Earlier this year, I was asked by a family member to assist her in obtaining a DVPO against her spouse. It was granted and not contested by the spouse upon advice of council. They worked out a custody agreement for their 2 children. By April, we began to suspect that he was contacting her against the DVPO directives. The day before Mother’s Day, he showed up at the house while she and her mother were there. The Sheriff was not called. Since that time, she has cut off all contact with family (reverting back to behavior prior to the DVPO when she was not able to contact family). They have told her mother that the DVPO was removed. We don’t believe that it was.
No family member has had contact in the past month, as we have been instructed in writing by her to not initiate any uninvited phone calls or visits. We are worried. There has been a history of verbal and emotional abuse throughout their 17 year marriage that had escalated since the birth of their second child last July.
- Is there a way to find out if the DVPO is still in place? How can we go about finding this out?
- In addition, she was receiving child care assistance from DSS. If he has returned to the home and she is still receiving these funds, what ramifications can this have?