Page 11 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2023

Compliance calendars are created to promote safety and end violence within relationships and within the broader community.
has published comprehensive guide- lines11 reviewing jurisdictions that currently have these calendars and how calendars should be conducted to ensure the best outcomes. Com- pliance calendars are created first and foremost to promote safety and end violence within relationships and within the broader community. Domestic violence intervention pro- grams are important in creating a sense of accountability — for many of our litigants, this may be the first time they have had to confront their own trauma and actions that led to a PFA being issued against them.
It is important that the Court remain invested in litigants’ success in these programs, especially given the positive outcomes that Dela- ware’s domestic violence interven- tion programs have produced over the years. Indeed, in an independent
Delaware Family Court is no stranger to changes in procedure, especially given the many challenges in the wake of the COVID pandem- ic. Family Court continues to focus specifically on the Protection From Abuse (PFA) calendars and how the Court can better ensure safety for families. To that end, Family Court has integrated virtual proceed- ings where available and continues to monitor gun relinquishments and domestic violence treatment compliance. However, compliance monitoring has always been a subject
of focus for Delaware, as it is often difficult to truly hold litigants acc- ountable for attending a treatment program that can run for 25 weeks. Last year, Delaware was able to con- nect with a mentor court through the Center for Court Innovation to implement our first domestic violence compliance calendar.
Domestic violence compliance calendars have been implemented in various courts throughout the country and have seen various levels of success. While research in this area is scarce, the Center for Court Innovation
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