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Projects
| National Projects | State Projects |
National Projects
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has created the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). This nationwide data collection system gathers individual information on clients in local facilities, including domestic violence providers. The system collects a wide range of information, including whether the client is or was a victim of domestic violence.
The National Center for State Courts will also conduct a 24-month study assessing the courts capacity to assist Limited English Proficient (LEP) battered women in obtaining and enforcing civil protection orders. The primary goal of the Serving Limited English Proficient Battered Women: A National Survey of the Court's Capacity to Provide Protection Orders project is to collect national-level information on access to protection orders for non-English speaking women. Secondarily, the project will identify model court practices that can be implemented nationwide.
In Focus has developed domestic violence shelter software called Alice. Alice is currently being used in 20 states. The software is customizable and provides yearly upgrades.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry's Give Back a Smile program is dedicated to providing cosmetic dental care at no cost to all survivors of domestic violence.
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Projects
NIJ, through its Violence and Victimization Research Division, provides funding for various research projects related to violence against women. Ongoing projects can be found on the NIJ Grants page.
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Projects
The OVW provides grants to programs that provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are in need of transitional housing, short-term housing assistance, and related support services.
In October of 2003, President George W. Bush announced the President's Family Justice Center Initiative (PFJCI), which is administered by the OVW. The PFJCI is a pilot program that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. The 15 PFJCI sites bring together advocates from non-profit groups, victim services organizations, law enforcement officers, probation officers, governmental victim assistants, forensic medical professionals, attorneys, chaplains, and representatives from community-based organizations into one centralized location. OVW, the Attorney General, and the Administration support this most critical initiative and continue to work toward the goal of eradicating violence against women.
Funded under the Office of Violence Against Women, Education and Technical Assistance Grants to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities Program, the project provides technical assistance 22 grantees, representing 19 different states. The goals of the program are to create greater options, services and remedies for women with disabilities experiencing sexual assault, stalking and/or domestic violence. The project will challenge barriers that exist within the service provider community and public institutions that limit women with disabilities who have experienced violence from accessing services, and create a national coordinated response among service providers, advocated for persons with disabilities and policy makers to enhance support for survivors with disabilities.
The STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants are awarded to states to develop and strengthen the criminal justice system's response to violence against women and to support and enhance services for victims.
This discretionary grant program is designed to encourage state, local, and tribal governments and state, local, and tribal courts to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system.
This discretionary grant program is designed to enhance services available to rural victims and children by encouraging community involvement in developing a coordinated response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and child abuse.
This discretionary grant program is designed to strengthen civil and criminal legal assistance programs for adult and youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking who are seeking relief in legal matters arising as a consequence of that abuse or violence.
This program is designed to strengthen the higher education community's response to sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, and dating violence crimes on campuses, and to enhance collaboration between campuses and local criminal justice and victim advocacy organizations.
The Office awards grants to each state domestic violence coalition and sexual assault coalition for the purposes of coordinating state victim services activities and collaborating and coordinating with federal, state, and local entities engaged in violence against women activities.
This discretionary grant program is designed for increasing awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault against American Indian and Alaska native women, enhancing the response to such violence at the tribal, Federal, and state levels, and providing technical assistance to coalition membership and tribal communities.
This discretionary grant program is designed to address the issue of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against victims who are 50 years of age or older, through training and services.
This discretionary grant program is designed to provide training, consultation, and information on domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault against individuals with disabilities and to provide direct services to such individuals.
This discretionary grant program helps create safe places for visitation with and exchange of children in cases of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
State Projects
JRSA is in the process of collecting information and developing state profiles. The information below will be updated as information becomes available.
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Alabama
No current projects.
Alaska
This project will investigate the epidemiology of sexual assaults in Alaska and the ways in which alcohol use affects the reported assaults. In a four-pronged approach, researchers will collect and analyze Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) evaluations of victims statewide; examine the spatial patterns of reported assaults in Anchorage; describe and identify the causes and consequences of the time lapse between the end of the assault and the report to the police or examination by a SANE; and examine how alcohol use affects anogenital injuries.
