The St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s office recently reported that it is proud to announce a policy change for injunction cases, proposed by recent Clerk’s Office intern and Florida State University student Hannah Vanover.
“This policy proposal will aid law enforcement in leveraging social media to locate and serve respondents in injunctions cases,” said John Rundgren, clerk designee. “We appreciate Hannah and our partners at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for spearheading this initiative.”
During the required final presentation, Vanover highlighted limitations in the current Service Information Sheet filled out by petitioners and used to aid law enforcement in serving respondents. Her proposal suggested the information sheet should include a field to list social media accounts to prevent service evasion. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged and supported the additional element to expedite service and streamline injunction proceedings.
“Interning with the St. John's County Clerk's Office opened my eyes to how the policies I had been reading and writing about in my schooling were actually practiced,” said Vanover. “Seeing firsthand the work done at the county level allowed me to identify areas for improvement directly, which I might not have been able to see from an outside perspective. Using social media to help protect victims of domestic violence and enabling their cases to be heard in a timely manner will ensure that impacted citizens feel better protected and served by their county government.”
Vanover is a freshman in the Masters of Applied American Politics and Public Policy program at Florida State University. During her four-week internship in the Family Division, she gained experience interacting with petitioners and observing injunction court. Vanover aspires to pursue a career in policy writing after completing her degree to better serve the community.
The Clerk’s Office Internship Program is designed to expose high school and college students to a career in local government. For more information on internship programs, go to stjohnsclerk.com/internship-information-and-forms.
