In close collaboration with the Office on Violence Against Women, NCJFCJ has led the Firearms Technical Assistance Project (FTAP), to promote the effective implementation of firearms restrictions in domestic violence cases at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. NCJFCJ has worked closely with a consortium of national partners (listed below) and subject matter experts to provide intensive technical assistance, training, and mentoring to six geographically and culturally diverse communities around the country (identified below).
Each FTAP site has a site coordinator as well as a management team made up of local stakeholders who are interested in improving their community’s response to domestic violence and firearms. Each site also has a technical assistance (TA) team drawn from the project partners that provides guidance and support on strategies and promising practices to prevent abusers from having access to firearms in domestic violence cases. Through mapping, self-assessment, and community meetings, each site has identified gaps and barriers in their local response, and prioritized particular challenges to address through the FTAP.
The TA teams work closely with their respective site management teams to help design and implement policies and protocols that are tailored to the unique needs of the site. An important focus of this work involves identifying and working with traditionally underserved and/or marginalized communities to ensure that the strategies for improving the implementation of firearms prohibitions in domestic violence cases reflect the needs and circumstances experienced by these communities.
FTAP Sites
- Birmingham, AL
- Brooklyn, NY
- Columbus, OH
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation
- Spokane, WA
- State of Vermont
TA Partners
- National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ): The mission of NCJFCJ is to provide all judges, courts, and related agencies involved with juvenile, family, and domestic violence cases with the knowledge and skills to improve the lives of the families and children who seek justice. NCJFCJ’s Family Violence and Domestic Relations department, which has administered the FTAP, provides expert technical assistance to individuals and communities on issues concerning domestic violence; FVDR also uses a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to developing effective trainings and publications and to creating valuable practice tools for professionals. The NCJFCJ’s FVDR is dedicated to improving the ways the justice system and others respond to family violence, while recognizing the legal, cultural, and psychological dynamics involved, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of domestic violence victims and their children. The FVDR has been a key partner to OVW in various firearms and domestic violence endeavors during the past three decades.
- AEquitas is a nonprofit organization focused on developing, evaluating, and refining prosecution practices related to gender-based violence and human trafficking. We’re a team of former prosecutors with decades of experience, working globally to hold offenders accountable and promote victim safety. AEquitas’ mission is to improve access to and the quality of justice in gender-based violence and human trafficking.
- Justice Innovation, Inc. DBA Center for Court Innovation (CCI) is a pioneer in the creation of specialized domestic violence courts, working to rethink and improve court responses to intimate partner violence. CCI provides training and technical assistance to courts and court partners through OVW’s Justice For Families (JFF), created the DV RISC clearinghouse to support jurisdictions in preventing domestic violence homicides, and provides training and TA on DV risk and risk assessments. CCI has brought to the FTAP project its considerable expertise on implementing court operations, systems change, and strategic planning. Justice Innovation’s Reimagining Intimacy through Social Engagement (RISE) Project transforms responses to IPV, focusing specifically on its intersection with gun violence.
- Battered Women’s Justice Project (National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit + National Domestic Violence and Firearms Resource Center) has provided extensive national TTA for the past 25 years. BWJP’s mission is to promote change within the civil and criminal justice systems to enhance their effectiveness in providing safety, security, and justice for battered women and their families. BWJP runs the national resource center on criminal and civil response to domestic violence and promotes change within community organizations and governmental agencies engaged in these cases in order to enhance their effectiveness in providing safety and justice for battered women and their families. BWJP also has expertise in systems’ assessment work and the creation of assessment tools. BWJP offers TTA and consultation on the most promising practices of the criminal and civil justice system in addressing domestic violence. TTA on all issues related to the issuance, service, and inter-jurisdictional enforcement of protection orders is provided by the National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit (NCPOFFC), a project of BWJP. BWJP also operates the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms (NRCDVF).
- Esperanza United is a leader in the domestic violence movement and a national resource for organizations working with Latinas in the United States. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Esperanza United’s mission is to mobilize Latinas and Latina communities to end domestic violence. Founded in 1982 to provide emergency shelter for Latinas and other women and children experiencing domestic violence, the organization has grown to become the largest Latina organization in the country focused on domestic violence. Esperanza United honors the family-centered lives of the Latin@ community and believes in the strengths and power of communities to address challenges facing them.
- The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. With more than 32,000 members in over 170 countries, the IACP is a recognized leader in global policing, committed to advancing safer communities through thoughtful, progressive police leadership. The IACP is known for its commitment to enhancing community safety by shaping the future of the police profession. Through research, programming, and training, the IACP is preparing current and emerging police leaders—and the agencies and communities they serve—to succeed in addressing the most pressing issues, threats, and challenges of the day. IACP develops and delivers trainings, tools, and policies to assist law enforcement in responding effectively to domestic violence.
- National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen tribal sovereignty. Through its Board members and staff, the NIWRC offers demonstrated and unique expertise to ensure that the FTAP addresses firearms concerns in Indian Country.
- National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has shared authoritative knowledge and expertise to address current and emerging issues and trends in state court administration for more than 50 years. NCSC’s mission today – promoting the rule of law and improving the administration of justice in state courts and courts around the world – springs logically from its original purpose to gather information and produce innovations to benefit all courts. As an independent, non-profit organization, NCSC can move swiftly to identify and respond to evolving needs, deploying resources when and where courts need them. NCSC’s team of experienced researchers and consultants help courts address issues ranging from access to justice to cybersecurity to racial justice. Resources include webinars, on-site or remote technical assistance, education and training, and direct consulting. NCSC’s International Division works in dozens of countries around the world supporting rule of law efforts.
- Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community: Launched in 2016, Ujima serves as a national, culturally-specific services issue resource center to provide support to and be a voice for the Black community in response to domestic, sexual, and community violence. The center was founded in response to a need for an active approach to ending violence against women in the Black community. Through its education and outreach, training and technical assistance, resource development, research, and public policy efforts, Ujima aims to mobilize the Black community and allies to strengthen families in the Black Community, recognizing that the safety and viability of those families is connected to the health and well-being of their individual neighborhoods and communities at large. Ujima provides vital knowledge and expertise in working in the Black community.
