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By
Patsy Taylor, LPOR Director
The Louisiana Protective Order Registry (LPOR) is a central
repository for court orders issued to protect victims of domestic
violence and their children. As
part of the registry’s launch phase, regional seminars were
conducted across the state for all who play a role in the response to
domestic violence. These
seminars proved so popular, that they continue to be conducted
annually. In addition to
conducting regional seminars, the LPOR training team responds to
numerous requests for workshops from various courts, agencies, and
organizations. As a
result of this visibility, the LPOR has come to be identified as
Louisiana’s primary resource for training and technical assistance
regarding the issuance and enforcement of protection orders.
On a referral from the National Center for State Courts, the
LPOR director was contacted by the victim assistance coordinator of
the Family Advocacy Program, a part of the Army Community Service at
Fort Polk, an installation in Leesville, Louisiana.
Advocates at Fort Polk asked that the Louisiana Protective
Order Registry assist them in bringing the appropriate parties
together to develop a memorandum of understanding between the
installation and the civilian courts in two surrounding parishes
regarding procedures for the enforcement of protection orders.
An initial meeting took place at Fort Polk in February 2003,
and included LPOR staff and the project’s legal consultant, the
director of Army Community Service, the victim assistance coordinator
of the Family Advocacy Program, and the Staff Judge Advocate. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the goals of the
collaboration, identify those who should take part in subsequent
meetings, and create a time line for proceeding.
A second meeting was held in May in Leesville, and included in
addition to LPOR and Fort Polk staff, two judges representing the
judicial districts that surround the installation.
It became clear at this meeting that the group first needed to
reach a common understanding of the terms being used (e.g., domestic
violence, protection order, full faith and credit) before work could
begin on drafting a memorandum of understanding.
Toward this end, the group is now working on a document that
will define the relevant terms, and where necessary explain the
differences in how these terms are understood within the civilian and
military communities.
When this document is ready, the next meeting will be
scheduled and law enforcement authorities from the installation and
the surrounding parishes will be added to the working group.
In similar fashion, others who need to be part of the
collaboration will be added to the group as work progresses.
The goal is to have the memorandum of understanding completed
by the latter part of October 2003, and conduct a cross-training
seminar. If successful,
the collaborative project will be expanded to other branches of
service with installations in Louisiana.
For more information about this project, contact Patsy
Taylor, LPOR director, at 504-568-5208 or ptaylor@lajao.org.
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