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The National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP) working in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) on a State Justice Institute (SJI) funded project is pleased to invite you to participate in the National Judicial Network: Forum on Human Trafficking and Immigration in State Courts (“The Network”). The NJN provides a forum for judges to engage in peer-to-peer learning sessions with judges from across the country, participate in webinars, communicate with other judges in a members-only confidential email group, access topic-specific publications, and attend future in-person trainings on issues that arise in state courts involving human trafficking and immigrant victims. NJN sessions are intended to help judges learn more about these complicated issues and, consequently, improve access to justice for human trafficking and immigrant victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and other crimes.

View the National Judicial Network Outreach Letter (Updated December 4, 2023)

Read about the benefits for judges of joining the National Judicial Network in the State Justice Institute’s Newsletter.

If you are a judge, tribal judge, magistrate, commissioner, or other judicial officer and you are interested in joining The Network, please register through this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VGY9VJM.

Judicial Training Materials

In response to requests by and questions from state court judges, NIWAP, with support from the State Justice Institute, has developed bench cards, bench books, and a wide range of training tools that make readily available to judges and court staff legally correct information about immigration law and its implications for state family, civil, and court cases involving child and adult victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and stalking.

• State Justice Institute (SJI) and National Judicial Network Training Materials

Judicial Peer-to-Peer Sessions & National Webinars

Join the NJN’s monthly virtual learning sessions on the first Tuesday of every month from 3 – 4pm Eastern. Each session is labeled as a members-only peer-to-peer forum or a national webinar open to a larger audience, with topics set in advance by the NJN’s steering committee. Below you’ll find links to materials, PowerPoint presentations, and resources from the previous sessions, organized by topic, as well as upcoming dates/topics for the fall sessions:

Upcoming Sessions

December 8, 2023 (National Webinar) – Let’s Put Science First: Assessing Predatory Helpfulness and Coercive Control to More Accurately Understand Domestic Abuse and Sex Trafficking

January 23, 2023 (National Webinar) – USCIS Discusses Adoption of Foreign-Born Children

February 6, 2024 – TBD

March 5, 2024 – TBD

April 2, 2024 – TBD

May 7, 2024 – TBD

June 4, 2024 – TBD

National Judicial Network

• March 2, 2021 : Introduction to The National Judicial Network

Trauma, Victim’s Needs, Effect on Testimony, and It’s Impact on the Courts

• April 6, 2021: Trauma for Judges…Where do you see it? How you identify it? What do you do about it? – Peer-to-Peer
• January 31, 2023: Protecting Against Vicarious Trauma: Tools and Strategies for Providers Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Trafficking – Webinar

Human Trafficking: The Court’s Role

• May 4, 2021 : Human Trafficking Victims Identification & Red Flags – Peer-to-Peer
• July 6, 2021 : Judicial Responses to Labor Trafficking – Webinar
• January 11, 2022: Criminal Justice Responses to Asian Women Caught in the Cross-Hairs of Exploitation and Human Trafficking – Webinar
• July 5, 2022: We Are Not Invisible: Improving Awareness of Human Trafficking Issues in Indigenous Communities – Webinar
• April 4, 2023:  Let’s Put Science First: Assessing Predatory Helpfulness and Coercive Control to More Accurately Understand Domestic Abuse and Sex Trafficking – Peer-to-Peer
• October 10, 2023: Identifying Human Trafficking in Domestic Violence Relationships: How OTIP Letters and Certifications Can Enhance Access to Public Benefits and Services for Survivors of Trafficking and Their Children – Webinar
• November 7, 2023: Encountering Immigrant Child Trafficking Victims in Court: The Court’s Role & Tips, Tools, and Steps Courts Can Take – Peer-to-Peer

