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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ind. Courts - "County's protective order projects starts"
Diane Krieger Spivak reports today in the Gary Post-Tribune in a story that begins:
CROWN POINT -- Lake County's four domestic violence courts are getting more requests than ever for protective orders, officials say.But the 9-page documents often arrive at the judge's bench incomplete or incorrectly filled out. In some cases, they don't arrive at all because victims often are too traumatized to complete paperwork.
To alleviate the problem and protect as many victims as possible, the Lake County Sheriff's Department's Domestic Violence Task Force is partnering with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and local shelters to launch the Protective Order Project.
For three hours this morning, ICADV's legal director Kerry Blomquist will train volunteers to help domestic violence victims complete the often daunting forms. The Sheriff's Department is videotaping the session and will distribute copies to area shelters, said Patti Van Til, co-chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force.
"Domestic violence is a serious problem in Lake County," said Van Til, an administrative deputy chief for the Sheriff's Department. "It's an ever-present issue."
A protective order is a document, signed by a judge, that prohibits contact between specific parties. Besides being daunting, directions for the application can be very intimidating because they call for a description of the abusive actions against victims, Van Til said.
"Revisiting that can be very emotional," she said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 29, 2009 08:46 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts