[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12381]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 DEPENDENCY COURT INTERVENTION PROGRAM

 Mr. NELSON Of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud 
the work of the Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family 
Violence in Miami, FL. The Dependency Court Intervention Program for 
Family Violence is designed to break the cycle of violence that occurs 
all too often in families suffering from domestic violence.
  Approximately 6 years ago, Judge Lederman, from Florida's 11th 
Judicial Circuit, proposed to the Justice Department a new approach to 
dealing with domestic violence and dependency court proceedings. This 
new approach was the Dependency Court Intervention Program. This court 
program, in addition to assisting victims of domestic violence through 
the legal system, provides assistance and support to a parent 
attempting to rebuild his/her life and provides a secure home for their 
children.
  Towards this end, the program has developed collaborative 
relationships between the child welfare system, battered women 
advocates, mental health and victim service providers, and law 
enforcement.
  Again, I praise Judge Lederman and the other Floridians involved with 
the good work done on behalf of victims and families in the Dependency 
Intervention Program for Family Violence.

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