Child Victims of Human Trafficking Including Immigrant Victims

• October 5, 2021: Online Trafficking and Recruitment Trends for Child Sex Trafficking – Peer-to-Peer
• December 7, 2021: STAR Assessment Tool Training: Helping Courts Identify Child Trafficking Victims – Peer-to-Peer
• April 5, 2022: Commercial Sex Trafficking of Young Males ­- Peer-to-Peer
• May 3, 2022: Child Labor Trafficking in the U.S. – An Overview of Research, Policies, and Opportunities – Peer-to-Peer
• November 1, 2022: Trauma-Responsive Advocacy for CSEC Youth, the Model Rules, and Better Dependency Outcomes – Peer-to-Peer
• February 7, 2023: The Development of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Courts – Peer-to-Peer
• June 6, 2022: Familial Sex Trafficking: What Research Tells Us About Risk and Opportunity – Webinar
• November 7, 2023: Encountering Immigrant Child Trafficking Victims in Court: The Court’s Role & Tips, Tools, and Steps Courts Can Take – Peer-to-Peer

Immigration Protections for Crime Victims

         Humanitarian Immigration Relief for Victims – Forms of Relief

• June 1, 2021 : Immigration Options for Survivors & Court’s Role – Peer-to-Peer
• November 4, 2021: Immigration Options for Survivors & Court’s Role (Updates) – Webinar

         Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U and T Visas – Role of State Court Judges

• November 2, 2021: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Answers Judges Questions on SIJS, U Visas, and T Visas – Peer-to-Peer
• April 13 and June 23, 2022: Two Part Series: Understanding Helpfulness for U Visa Certification and the Ongoing Assistance Requirement – Webinar
• October 4, 2022: New Regulations, Policies, and Court Rulings: The Impact on State Courts Issuing Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Orders – Webinar

How Department of Homeland Security Policies Impact Courts

• February 1, 2022: New DHS Immigration and Victim Protection Policies – Peer-to-Peer
• December 8, 2022: End of the Year Update – Federal Laws & Policies and Latest Data Important for Courts Hearing Cases Involving Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Human Trafficking – Peer-to-Peer

Refugees Protections and Legal Options for Victims in Refugee Families

• March 1, 2022: Afghan Refugees: What Courts Need to Know and the Role Judges Can Play – Peer-to-Peer

Protections for Immigrant Victims in Family Court

• December 13, 2021: Child Custody and Immigration Related Abuse: Myths and Best Practices – Webinar
• October 14, 2022: What Judges, Attorneys, and Prosecutors Need to Know About How VAWA Confidentiality Impacts Discovery In Cases Involving Immigrant Survivors – Webinar
• August 17, 2023: Effective Protection Orders for Immigrant Survivors – Webinar

Adoptions of Foreign Born Children – What State Court Judges Need to Know

• June 6, 2023: What Judges Need to Know: A Discussion on the Hague Adoption Convention – Peer-to-Peer

Promoting Access to Justice

• September 14, 2021: Cultural Competence and Its Importance in Immigration and Human Trafficking Cases – Peer-to-Peer

Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Child Abuse

• June 6, 2022: Familial Sex Trafficking: What Research Tells Us About Risk and Opportunity – Webinar
• April 4, 2023:  Let’s Put Science First: Assessing Predatory Helpfulness and Coercive Control to More Accurately Understand Domestic Abuse and Sex Trafficking – Peer-to-Peer
• March 7, 2023: Readily Identifying & Effectively Responding to Stalking in Family Court: A Resource for Judicial Officers – Webinar
• October 10, 2023: Identifying Human Trafficking in Domestic Violence Relationships: How OTIP Letters and Certifications Can Enhance Access to Public Benefits and Services for Survivors of Trafficking and Their Children – Webinar

Improving Access to Public Benefits and Services for Immigrant Victims of Human Trafficking, Crime and Abuse

• May 2, 2023: HHS’ Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) Answers Questions on Identifying and Reporting Child Trafficking Victims – Peer-to-Peer
• October 10, 2023: Identifying Human Trafficking in Domestic Violence Relationships: How OTIP Letters and Certifications Can Enhance Access to Public Benefits and Services for Survivors of Trafficking and Their Children – Webinar
• September 12, 2023: Using Public Benefits Map & Charts to Improve State Court Orders in Crime Victim Cases – Peer-to-Peer

National Judicial Network Steering Committee Members