The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center is analyzing personal interviews and survey data gathered from women who have experienced domestic violence and who have been or are involved in custody battles in the Alaska Court System. Descriptive statistics will be generated to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Alaska Court System's response to such women. The data (quantitative and qualitative) will be used to develop social and legal policy recommendations for this group of domestic violence victims.
The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center, with the Alaska State Troopers, will collect information from a sample of domestic violence incidents reported to the Troopers in 2002 and 2003. This information will be paired with information on the outcomes of these cases from the Department of Law. The final report will provide a detailed description of domestic violence in Alaska and an examination of how case characteristics affect case outcomes.
The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center will produce a 10- to 15-minute educational video instructing court clients in important aspects of domestic violence restraining orders. The video will be produced in English, Spanish and Yup'ik versions.
The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center has compiled statistics on the number of murders, sex offenses, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, arson, theft/larceny incidents, and Minor Consuming Alcohol (MCA) citations reported on the University of Alaska Anchorage since 1991.
The Alaska Forensic Nurses Association, working in conjunction with the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center, has created a database to capture incident-based information from all of the 11 programs in Alaska.
The Alaska State Troopers, working in conjunction with the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center, has created a database to capture incident-based information from all of the sexual assault cases reported to the State Troopers in 2003 and 2004. This information will be paired with information on the outcomes of these cases from the Department of Law. The final report will provide a detailed description of sexual assault in Alaska and an examination of how case characteristics affect case outcomes.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Sitka Family Justice Center provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
Arizona
The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission's Statistical Analysis Center will be analyzing the criminal history records of offenders who sexually abuse their spouses.
The Arizona Department of Health Services' Division of Public Health Services operates the Rural Safe Home Network, which provides domestic violence hot lines, temporary safe shelter, peer counseling, case management, and advocacy.
The Governor's Office, City of Phoenix Prosecutor's Office and Municipal Courts, Maricopa County Adult Probation, the Sojourner Center and the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence are collaborating on a program to identify first-time domestic violence offenders who are at high risk for re-offending and place them on intensive probation. The program, funded by the Department of Justice, also funds offender treatment and programs to help victims of domestic violence navigate the legal system.
Three counties that border Mexico (Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise) have received funding from the Department of Justice to coordinate battered immigrant women teams tasked with educating and training professionals, surveying existing culturally specific programs and service gaps, and devising community awareness plans through partnerships with nonprofit domestic violence victim services programs and other community stakeholders.
Governor's Innovative Domestic Violence Prevention AwardsThis project is designed to fund innovative and creative prevention programming that focuses on the needs of children who have experienced/witnessed violence in their homes or programs that enable victims to create a violence- and substance-free lifestyle. Ten agencies received awards in 2005-2006: Against Abuse, Inc.; Amity Foundation, Circle Tree Ranch; Chyrsalis Shelter; La Frontera; Maricopa Association of Governments; New Life Center; Pima County Attorney's Office; Sojourner Center; Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, Inc.; and Time Out, Inc.
Children's Justice Task ForceThrough this project, local agencies receive funds to develop, establish and operate programs designed to improve the:
- Handling of child abuse cases, particularly cases of child sexual abuse
- Handling of cases of suspected child abuse or neglect-related fatalities
- Investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation
All state agencies that fund domestic violence-related services have joined together to form the State Agency Coordinating Team. Facilitated through the Governor's Division for Family Violence Prevention, agencies meet monthly to share information and coordinate efforts. An annual report is produced for the State Legislature.
As part of the Arizona Supreme Court, this committee makes recommendations with regard to policies which acknowledge the severity of the problem of domestic violence in Arizona. It recommends system changes to promote enhanced safety for victims and the professionals who interact with them. Membership includes judges, attorneys, law enforcement, DV service providers and coalitions, and public members.
The STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant is awarded by the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women to the Arizona Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families' Division for Women. The state of Arizona receives approximately $2m dollars annually that are awarded through a competitive process to law enforcement, prosecution, courts and victim service programs across the state that address violence against women. Some of the activities supported through the STOP Grant have been: development of a statewide Court Protective Order Repository; establishment of domestic violence courts; development of specialized law enforcement and prosecution teams; sexual assault crisis services; battered immigrant self-petitioning assistance; legal advocacy; the establishment of Family Advocacy Centers; and the hiring of a domestic violence court trainer, advocates, specialized sexual assault detectives and master level sexual assault therapists.
The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault received funding from the Office of Victims of Crime for a 3 year project. In the first year, the project conducted a needs assessment and formed the Southern Arizona Sexual Violence Disability Coalition. Now in its second year, Accessing Safety is implementing strategies and projects to serve crime victims with disabilities. Among other efforts is the creating of a Promising Practices Handbook for Center Against Sexual Assault staff, forensic nurse examiners and our partners in law enforcement.
The Sexual Assault Response Service is a 24-hour/7 day a week hospital response team providing services to recent survivors of sexual assault. A SARS advocate can respond to any Tucson hospital emergency department to provide victims/survivors with immediate crisis intervention and advocacy, as well as information about the victim's/survivor's options and rights. When authorized by law enforcement, a specially-skilled Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner is able to provide a forensic medical exam and evidence collection. SARS also facilitates a victim's/survivor's entry into longer-term support, as well as into Arizona's criminal justice system.
Su Voz Vale, or Your Voice Counts, is a community action program of the Center Against Sexual Assault based on the south side of Tucson. The goal of the program is to reduce the incidence and trauma associated with sexual violence for the Latino/Chicano population. Su Voz Vale is a bilingual/bicultural program providing culturally relevant and appropriate services.
Arkansas
The National Center for Rural Law Enforcement at the Criminal Justice Institute University of Arkansas, in a collaborative effort with the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, provides education and training on sexual assault to rural law enforcement executives and rural investigators. This project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Office on Violence Against Women.
Created by Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1994, the project is a collection of approximately 300 hand-decorated T-shirts displayed on a clothesline, with each T-shirt representing a woman killed in Arkansas by an intimate partner from 1989 to 2000.
Created by Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1995, The Silent Witness Project consists of life-sized plywood cutouts painted red and black. Each cutout represents a female victim murdered by an intimate partner from the most recent year and tells the victim's story on a shield attached to the cutout.
California
With funding by the California Department of Health Services (DHS), Epidemiology & Prevention for Injury Control (EPIC) Branch, this project supports continued education for judges and court personnel through the administration of stipend and mini-grant programs. It also provides information on batterer's fines collections per county through quarterly reports from the Domestic Violence Education and Training Fund.
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in collaboration with the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), will conduct a 24-month study of the effectiveness of intervention programs in the area of juvenile domestic/family violence. The project's goal is to document the effectiveness of court- and probation-based intervention programs on offender recidivism and post-treatment behaviors. Participant sites include the Santa Clara (CA) Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court, the San Francisco Youth Family Violence Court, and the Contra Costa County court system.
The Public Policy and Research Committee of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence works to improve domestic violence policy in California by advocating for legislation that increases protections for domestic violence victims and funding for support of programs. Members of the committee are representatives from the field of domestic violence throughout the state who draft, monitor, and testify in support of or against legislation related to domestic violence victims or service providers.
The Spousal Abuser Prosecution Program in the California Department of Justice seeks to help both victims and prosecutors of domestic violence offenses. Through program grants supporting "vertical prosecution," district attorneys and city attorneys are able to develop teams that specialize in the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence offenses. Victims are able to work with the same prosecutor and investigator from the time charges are filed through the sentencing of the offender. Trained counselors/advocates also work with the victim to make the trial process less traumatic and overwhelming.
