The most common form of victim notification in juvenile courts is a letter. Notification letters are sent upon request to victims by designated court personnel, a victim advocate, or a member of the prosecutor's office. Many notification letters are automated, and some are integrated into juvenile case management systems. In agencies that provide confidentiality protections to victim notification requests, notification records are kept in separate, confidential files or, in automated systems, maintained in secure databases. Sensitivity must be given to the language and format of victim notification letters.
Many jurisdictions also utilize innovative technologies to enhance victim notification services.
Use of automated voice response technology that allows victims to contact a centralized Call Center 24-hours a day, seven days a week for offender status information, and to receive automatic calls when the offender's status changes, is one example. In order to provide comprehensive, timely and accurate notification to victims, it is crucial for juvenile courts to develop policies and procedures to guide notification processes. Often, such procedures require collaboration among law enforcement, juvenile prosecutors, juvenile courts, probation, detention, victim services, and allied juvenile justice agencies. This project was supported by Grant No. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.