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PROPOSED GRANT AWARD AMENDMENT
Department: Office of the Chief Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County
Grantee: Circuit Court of Cook County
Grantor: US Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
Request: Authorization to accept a grant award in the amount of $400,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
Purpose: To improve the family court response to custody cases involving domestic violence so that parenting arrangements protect domestic violence victims and their children
Supplemental Grant Amount: $400,000.00
Grant Period: 10/1/2014 - 9/30/2017
Extension Period: N/A
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Accounts: NA
Date of Previous Board Authorization for Grant: NA
Previous Grant Amount: NA
Concurrences:
The Budget Department has received all requisite documents and determined the fiscal impact on Cook County, if any.
Summary: This new "Family Court Enhancement Project" grant from the U.S. Department of Justice is the latest in a series of grants awarded to the court to support efforts to provide services to victims of domestic violence, and their children. Based on its outstanding work to date, the Circuit Court of Cook County is one of four courts in the nation to have received a project award from DOJ.
This award will be used to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the court's structures and processes around the issues of child custody and visitation decision-making, in order to identify key gaps and barriers faced by victims and their children in the court system. Following the assessment, implementation plans will be developed to address the barriers, with the ultimate goal of improving the court's response to child-related remedies in Orders of Protection. The funds will be used for training and contractual services, focused on research, surveys, focus groups and the development of performance measures. No matching funds are required.
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