NCJ Number
221263
Date Published
October 2004
Length
72 pages
Annotation
Findings and recommendations are presented from evaluation by the National Center for State Courts on the effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s Protection from Abuse Database (PFAD).
Abstract
Highlights of key findings include: (1) the Protection from Abuse Database (PFAD) has become an indispensable tool in Pennsylvania; (2) there is a high level of user satisfaction with the implementation, training, and technical assistance associated with PFAD; (3) PFAD serves the interests of domestic violence victims and improves victim safety; (4) PFAD has great potential as a law enforcement tool, which will be realized only when the database is fully integrated with CLEAN; and (5) PFAD’s Indirect Criminal Contempt (ICC) function is a valuable tool that fills a gap in the protection of abuse (PFA) process. Highlights of recommendations put forward by the evaluation team, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), and members of the advisory board include: (1) eliminate data duplication by adopting the Global Justice XML Data Dictionary (GJXDD) standards and methods; (2) create a standardized PFA process in Pennsylvania; (3) improve data interchange and access electronically between PFAD and the Pennsylvania State Police’s (PSP’s) Protection Order Registry; (3) improve documentation of usage and validation of data; and (4) make PFAD the official registry owned and administered by a State agency with State funding. The PFAD is a success story and has the participation from the vast majority of Pennsylvania counties and is a national model of protection order databases. In 2003, the National Center for State Courts began evaluation the PFAD. The project was funded by PCCD and explored the areas of usage, satisfaction levels, victim safety, data transmission, and system integration. The evaluation was conducted through secondary data analysis, county-level surveys, user surveys, case studies, and system analysis. Exhibits and appendixes A-F