U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

community groups, with the goal of providing more effective

ways to achieve safety and well-being for intimate partner victims

and their children. The guidelines recommend ways to develop

and implement cross-system policy and staff development,

improve procedures within each system to better achieve safety

and prevent further abuse of adult and child victims, hold batterers accountable, and seek greater community resources to serve

victims and their families.

In December 2000, six sites were competitively selected to implement this collaborative approach: El Paso County, CO; Grafton

County, NH; Lane County, OR; St. Louis County, MO; San

Francisco, CA; and Santa Clara County, CA. Each demonstration

site receives up to $350,000 per year for 3 years. Policies and

The “Green Book” Demonstration

by Kristen Kracke

Although it has long been known that domestic violence and

child maltreatment often go hand in hand, researchers still have

questions about how often these behaviors co-occur, with estimates ranging from 30 to 60 percent.1 In recognition of how

these problems are intertwined, communities and professionals

have begun to address domestic violence and child abuse cases

together rather than as two separate, unrelated events requiring

different legal and social service responses. 

Background

To address the need for a more integrated approach to family

violence, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Judges (NCJFCJ) established an advisory committee of professionals from the courts, child welfare, domestic violence services, Federal agencies, and the academic community. This

committee developed recommendations for interventions and

ways to measure progress in communities seeking to improve

their responses to families experiencing both domestic violence

and child maltreatment. These recommendations were published

by NCJFCJ in Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and

Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice,

which is referred to as the “Green Book.” The guidelines serve as

a framework for the Federal interagency demonstration project,

Collaborations To Address Domestic Violence and Child

Maltreatment. 

The Green Book Initiative

This interagency demonstration project, referred to as the Green

Book Initiative, supports the implementation of the recommended policy and practice guidelines featured in the Green Book.

Within selected jurisdictions, the Initiative fosters and enhances

collaborations among domestic violence service providers; child

protective services; juvenile, family, and criminal courts; and

May 2001 #21

Federal Collaborative Agencies

U.S. Department of Justice

Violence Against Women Office

Office for Victims of Crime

National Institute of Justice

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services

Administration for Children and

Families, Children’s Bureau

Administration for Children and Families, Family

Violence Program

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation

APED TR MENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES • USA

1 Schechter, S., and Edleson, J.L. 1999. Effective Intervention in Domestic

Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice.

Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
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PERMIT NO. G–91

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U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

practices include cross-system collaboration in identification,

safety planning, case management, advocacy, protection, and

proper sharing of information; perpetrator accountability; and

service provision. The goal of each site is to improve responses

that protect and empower victims of abuse and their children.

The Initiative has three additional components: a comprehensive

national evaluation, a national consortium of training and technical assistance resources, and a team of Federal partners. The

national evaluation is being conducted by Caliber Associates of

Fairfax, VA, and its partners, the National Center for State Courts

of Williamsburg, VA, and the Education Development Center of

Newton, MA. The national evaluators collaborate with local

evaluators at each site. The evaluation will provide information

on promising practices and policy changes being implemented at

the sites. 

The training and technical assistance component is led by

NCJFCJ in partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund

of San Francisco, CA, and the American Public Human Services

Association of Washington, DC. This consortium of providers

offers expertise in the areas of the courts, domestic violence, and

child welfare. Together, these providers support the sites and promote the work of the Initiative through liaisons and peer guidance, provision and brokering of technical assistance from expert

consultants, and outreach and transfer of knowledge from child

welfare and domestic violence communities.

Jointly funded by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and

Human Services, the Green Book Initiative is managed by a team

of eight Federal agencies and offices. This team works with the

sites and with the national evaluation and training and technical

assistance partners to implement the Green Book guidelines and

to transfer and disseminate knowledge and skills learned through

this demonstration process to other communities that are developing new responses to ensure the safety and well-being of victims

of family violence. 

For Further Information

For information on the Green Book Initiative, contact Jerry

Silverman (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation),

chair of the Federal team, at 202–690–5654. For information

on the national evaluation, contact Caliber Associates at

703–385–3200. For information on training and technical

assistance and for additional information on domestic violence

and child maltreatment, contact NCJFCJ’s Family Violence

Department at 800–527–3223 or 775–784–6628.

To obtain copies of the Green Book, call NCJFCJ’s Resource

Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody

at 800–527–3223. The first copy is free; additional copies

are $15 each. To access the Green Book on the Internet,

visit the NCJFCJ Family Violence Department Web site,

www.nationalcouncilfvd.org.

Kristen Kracke is a Program Manager in OJJDP’s Child Protection

Division.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component 

of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,

and the Office for Victims of Crime.

FS–200121