Evaluation of the Efficacy of Legal Advocacy of the Gwinnett County Domestic Violence Program

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of a legal advocacy program of the Gwinnett County Domestic Violence program. The legal advocacy program assists the victims to resolve their legal issues. This evaluation focuses on Temporary Protective Orders in the form of Child Custody, Restraining Orders and Possession of Property. The program setting is Gwinnett County, a residential facility that houses 32 women and their children. The sample consists of women who entered the shelter between July 2000 and July 2001. A secondary data analysis was used to collect data, as well as interviews with the legal advocate and the shelter director. Data was collected in the winter and spring of 2002 at the agency where it is maintained manually in the form of written files and records. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, along with graphs and a Program Logic Model for a fine interpretation of results. The findings of this study revealed that most cases were resolved eventually. However, some cases were not resolved indicating the existence of barriers between system of legal advocacy.