The National Legal Center on Children and Domestic Violence exists to improve safety for gender-based violence survivors and their children. We do this by centering the needs and lived experiences of survivors and their children and providing evidence-informed expertise to systems practitioners, advocates, and survivors.    

About Us

For close to three decades, the National Legal Center on Children and Domestic Violence, formerly the SAFeR project, has been at the forefront of providing training and technical assistance on child custody and family court matters.  

In 2009, BWJP’s National Child Custody Project developed the SAFeR approach to decision-making in family law matters. This approach was developed in response to concerns voiced by advocates and survivors who observed that custody and child support systems professionals needed new methods and procedures to address domestic violence. Since that time, the SAFeR approach has been implemented in countless jurisdictions. Currently, SAFeR is the subject of a national research project examining its efficacy.   

Who We Serve

We’re here to help advocates, attorneys, court staff, custody evaluators, dispute resolution professionals, Guardian-ad-Litem, judicial officers, and other allies who make decisions on custody, child support, or child welfare for families. 

Services

There is no one size fits all recommendation, so our team specializes in providing technical assistance, consultations, and training that’s tailored to your unique situation. 

  • Technical Assistance
    Our National Center provides expertise, training, and problem-solving strategies to address the intersection of children’s issues and intimate partner violence by:
    • Creating tools and educational materials for family court professionals and self-represented parties;
    • Developing domestic violence informed protocols, standards, and best practices;
    • Providing information and referrals to trusted resources and partners; and
    • Sharing promising practices and research to improve survivor outcomes.
  • Consultations
    We’re ready to consult with you on issues that pertain to survivors and their children, especially those related to family court, child welfare, and child support. We also consult on current policies and practices, the impact of proposed legislation, institutional analysis, and multidisciplinary or multi-agency initiatives. All of our consulting centers the voices of survivors and their children to improve safety and accountability. Please contact us for more information on consultation services.
  • Customized Training
    Our training sessions, customized to meet the needs of your organization, are highly interactive and grounded in adult learning principles. Trainings can be conducted on-site, remotely, or through our learning management system, the National GBV Learning Community.
  • Policy
    Our team develops articles and policy briefs on emerging issues affecting survivors and their children. We also convene and facilitate the National Custody Strategy Network, a collective of practitioners from state and national organizations working to achieve safer outcomes for children and their families in family court cases involving gender-based violence.

THIS WEBSITE IS SUPPORTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, GRANT # 90EV0528, 90EV0517, and 90EV0548. THE VIEWPOINTS CONTAINED ON THIS SITE ARE SOLELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OFFICIAL VIEWS OR POLICIES OF THE DEPARTMENT AND DO NOT IN ANY WAY CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. 

THIS PROJECT WAS SUPPORTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY GRANT No. 2018-TA-AX-K012 AWARDED BY THE OFFICE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. THE OPINIONS, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS WEBSITE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.