Along with the announcement, an invitation was extended to the Superior Court for its representative to be present during the award ceremony scheduled for Aug. 3, 2010 during the NCJA National Forum to be held in Ft. Myers Florida.
With its Office in Washington, D.C., the NCJA is the national leader in shaping and implementing policies for tribal and local governments on crime prevention and crime control issues. Most of its members are from the criminal and juvenile justice community, to include law enforcement, corrections, prosecution, defense, courts, victim-witness services and educational institutions to federal, state and local elected officials. Every year the NCJA recognizes criminal justice programs that display successful and promising practice.
The Superior Court, FCCS was selected because of its positive outcomes of the Pro Se Center, the Separating Parents Program, and the judges’ training program. The Pro Se Center provides assistance in the review, filing, delivery and distribution of legal forms on behalf of indigent self-represented litigants. The Separating Parents Program is an educational service that teaches parents about the underlying negative effects on children when parents separate and how to avoid them. The judges’ training provides the resources, through federal grants, for judges to receive legal education and training in family court issues at national conferences, workshop and the National Judicial College. Together, these programs allow for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the Family Court.
Judge Kenneth L. Govendo who handles most the Family Court cases said, “we are extremely proud to receive this honor. We have fewer resources than other jurisdiction, but our staff works hard, and more importantly, genuinely cares about helping the people who come before us. The goal of FCCS is to get matters in front of a judge as quickly as possible because the parties and children are under a considerable amount of stress. We will continue to do our best in spite of pending budget cuts. Special thanks are due to Linda Graff who teaches our Separating Parents program with me and to the Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja who has been supportive of our endeavors.
Patrick Diaz, Family Court manager, will travel to Florida to receive the award. He states that this award recognition is important and a first for the Family Court. “Greater appreciation and recognition goes out to former and current family court staff for their commitment, the office of the presiding judge and Judge Govendo for the support and guidance. In addition, I want to express our gratitude to the Criminal Justice Planning Agency Director Jerome Ierome and his staff for assisting the program to be recognized at the national level through NCJA.”
