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Practice
Area: Preparation of the Petition and
Filing Procedures
Date
of Implementation:
1979
Overview:
The objectives of the
Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order intake procedures are to 1)
have a process in which a pro se distressed individual can
access the court’s power to provide a protection order; 2) help the
victim focus on what the Court needs to know to satisfy the legal
process; 3) have no “up front” costs to the filing person because
lack of access to money may be part of the abuse; 4) provide a forum
for hearing the person’s version of the problems, even if all of the
elements are not of primary concern in a court process; 5) encourage
filing parties to follow through with the court procedure once they
decide that is what they want and 6) provide referrals to community
services for all family members as appropriate.
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Key
Elements:
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Trained master’s level mental
health professionals with significant interviewing and forensic
experience.
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Participation of Court Counseling
Department receptionist, duty counselor, and duty secretary.
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Easy access to the judge, the Clerk
of Courts, the security officers, Legal Services, child protective
services, and other community agencies when appropriate.
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Clients who come to the courthouse
are immediately routed to the duty secretary who provides all necessary paperwork and instructions for a
petition. The secretary requests information about police intervention
that might have resulted in a report as well as other active court
cases on the same matters. As soon as possible, the duty counselor
interviews the client, helps sort out information that will be
necessary for the court, provides information on the process and other
services available in the community, and helps the client complete the
petition.
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All departments and staff involved in the intake
procedure and those who must act on the results of the intake
procedure were involved in determining what is important to
accomplish, what the problems might be (with suggestions for how to
resolve them), and how the procedure might be modified in the future
when problems arise.
Replication: Many jurisdictions
throughout Ohio have visited the program and have heard various staff
members speak at meetings and workshops.
Before the state adopted its own uniform forms, many
jurisdictions copied or used Lucas County’s forms and procedures.
Evaluation: Evaluation data not
available at this time; jurisdiction maintains some statistics related
to practice. For example, administrators believe the practice to be
effective because 82% of clients go through intake and come back for
full hearing in 10 days. In addition,
99+% are pro se while going through intake process.
Contact & Related Links:
Michele MacFarlane, MSW, SCSW, LISW
Court Counseling Department
Lucas County Domestic Relations Court
429 N. Michigan Street, Suite A
Toledo, OH 43624-1692
(419) 213-6800
(419) 213-6808 Fax
mmacfarl@co.lucas.oh.us
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