DV Training for Courts
- American Judges Association Education – Effective Adjudication of Domestic Abuse Cases
The American Judges Association, with the assistance of Futures Without Violence, and the National Center for State Courts, is proud to provide this high quality, web-based, comprehensive domestic violence education for judges. Using adult-learning instruction tools and interactive exercises, separate training modules on key issues allow new and experienced judges to learn at their own pace from leading national experts they might not otherwise have the time, opportunity or funding to see. The AJA offers this engaging and convenient resource at no cost to judges who want to apply this state of the art learning to make our communities safer. - American Judges Association Education – Understanding DV Perpetrators and Their Victims
The unique dynamics of intimate partner violence are challenging for judges. Often, there are no witnesses except the alleged perpetrator and the person he or she is accused of abusing. The defendant often presents well in court. The victim may act in ways judges find illogical and frustrating. Judges know that the orders they make in court affect not only the adult(s) before them, but also children in the home. This training will highlight what judges need to know about the behaviors of perpetrators of domestic violence and victims/survivors so judges may make the most informed decisions and craft effective orders that keep their communities safe. - Every Victim, Every Witness: 12 Safety Considerations for the Juvenile and Family Court System
The health and well-being of each child, victim, and witness is paramount to the administration of justice. The affected come to our attention stemming from various abuses. Many times the abuse that brings the victim to our attention is not the first time, just the latest; sometimes the latest being the last straw. This already fragile human being teeters at an emotional abyss of confusion, helplessness, rage, guilt, and fear. While in such a state of despair it is our duty to provide them, and those responsible for their well-being and testimony, safe harbor and proper care. - National Journal – Lawmakers Ponder How to Protect Federal Judges
After the fatal shooting of a New Jersey judge’s son, Congress and the courts are navigating the complexities of her plea to
protect the privacy of the nation’s jurists. - State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Resources
The prevention of and response to terrorism begin at the state and local levels. The State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program provides no-cost training and resources to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, analysts, and support staff, who serve as the front line of defense against acts of terror. - Steps to Best Practices for Court Building Security
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC), through its Court Consulting Services division, has conducted security assessments of court buildings as well as personal security and safety training throughout the country. In conducting court building assessments, the NCSC has evaluated court security in terms of “best practices” – guidelines describing those security measures that should be in place concerning a comprehensive set of topics on court buildings and court operations.
Risk Assessment Tools
- Brief Spousal Assault Form for Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER)
The Brief Spousal Assault Form for Evaluation of Risk is a set of Structured Professional Judgment guidelines for assessing and managing risk for intimate partner violence. There is a fee to access this resource. - Classification of Violence Risk (COVR)
The Classification of Violence Risk (COVR) is an interactive software program designed to estimate the risk that a person hospitalized for mental disorder will be violent to others. There is a fee to access this resource. - DV RISC
With the support of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and in collaboration with national subject matter experts and practitioners, the Center’s DV RISC Resource Center provides multi-disciplinary community readiness tools, training and technical assistance to communities working to identify and implement strategies that are grounded in a coordinated response to domestic violence homicide prevention and reduction. - The Danger Assessment
The following assessment helps to determine the level of danger an abused woman has of being killed by her intimate partner. It is free and available to the public: Danger Assessment Worksheet - The Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG)
The Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (DVRAG) was developed in Canada by Hilton et al. (2008).It is a 14-item risk assessment tool designed to assess the risk of intimate partner violence recidivism among male offenders with a criminal record for intimate partner violence. - Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center – Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement
The Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement (DA-LE) is an evidence-based risk assessment screening instrument, administered on scene by law enforcement officers, that identifies victims who are at the highest risk of severe/near-lethal assault. It acts as a supplement to the police report. - Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center – Domestic Violence High Risk Assessment
The Domestic Violence High Risk Assessment (DVHRT) uses evidence-based risk assessment to alert the domestic violence response system when a case has a high risk of turning lethal. - Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI)
The LS/CMI is described as fourth generation as it combines offender risk and need assessment, invoking the central eight risk/need factors, along with linkages to offender supervision, management, and intervention. - Historical Clinical Risk Management (HCR-20)
This instrument is a comprehensive set of professional guidelines for violence risk assessment and management. - MOSAIC Threat Assessment Systems
This tool assesses threats to judicial officers. This tool has restricted access and is only available to law enforcement agencies.- MOSAIC-Domestic Violence Male Offender (free)
- MOSAIC-Domestic Violence Female Offender (free)
- MOSAIC-Workplace Violence Threats (licensed)
- Angry Current Employee-Male
- Angry Current Employee-Female
- Angry Former Employee-Male
- Angry Former Employee-Female
- Workplace Stalker-Male
- Workplace Stalker-Female
- MOSAIC-Judicial Official Threats (licensed)
- Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment
The ODARA is an actuarial risk assessment that calculates how a man who has assaulted his female partner ranks among similar perpetrators with respect to risk. It also calculates the likelihood that he will assault a female partner again in the future. - Risk Assessment Guideline Elements for Violence (RAGE-V)
The Risk Assessment Guideline Elements for Violence (RAGE-V) is an exploration and explanation of interrelated processes and activities that will assist in evaluating the potential risk of future physical violence from a known individual, including those inspired or motivated by group philosophy or beliefs. - Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP)
The Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP) is a Structured Professional Judgment instrument for the assessment and management of individuals considered to pose a risk of sexual violence. - Sexual Violence Risk Assessment (SVR-20)
The Sexual Violence Risk-20 (SVR-20) is a set of structured professional judgment guidelines for conducting sexual violence risk assessments in criminal and civil forensic contexts. There is a fee to access this resource. - Spousal Risk Assessment Guide (SARA)
