ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY TO RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

1. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY TO RESPOND TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Judge Leonard Edwards TEMPE, ARIZONA SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

2. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • Judge Leonard Edwards (ret.) • Judge-in-Residence • Center for Families, Children & the Courts • California Administrative Office of the Courts • 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 6th floor • San Francisco, CA 94102 • (415) 865-8820 • Leonard.edwards@jud.ca.gov

3. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • Some biographical information.

4. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • Your materials.

5. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • Introduce yourself to someone at your table whom you do not know well. • Tell him/her what you do and what interests you about reducing violence in your community. • In the alternative – go around your table so each person talks to everyone else answering the same questions.

6. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • VISION – FOR EACH TABLE What goals you are thinking about for your community? Each table come up with 3 goals.

7. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What strengths does your community have now that you might build upon? • How are you going to go about identifying additional strengths in your community?

8. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • IMPLEMENTATION: • WHAT WILL BE YOUR FIRST STEPS TOWARDS YOUR GOALS?

9. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • WHAT KEY PERSONS DO YOU NEED TO HAVE AT THE TABLE IN ORDER TO REACH YOUR GOALS? • WHAT KEY ORGANIZATIONS DO YOU NEED TO HAVE AT THE TABLE TO REACH YOUR GOALS?

10. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • You may want to create an on-going commission/task force/council or other group that is dedicated to ending domestic violence in your community.This group would meet regularly over a long period of time (indefinitely?) • What possibilities have you thought of? • How will you help to create this?

11. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • Will you work under an official organization? • The Courts? • The County Government? • A Stand-Alone Organization?

12. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • How will you engage these people/organizations?

13. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • AS A JUDGE CAN YOU TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?

14. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • How will you react to the “I am too busy” response?

15. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • How might efforts in other counties help you accomplish your goals? • What about a regional or statewide conference?

16. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • How might judges and court administrators make changes in court structure and practice that would further the goals you have established?

17. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What ethical issues do judges encounter when taking a leadership role?

18. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest would law enforcement have in your local domestic violence project?’ • What goals might you suggest to them?

19. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest would health care providers have in your project? • What goals might be suggested to their representatives?

20. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest would social workers have in your project? • What goals might you suggest to social work leaders?

21. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest might probation officers have in your project? • What goals might be suggested to probation leaders?

22. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest would the district attorney (prosecutor) have in your project? • What goals might be suggested to the district attorney?

23. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest might the criminal defense bar have in your project? • What goals might you suggest to their representatives?

24. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • What interest might corporate and business leaders have in your project? • What goals might you suggest to their representatives?

25. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • POSSIBLE PROJECTS • I. Improving practice in dependency court. • II. Providing advocates in every court where d.v. cases occur.

26. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • III. Developing special procedures for cases involving immigrants. • IV. Avoiding conflicting court orders. • V. Creating effective classes for domestic violence offenders.

27. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • VI. Creating support groups for victims of domestic violence. • VII. Developing therapy resources for children who have been exposed to domestic violence. • VIII. Creating a Death Review Committee.

28. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • IX. Developing special interventions for women who perpetrate violence. • X. Develop procedures for dealing with stalking. • XI. Provide training in the dynamics of domestic violence for all professionals in your community.

29. ORGANIZING YOUR COMMUNITY • XII. Open a docket in juvenile court for juvenile’s who are violent to their partners. • XIII. Identify and increase the numbers of beds in the community where victims of violence can live safely with their children. • XIV. Increasing the number of beds for victims of domestic violence and their children.

30. CONCLUSION • FIRST STEPS: • WHAT WILL THEY BE?

31. CONCLUSION • WHO WILL OVERSEE THE PROCESS? • WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN THAT PERSON MOVES ON/RETIRES/MOVES AWAY?

32. CONCLUSION CONSIDER A RETREAT – ½ DAY MINIMUM POSSIBLE GOALS AT THE RETREAT: Create a Mission Statement Write down your Values Identify Your Goals

33. CONCLUSION • Set up committees that will do the work on specific topics. • POSSIBLE COMMITTEES: • 1. Court Systems • 2. Police-Victim • 3. Health Care Providers • 4. Corporate/Business • 5. Children’s Issues • 6. Immigrant Issues

34. CONCLUSION • 7. Executive Committee • 8. Greenbook Committee • 9. Death Review • 10. Batterer Accountability • 11. Community Education

35. CONCLUSION • Call on outsiders for technical assistance. • You have the best here at ASU, but there are others around the country who will help.

36. CONCLUSION • Judge Leonard Edwards (ret.) • Judge-in-Residence • Center for Families, Children & the Courts • California Administrative Office of the Courts • 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 6th floor • San Francisco, CA 94102 • (415) 865-8820 • Leonard.edwards@jud.ca.gov