Child victims of domestic violence have greater rates of behavioral, social, and emotional problems, cognitive delays, and long-term psychological effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The Domestic Violence Program is the only program of its kind in the country and provides guardian ad litem teams to ensure the child’s best interests are addressed when a case is filed in Civil Protection Order Court.
Our goal is to protect children from further harm and prevent the family from entering the child welfare system.
An attorney guardian ad litem and another professional, such as a social worker, are assigned to every case where the parties to a civil protection order share children.
In cases involving domestic violence, we look at child safety as the paramount issue when considering when, and under what circumstances, children should be with each parent.
Our team is comprised of experts in objectively assessing family situations and making recommendations in the best interests of the kids involved.
Child Law Center GALs and social workers:
The Children’s Law Center provides a critical first step in creating a safe and stable environment for kids and preventing future child welfare involvement.
[The Domestic Violence Program] is the only program of its kind in Colorado, making Denver the envy of all the other county courts. Due to allocation of resource restrictions it initially focused on the most difficult cases but recently has been expanded to cover virtually all cases where children are involved in Denver. All the Denver judges have enthusiastically applauded the program.
WHAT: Domestic Violence PROGRAM VOLUNTEER Guardian ad Litem Training
Volunteer GALs ensure that these children and their parents remain safe following the issuance of a civil protection order. Our GALs conduct investigations into the children’s best interests; file written reports with the court; make recommendations regarding care and control of the children; negotiate agreements between the parties; and represent the children’s best interests before the court. Our GALs are the only people involved with the case whose sole focus is the children’s best interests.
We are the only program in the country providing this critical service to children.
