Berman discusses family justice center on KJZZ
In an interview with host Steve Goldstein, Berman explained the origins of the Center, a partnership with the O'Connor House-Avon Foundation Program for Women and Justice, and its connection to the College's new Juvenile Legal Assistance Program.
"There isn't a central place where a variety of service providers can come together and work comprehensively to figure out where the gaps in the system are," Berman said. "It became clear that the law school, in coordination with the O'Connor House, could perform a tremendous service, bringing together a number of entities interested in this issue."
The Center will address a wide range of issues related to family violence and the law, assist with training of lay advocates and be a conduit for education and research in the field, while the Clinic will provide direct legal services to child and adult victims of violence, he said.
"We think this is going to be a national model because it will address the interactions among these various issues," Berman said.
In addition to helping victims, the Center will work on solutions for stopping the cycle of violence among perpetrators, who often are themselves victims of child abuse or domestic violence.
"It's not good enough to try to pull people away from the violence," Berman said. "We need to make sure they don't recreate these processes again. We need to figure out a way to turn perpetrators into productive, loving family members."
The Diane Halle Center for Family Justice is funded by a $1 million grant from the Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation, and the NextCare Urgent Care Family Violence Legal Clinic is funded by another million-dollar grant from NextCare Urgent Care, whose CEO, Dr. John Shufeldt, is an alumnus of the College of Law.
To listen to the full interview, click here.