The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA) can help determine the degree to which an individual poses a domestic violence threat to his/her spouse, children, another family member, or another person involved. - Stalking Risk Profile (SRP)
The Stalking Risk Profile (SRP) is the definitive structured professional judgement tool for assessing and managing risk in stalking cases. - State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Resources
The prevention of and response to terrorism begin at the state and local levels. The State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program provides no-cost training and resources to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, analysts, and support staff, who serve as the front line of defense against acts of terror. - Static-99
Static-99 is a ten item actuarial assessment instrument for use with adult male sexual offenders who are at least 18 year of age at time of release to the community. - Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)
The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) is a risk assessment instrument designed to structure appraisals of violence risk and risk management plans for adolescents. There is a fee to access this resource. - Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG)
The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) is a 12-item risk assessment tool that was designed for predicting violent recidivism and is used in a number of capacities including with patients in forensic and non-forensic settings, sex offenders, and offenders in prison: Violence Risk Assessment Appraisal Guide - Violence Risk Scale (VRS)
The Violence Risk Scale (VRS) uses ratings of static and dynamic risk predictors to assess violence risk, identify targets for treatment, and assess changes in risk following treatment. The Violence Risk Scale (VRS) uses ratings of static and dynamic risk predictors to assess violence risk, identify targets for treatment, and assess changes in risk following treatment. The Violence Risk Scale (VRS) uses ratings of static and dynamic risk predictors to assess violence risk, identify targets for treatment, and assess changes in risk following treatment. The Violence Risk Scale (VRS) uses ratings of static and dynamic risk predictors to assess violence risk, identify targets for treatment, and assess changes in risk following treatment. - Violence Risk Scale Sex Offender (VRS-SO)
The Violence Risk Scale Sex Offender (VRS-SO) is theory based and uses static and dynamic variables to assess sexual offense risk and predict sexual recidivism.
Trauma
- Trauma Information Pages
These Trauma Pages focus primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and dissociation, whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a large-scale disaster. The purpose of this award winning site is to provide information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field. - Wendt Center for Loss and Healing – Vicarious Trauma
This website offers resources for professionals at risk of compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma. - U.S. Attorneys Listing
A listing of current United States Attorneys for all 94 districts.
Victim Assistance
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, Victim Services
The Victim Services Division (VSD) informs, supports, and assists victims in navigating the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity and resilience. VSD is responsible for ensuring that victims of crimes investigated by the FBI are given the opportunity to receive services and notification as required by federal law and the Attorney General Guidelines on Victim and Witness Assistance. - National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
The Program Directory provides links to each state compensation program, where you can find specific information about benefits, requirements, and procedures. - National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators
The mission of the Association is to ensure accessible quality services for crime victims nationwide and to strengthen communication, training, and technical assistance to effectively respond to the issues and challenges of supporting those services. - OVC, Directory of Crime Victim Services
Since its launch in 2003, the Directory of Crime Victim Services (the Directory) has helped many crime victims and service providers find nonemergency crime victim service programs in the United States and abroad. The Directory includes contact information for thousands of victim service providers. - U.S. Department of Justice Victim Notification System
In order to provide victims with information on case events, as required by the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act and the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, DOJ has developed the Victim Notification System (VNS). This website provides information about VNS. This free automated system provides important information to victims.
Relevant Federal Offices
- ATF, Victim/Witness Assistance Program
ATF’s Victim/Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) provides assistance to victims and witnesses of crimes investigated by ATF. VWAP specialists ensure victims of federal crimes who have suffered physical, financial and/or emotional trauma are informed of their rights to services, and receive the assistance and protection to which they are entitled under the law. - Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, and our goal is clear – keeping America safe. - DHS, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (DHS Center) fosters partnerships between government and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to increase the nation’s resilience by creating trust and developing relationships. The DHS Center seeks to build bridges across the whole community and to help overcome coordination challenges among FBOs, emergency managers and other stakeholders engaging a broad cross-section of FBOs in all stages of the disaster cycle. The DHS Center serves as a clearinghouse for information, connecting and coordinating with FBOs allowing information to be shared in both directions, informing decision-making at DHS by elevating concerns, ground truth and local situational awareness while providing feedback, updates and guidance to the faith community. - DHS, Financial Assistance
Most DHS components have authority to execute and manage financial assistance to support the DHS mission. Financial assistance is the transfer to a non-federal recipient anything of value for a public purpose, and at DHS includes grants, cooperative agreements, training, loans, direct payments, and flood insurance. - DHS, Fusion Center Locations and Contact Information
There are two types of fusion centers, primary fusion centers and recognized fusion centers. A primary fusion center typically provides information sharing and analysis for an entire state. These centers are the highest priority for the allocation of available federal resources, including the deployment of personnel and connectivity with federal data systems. A recognized fusion center typically provides information sharing and analysis for a major urban area. As the Federal Government respects the authority of state governments to designate fusion centers, any designated fusion center not designated as a primary fusion center is referred to as a recognized fusion center. - HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
ASPR leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies. ASPR collaborates with hospitals, healthcare coalitions, biotech firms, community members, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and other partners across the country to improve readiness and response capabilities.