Legal Services Highlights
People served by legal advocates.
TPOs granted in 2022.
DV-related calls made to Cherokee County 911 in 2022.
In legal services, funds provided in 2022, such as child support, child custody, divorces, and TPO final hearings.
Caring & Guiding With Legal Advocacy
Legal Advocates advocate for their clients to have access to the criminal and civil justice system to assure they know their rights and get the legal protections they are afforded. We don’t just process TPOs. Our Legal Advocates act as subject matter experts in family violence court trials to educate members of the jury on important information regarding family violence trials. We are active in the local Domestic Violence Task Force, and we work with Georgia Commission on Domestic Violence (GCDV) and Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (GCADV) to lobby with Georgia legislators and advocate for DV Rights. We also educate and empower first responders to recognize signs of DV at scenes of active DV incidents.
Legal Services
Enhancing Safety – Our legal advocates walk alongside our clients during Family Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Temporary Order proceedings. We provide individual safety plans based on each victim’s individual needs.
Advocating – Legal Advocates act as subject matter experts in family violence court trials to educate members of the jury on important information regarding family violence trials. We are active in the local Domestic Violence Task Force, and we work with Georgia Commission on Domestic Violence (GCDV) and Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (GCADV) to lobby with Georgia legislators and advocate for DV Rights. We also educate and empower first responders to recognize signs of DV at scenes of active DV incidents.
Providing Empowering Services – CFVC’s Legal Advocates are in a unique position to witness crime victims transform into survivors. In addition to assuring our clients have support navigating the legal system, our Legal Advocates also provide services that empower our clients in planning for their next chapter. From applying for temporary protective orders (TPOs) and Victims’ Compensation, creating individualized safety plans, and providing legal referrals to finalize child custody, child support, and residence security, our legal advocates assure the needs of our clients are holistically met.
Make A Plan And Stay Safe
Leaving an abusive relationship can be a daunting and dangerous task for survivors. On average, it takes up to seven attempts for a survivor to successfully leave their abuser for good. Alarmingly, the most dangerous time for domestic violence victims is during the process of leaving or immediately after. Your safety is our priority. If you are taking steps to leave an abusive relationship and are experiencing ANY of the following, please contact our legal advocates as soon as it is safe for you to do so.
- Your abuser has attempted to strangle you (or choke you out)
- Your abuser has forced you into unwanted sexual activity
- There is an increase in violent attacks, either in severity or frequency
- Your abuser threatens to kill you, themselves, other people or pets
- Your abuser has access to firearms or weapons
- Your abuser has started harassing you or exhibits stalking behaviors
- Your abuser has a history of depression, sleep disturbances, or suicidal tendencies
- Your abuser has substance abuse issues
- Your abuser has prior criminal activity and does not fear going to jail
Coordinated Community Response
CFVC believes that responders and service providers need to respond to domestic violence as one coherent process. We take collective responsibility for a victim’s experience and the offender’s behavior in every stage of the process. CFVC participates in Cherokee County’s Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Team to ensure victims receive consistent and comprehensive services and referrals. Coordinated efforts also help hold abusers accountable regardless of the agencies involved.
A CCR team joins multidisciplinary community partners to provide interagency, coordinated responses to domestic violence, collaborating to meet the needs of victims/survivors and more effectively holds offenders accountable. CCR teams implement a variety of strategies to help survivors comprehensively. This may include items such as internal information-sharing and training, community awareness and prevention campaigns, and multidisciplinary team case reviews.
Source: NCCADV.org
The CCR Team
The Office of the District Attorney, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, will uphold the Crime Victims Bill of Rights; Support a Victim Witness Assistance Program; Provide notification to victims of crime for criminal proceedings; Provide education and information about the Criminal Justice System, including orientation to the courtroom; Assist victims in the completion of forms such as Crime Victims Compensation, Crime Victim Impact Statement, and Crime Victim Restitution Form; Provide a private waiting area for victims of crime; Support the Cherokee County SART (Sexual Assault Response Team); Participate in the Cherokee County
Domestic Violence Task Force; Participate in the Multi-Disciplinary Team at the Anna Crawford Children’s Center; Facilitate the Child Fatality Review Committee; and provide education and outreach to the community to promote awareness about Crime Victims’ Rights and methods of crime prevention.
