Using Web-Based Technologies to Promote Safe Access to Protection Orders During Pandemics and Natural Disasters
Published by: LaJuan Epperson, Barbara Holmes, Jannet Okazaki, Kay Radwanski, Ruth Reichard
During the COVID-19 pandemic, courts have been modifying procedures and expanding remote access to protection orders to help survivors overcome the additional barriers presented by social distancing and state stay-at-home orders. Online petitioning programs for remote access to protection orders have been available for several years, but their accessibility, functionality, and safety features vary across states and individual courts. Working with advocates, law enforcement, and other stakeholders over the past few years, the Supreme Courts of Arizona and Indiana have designed and implemented web-based technologies for obtaining protection orders with survivor safety as the paramount objective. Participants in the webinar will hear an overview of web-based technologies for protection orders and learn how AZPOINT, the Arizona Protective Order Initiation and Notification Tool, and Indiana’s Protection Order E-Filing Service are enhancing the courts’ capacity to provide safeguards for survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.