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CITY OF CENTRVH LE
<br />RES. #22-0,e9
<br />A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING NOVEMBER FAMILY COURT AWARENESS
<br />MONTH
<br />WHEREAS, November is Family Court Awareness Month which provides an excellent
<br />opportunity to demonstrate our support of a family court system that prioritizes child safety and
<br />acts in the best interest of children.
<br />WHEREAS, According to the Center for Judicial Excellence, 864 children have been murdered
<br />by a divorcing/separating parent in America since 2008. The Family Court Awareness Month
<br />effort is organized by a number of local and national organizations determined to bring
<br />awareness about the conservatively estimated 58,000 children a year who are ordered into
<br />unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents.
<br />WHEREAS, In 2021, 220 cities and counties, along with eight states, including Maryland,
<br />Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Texas, publicly
<br />demonstrated their commitment to child safety in the family court system, Mayors, county
<br />officials, and governors around the country have pledged their support with proclamations and/or
<br />resolutions officially declaring the month of November as Family Court Awareness Month in
<br />their respective communities.
<br />WHEREAS, Family court professionals should receive training surrounding the topics they rule
<br />about every day, which include domestic violence, child sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional
<br />abuse, trauma, and coercive control, as well as victim and perpetrator behaviors.
<br />WHEREAS, Many are shocked to discover that most states do not have mandated domestic
<br />violence training requirements prior to a judicial officer presiding over family court cases and
<br />ultimately, are misguided in determining the fate of innocent children who are living with
<br />familial violence. In the states that do have requirements for domestic violence training, it is very
<br />minimal; in fact in at least one state, barbers and beauticians have more mandated domestic
<br />violence training than do its judges.
<br />WHEREAS, Many families in our community are struggling in silence and facing the reality
<br />that child safety is not being prioritized, and that our bench officials need tools to help ensure
<br />children are not living trapped in trauma and abuse, and even worse, dying at the hands of a
<br />dangerous parent.
<br />WHEREAS, the mission of the Family Court Awareness Month Committee (FCAMC) is to
<br />increase awareness on the importance of empirically -based education and training on domestic
<br />violence, childhood trauma, child sexual abuse, coercive control, post separation abuse for all
<br />professionals working on cases within the family court system, and to increase awareness on the
<br />importance of using scientifically valid, evidence -based, treatment programs and services that
<br />are proven in terms of safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic value, and;
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