A Summit County Common Pleas Court specialized docket was recently recognized for its dedication to ending the cycle of domestic violence.

Presided over by Judge Kathryn Michael, the Domestic Violence Intervention Court (DVIC) was selected as this year’s recipient of the No HARM Award by the Hope & Healing Survivor Resource Center in Akron. Judge Michael and her program partners, including the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, were honored during an October gala, coinciding with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“This year’s honoree is a shining example of innovation and compassion in action, as the court is serving more than ever and moving the dial on safety,” said Hope & Healing’s CEO Teresa Stafford.

The acronym “HARM” stands for Healing, Advocacy, Resilience, and Momentum. Recipients of the No HARM award demonstrate exceptional commitment to supporting survivors of domestic violence and breaking the cycle of abuse.

“This court isn’t just a courtroom – it’s a coordinated community effort. Through strong partnerships and a shared mission, Judge Michael and the DV Intervention Court team and their partners have created a pathway to safety, stability, and long-term change for hundreds of families,” said Stafford.

DVIC is a trailblazing specialized docket, focused on providing intervention services for families experiencing felony-level intimate partner violence. According to Judge Michael, traditional punitive approaches are not effective in domestic violence cases because the punishment does not deter the behavior of perpetrators. The DVIC program takes a trauma-informed, collaborative approach to justice and healing by holding offenders accountable while providing critical resources for survivors and their children.

“In a vast majority of our cases, both the perpetrator and the survivor learn the behavior as children, because they grew up in homes where domestic violence occurred,” she explained. “The only way to break the cycle of generational domestic violence is to provide an intense therapeutic approach for a transformational benefit, not only to the perpetrator, but also to his or her family.”

DVIC coordinates with community partners, including the Hope and Healing Resource Center, which provides survivor advocates, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, which provides a trained prosecutor dedicated to handling domestic violence matters, and Summit Psychological Associates, which provides intervention services for participants.

“We are proud of the collaborative work we do to assist program participants in becoming productive, law-abiding citizens, and, when possible, to reunite them with their families, said Judge Michael. “We are passionate about the work, because we know that if we are able to break the cycle of generational domestic violence, the family heals, and so does our community.”