Introduction

This toolkit has been developed by a team of domestic violence advocates from across California in collaboration with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. The initial idea for the development of this toolkit came from the Partnership’s 2014 Statewide Public Policy Meeting, in which advocates discussed the need to address the lack of consistent enforcement of domestic violence restraining orders.

We acknowledge that there are barriers that law enforcement encounter in their efforts to address the violation of domestic violence restraining orders including a lack of prosecution of violations by some district attorney’s offices, jails that are over-crowded in some communities, and in some cases, difficulty in arresting the perpetrator.

The goal of this toolkit is to offer resources, explanations, and processes for domestic violence advocates to work with survivors as they navigate the entire restraining order process. The workgroup has attempted to break down the steps and clearly explain the process as it currently stands.
This document is currently written based on the expertise and current wisdom of the working group. We acknowledge that this topic is ever evolving and welcome any input that would enhance the materials present.