Support
• Community Education/Outreach/Prevention
• Camping/Mentoring Programs
Targeting the Judge’s
Role in DV Cases
Cleveland Municipal Court
Judge Ron Adrine
55
RESOLUTION 22,
CONFERENCE OF CHIEF JUDGES
Problem Solving Courts: are recognized as an effective and necessary way to address complex social problems in a way that differs from traditional civil and criminal adjudication, focusing on remedies grounded in therapeutic jurisprudence, and best accomplished by the establishment of dedicated courts and calendars.
The Judicial Responsibility For
Neutrality Does Not Preclude A Judge
From Providing Community Leadership
• Judges should provide leadership,
within the bounds of our Canons of
Ethics, in determining needs and
obtaining and developing resources and
services for families involved with and
exposed to family violence.
Ethically, What can a court do on its
own to address Domestic Violence?
From the Bench, what are the court’s primary
goals in domestic violence cases?
– Ensuring fairness, but avoiding re-traumatizing the victim in the courthouse.
– Seeking enhancement of victim safety as a top priority.
– Holding convicted abusers accountable(See Judicial Responses in the Handouts)
Challenges to Judicial Involvement
• All this must be done in a neutral, appropriate manner so as not to cast doubt on the impartiality of the tribunal to hear matters which come before it.
Challenges to Judicial Involvement
• Accusations that the judge is overstepping his or
her authority and practicing social work.
• Requests/ demands for recusals/
disqualifications on ethical grounds
• Concerns about challenges at election time
Ethically, What can courts do to
partner with Family Justice Centers
and other collaborative approaches?
• They can:
– Promote the creation of FJCs as an
improvement to the administration of
justice
– Call for a collaborative service delivery
model – facilitate the local discussions
regarding the creation or expansion of
such an approach
As Promoters, Judges…
• Seek to ensure the fair, equitable and
timely administration of justice for all
• Expand the pool of available services for
victims and offenders
•
61
Ethically, What can courts do to
partner with Family Justice Centers,
CCRs, and MDTs?
• They can:
– Participate in the planning for FJCs to
provide coordinated service delivery
As Planners, Judges…
• Bring a wealth of experience to the effort
• Assist in diagramming the facilitation and
impediments of the case-flow process for
all other partners
• Convene FJC planning processes
63
Ethically, What can courts do to
partner with Family Justice Centers,
CCRs, and MDTs?
• They can:
– Participate in the development of Electronic
and Audiovisual-based court processes for
protection order and other related hearings
As Tech Leaders, Judges…
• Assist in creating electronic rules to
facilitate electronic PO filings and video
hearings in DV cases
• Support the use of audiovisual interfaces
between victims and remote courthouses
65
Ethically, What can courts do to
partner with Family Justice Centers,
CCRs, and MDTs?
• They can:
– Refer those in abusive relationships who
come to the courts to FJCs, who can
appropriately assist them and advocate on
their behalf
As Referrers, Judges and Court
personnel should…• Partner with a diverse team of justice
system, social service, medical, spiritual
and other professionals to assist often
terrified, traumatized victims of abuse and
their children
• Obtain useful feedback on successful
interventions to facilitate the rendering just
results
67
Judges can…
• By providing victims with access to
wraparound services, courts empower
them to safely and independently work
through the decision making process
following an abusive event
68
Ethically, What can courts do to
partner with Family Justice Centers,
CCRs, and MDTs?
• They can:
– Direct those in abusive relationships to the
means of engaging in effective safety
planning
Judges can…
• Create consistent, swift consequences for
offenders
• Reward offenders who stop their
violence…
• Punish offenders who don’t stop their
abuse…
• Support monitoring and accountability and
treatment for abusive offenders
70
What Crosses The Line?
– Working to increase convictions, while
ignoring or working against measures that
protect the rights of those who are accused
– Impartiality is not an excuse for inaction.
It’s the court’s job to see to it that cases
end in a just result. If there are
impediments to that goal, courts should act
to remove them!
What Else Is A Judge Allowed
To Do? • Engage in efforts to educate the general
public:
– About the law
– About the empirical research
– About the limits of justice system response
– About the role of society in bringing change
– Engage in efforts to educate colleagues, the
Bar and Court staff
The FJC Alliance Family
Casey Gwinn, JD
Melissa Mack
Gael Strack, JD Sgt. Robert Keetch,
Ret.
Lori Gillam, CPA Yvonne Coiner
Jennifer Anderson Brenda Lugo
Michelle Adams, JD Mehry Mohseni Alexia Peters, JD
The FJC Alliance Extended Family
Sarah Buel, J.D.
Director
Arizona St.
College of Law –
Center for Family
Justice
Yvonne
Carrasco
Consultant to
Foundations &
the Non-Profit
Sector
Sue Else
President,
National
Network to End
Domestic
Violence
Denise Gamache
Director,
Battered Women’s
Justice Project
Dean M. Hawley, MD
Professor,
Indiana University
School of Medicine
Clarian Pathology
Laboratory
Mike Mason
Verizon
Chief of Security
Nancy E. O'Malley
District Attorney,
Office of the District
Attorney, Alameda
County
Kim Wells
Executive Director,
Corporate Alliance to
End Partner Violence
Oliver J. Williams,
Ph.D.
Executive Director,
Institute on DV in the
African American
Community,
Professor,
School of Social Work,
University of MN
Family Justice
Center Alliance • Publicly and privately funded national alliance
• National TA Team – On-site assistance, On-line assistance
• National standards/Web TV (Coming)/Video teleconferencing/Staff Exchanges/International Conferences/Webinars
• Coordinated with OVW Funded-National FJC Technical Assistance Project for federally funded sites
• FJC Institute funded by Verizon Foundation (including technology-based pilot projects)
• New statewide initiatives evolving, shelters leading the way in some communities and police/DA in others
• www.familyjusticecenter.org
Awareness Posters
And the Most Used
Service Providers Are…
• Restraining Order Clinic/Civil Legal Services
• Advocacy/Counseling/Safety Planning
• Law enforcement/prosecution services
• Children’s Services
• Forensic Medical Unit/Health Services
• Chaplain’s/Volunteer Programs
• Transportation
Basic Services in Centers
• Food
• Clothing
• Restraining orders without going to court
• Free cell phones with free minutes
• Free Internet access
• Spiritual support
• Transportation assistance
• Free medical assistance; dental assistance
• DA Victim-Witness Assistance
• Counseling
• Support Groups
• Safety Planning
• Child care
• Support services for children
• Law enforcement assistance
• Free locksmith services
• Pregnancy counseling
FJC Services Evolving…
• Easily accessible county wide resource network/locations
• Economic/financial assessments
• Financial literacy
• Credit repair
• Asset Development
• Education/Computer Training
• Personal Coaching
• Job Training/Job Placement
• Housing/Services Coordination – Emergency, Transitional, and Affordable
• Campus approaches…
www.familyjusticecenter.org
• Proceeds help support the International FJC
Alliance in its work around the world on behalf of
victims and their children
Hope for Hurting Families III : A Guide to
Co-Located Services in the Middle East
Reminders for Dreamers
• Be Focused and Persistent
• Be Overcomers: Politics, Turf Issues,
Competing Priorities, Enemies, Money, and
Personality Conflicts
• Stay Humble
• Learn from past mistakes
• Listen to advocates/survivors
• Always aspire, never settle
• Beyond services…what is your Camp Hope?
Thank you!
www.familyjusticecenter.org