The Office of the Solicitor General, Cherokee County, will uphold the Crime Victims Bill of Rights; Support a Victim Witness Assistance Program; Provide notification to victims of crime for criminal proceedings; Provide education and information about the Criminal Justice System, including orientation to the courtroom; Assist victims in the completion of forms such as Crime Victims Compensation, Crime Victim Impact Statement, and Crime Victim Restitution Form; Provide a private waiting area for victims of crime; Support the Cherokee County SART (Sexual Assault Response Team); Participate in the Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force; Participate in the Multi-Disciplinary Team at the Anna Crawford Children’s Center;
Facilitate the Child Fatality Review Committee, and provide education and outreach to the community to promote awareness about Crime Victims’ Rights and methods of crime prevention.
The Cherokee Family Violence Center will enhance the safety of victims of domestic violence in Cherokee County by providing crisis intervention services to victims and their children through our 24-hour English and Spanish hotlines, our 12-bed emergency shelter, our 72-unit transitional housing apartment complex; our on-site free therapeutic services; our children’s program and activities: providing Legal Advocacy services by assisting in filing emergency protective orders, providing court advocacy and by providing follow up safety checks
through our Victim Liaison services to victims whose partners have been court-ordered to Family Violence Intervention Programs; assisting victims in the completion of forms such as Crime Victims Compensation; providing emergency financial assistance and case management services; offering longer-term education and support services such as support groups and life skill classes; providing outreach and services to immigrant victims of domestic violence with a concentration in the Latino community; developing community partnerships and institutional awareness of domestic violence issues; and promoting a community standard of zero tolerance for violence in the home.
The Anna Crawford Children’s Center, a program of the Cherokee Child Advocacy Council, will strive to provide a coordinated, multidisciplinary, and humane approach to child abuse intervention through a centralized, child-friendly facility that minimizes trauma and anxiety for the child victim and non-offending caregivers. To facilitate this coordinated, interagency approach, the Center will aim to enhance the cooperation of those involved in the protection of children by coordinating multidisciplinary team case reviews. Following
investigation, the Anna Crawford Children’s Center will provide the child victim and family with the following services: Crisis Counseling; Individual and Group Therapy for Child Victims; Individual and Group Therapeutic Support Sessions for Non-offending Family Members; Family Therapy and Criminal Justice Support and Advocacy. The Anna Crawford Children’s Center will also provide state and national training to hundreds of professionals involved in the protection and treatment of children affected by child abuse and violent crimes.
The Children’s Haven., Inc. will provide advocacy and visitation services to children who have been adjudicated as abused and/ or neglected in a Juvenile Court dependency proceeding. Our agency exists to fight for each child’s right to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to learn and grow in the secure embrace of a nurturing, permanent family.
Child Advocacy- our agency will provide trained volunteer child advocates to serve as a child’s guardian ad litem in Juvenile Court dependency proceedings. The volunteer child advocate promotes services for the child’s physical, medical, emotional, and educational well-being during this vulnerable period and serves as a catalyst in the court system to ensure that the child does not linger in foster care but is moved into a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible. Visitation- our agency will provide supervised, safe visitation as ordered by the court. The types of cases that generally require supervised visitation involve allegations of sexual or physical abuse, substance abuse, mental impairment, extended absence of a parent, and the potential threat of abduction. Our agency develops a case-specific visitation plan, taking into account the facts as they have developed in the case, to provide visitation consistent with the best interests of the child, both in frequency and duration.
The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office will uphold the Crime Victims Bill of Rights; Support a Victim Advocate Program; Provide education, information, and resources to victims of crime; Assist victims in the completion of forms such as Crime Victims Compensation, Crime Victim Impact Statement, and Crime Victim Restitution Form; Support the Cherokee County SART (Sexual Assault Response Team); Participate in the Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force Participate in the Multi-Disciplinary Team at the Anna Crawford Children’s Center; and Provide community outreach and awareness about crime victims’ rights and methods of crime prevention.
Legal Services FAQs
We understand that navigating the legal system can be daunting, but we are here to assist you with any frequently asked questions you may have. Our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality legal support to empower and inform our clients.