Publications

Collaboration is a fundamental element of creating and sustaining lasting change in the civil protection order (CPO) system. According to the NCJFCJ’s Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice (CPO Guide), collaboration helps to…

For civil protection orders to be enforced, they must first be served on the respondent. While most states require that protection orders be personally served on the respondent, this can often prove to be a…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many courts have expanded electronic access to filing certain types of cases by self-represented litigants, including for victims seeking protection orders. This publication looks at some of the frequently asked questions…

Many victims of domestic violence seek court-ordered safety measures to prevent and mitigate violence and abuse in their lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, courts implemented general safety measures for in-person hearings and expanded the use…

This document answers frequently asked questions relating to firearms and civil protection orders. Main topics include enforcement of jurisdiction and federal protection order laws, suggested collaboration efforts, information regarding a respondent’s access to firearms, addressing…

This document provides a checklist of strategies for judges to improve the response to firearms in civil protection order cases. Main topics include steps to assemble multi-disciplinary collaborative teams, mapping the civil protection process to…

This document contains summaries of published state court decisions of interest related to a rebuttable presumption against awarding sole or joint custody to a parent who has engaged in domestic violence against the other parent.…

This document contains summaries of published state court decisions of interest related to civil protection orders, their issuance, and their enforcement for the year 2019. While most of these summaries are brief, containing only the…

The public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged courts and communities in unprecedented ways. Of particular concern are the sometimes insurmountable obstacles that many victims of domestic violence and their children encounter…

This Technical Assistance Brief provides a summary of resources available regarding the out-of-state service of civil protection orders, petitions, and related court notices and documents.

 This chart summarizes state statutes that permit a protection order to include an order regarding custody or parenting time, for child support, or for other child-related relief. For child support, only provisions authorizing payments directly…

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ (NCJFCJ) 2019 Annual Report, Reflection & Redefinition, looks back at the extraordinary achievements of the NCJFCJ in 2019. The members of the NCJFCJ are the driving…