The Court Ordered Opportunities Program (CO-OP) is among the youngest of those housed at the Office on Youth and aims to help Spotsylvania families succeed in completing a range of services and activities designed to foster positive changes in the family structure and reduce or prevent future court involvement. Active since August 2003, the program recruits and trains volunteers to explain and interpret court orders, provide information and referrals, monitor and facilitate parties’ progress in meeting their requirements, and report their progress to the court.

CO-OP is the product of a task force comprised of professionals in the human services community and originated from a request by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, which had observed that many parties who came before it were failing to meet their court ordered requirements on time. This is problematic as continuing cases cost the community precious docket time, and because families who do not receive these services often see their issues escalate, which crowds the court calendar and increases costs.

Since its genesis, the CO-OP has adjusted the type of referrals it receives to better address the needs of the community. For example, in January 2004, the CO-OP began accepting referrals to assist the Court Service Unit in monitoring and advising juveniles on the First Offender Program and unsupervised probation, and those with founded CHINS affidavits. Likewise, in April of 2004, the CO-OP stopped monitoring custody, visitation and support cases where a single, one-session service was required so it could devote its resources instead to cases where longer term and/or multiple services were needed.

The CO-OP has received over 400 referrals in its brief existence. Of these, nearly 300 will have closed by the end of 2004. Although many parties, particularly those involved in custody, visitation, and support cases, still struggle with financial, logistical, and other barriers to meeting their requirements, the vast majority of the parties in juvenile cases—83% as of this writing—manage to complete their services on time, while an even larger number—90%—succeed in avoiding further court involvement during their period of supervision.

CO-OP Coordinator reviews and reports on program outcomes on a monthly basis in the hope that trends will emerge and yield useful information about its impact. This, in turn, will allow her to adapt the program’s policies and procedures to meet the changing needs of the courts and community.

For more information about the program, or to become a volunteer, contact the Office at 540.372.1149.

Download a Volunteer Application