Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice

This publication is known as the CPO Guide. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in partnership with the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women developed the CPO Guide as a tool designed to support the work of professionals dedicated to enhancing the effectiveness of the civil protection order process. It provides guidance for advocates, attorneys, judges, law enforcement personnel, and prosecutors to help ensure that protection orders are effectively issued, served, and enforced across the country.The guiding premise of the CPO Guide is that if each profession commits to certain common values, then the system as a whole will be better able to protect and promote the safety and well-being of victims of domestic violence and their children.