Researchers from San Jose State University, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Justice to the National Center for State Courts, are comparing domestic violence courts in Santa Clara County, San Francisco County, and Contra Costa County to examine effectiveness and recidivism.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Alameda County Family Justice Center, combines more than 50 organizations and 150 people working together to aid victims of domestic violence and their families.
Colorado
No current projects.
Connecticut
The Central Connecticut State University Institute for the Study of Crime and Justice is currently examining family violence incidents for upcoming publications.
The Central Connecticut State University Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice has received a grant to examine the characteristics of sex offenders currently in prison.
The Consortium is composed of representatives from Connecticut colleges and universities, as well as individuals from community services and programs, who work to improve the response to and prevention of sexual violence.
Delaware
The Office of Management and Budget Statistical Analysis Section is working on a domestic violence firearms study as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods. Staff will analyze offender to victim relationship for all 2005 firearm offenses.
District of Columbia
The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence helps domestic violence victims through the criminal justice process. With the US Attorney's Office and Women Empowered Against Violence, the program provides court escorts, information, and referrals to victims and their children.
The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence is working to build alliances between service providers, educators, lawyers, advocates and victims to reduce the provision of duplicate services, identify service gaps, and determine what services could be provided jointly.
Florida
The Prison Project advocates for the freedom of incarcerated victims through clemency representation. Continuing prior efforts that led to the release of victims convicted of killing their abusers, the Project plans to also advocate for women imprisoned on attempted murder and other charges. Clemency advocacy includes: investigating and documenting all instances of abuse, uncovering attendant mental health consequences, exposing the injustice experienced by victims in the criminal justice system, submitting all relevant materials and arguments, providing representation throughout the clemency interview processes, advocating with decision-makers at the Capitol, and appearing before the Governor and Cabinet. Clients are also assisted with prison issues, aftercare plans, and other needs.
The Clearinghouse Project was begun in 1997 as a pilot program, the first in the country, to provide victims of domestic violence with legal representation in final hearings on Injunctions for Protection Against Domestic Violence. The Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence subcontracts with legal service providers assigned to Florida's certified domestic violence shelters/centers throughout the state of Florida. The project is based on direct referrals from the shelter to the legal service provider.
In 2000, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence was awarded a Civil Legal Assistance grant to fund two legal projects. One project will utilize the funds to expand the Clearinghouse Project through legal representation of domestic violence victims in dissolution of marriage and child custody actions. The second project is a pilot program utilizing the collaborative efforts of a law school, a private law firm, a domestic violence shelter/center and a legal services provider. The thrust is to assist victims in the private law arena by using law students and other resources to enhance the legal services available to victims of domestic violence.
Georgia
The grantee is conducting a formative evaluation of OJJDP's Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Demonstration Project in Fulton County/Atlanta. The applicant plans to use an empowerment evaluation strategy to achieve four objectives. First, this project will gather data (using interviews, field observation, and focus groups with CSEC victims and members of the Collaborative) on the nature and extent of CSEC, in order to better assess the needs of CSEC victims, as well as the operational capacity and needs of the Collaborative. Second, this project will review, refine, and update the Collaborative's original goals and objectives, and using a logic model, will identify measurable outcomes to evaluate ongoing progress. Third, this evaluation will review the Collaborative's current data management system to assess its provision of performance measures and identify mechanisms to improve the quality of data collection to enhance sharing of information across agencies. As well, on-going technical assistance will be provided to enhance data collection to ensure that it informs the Collaborative of its progress. Finally, this project will coordinate with the evaluation of New York's demonstration project to identify model strategies and practices to address the problem of CSEC and to disseminate information for use by practitioners, policy makers, researchers and the public.
The Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Georgia Commission on Family Violence are working with four rural shelters to design and implement a multidisciplinary community response for addressing co-occurring cases of child abuse and domestic violence. Advocates will collaborate with child protective service workers, public and private agencies, and community service programs in mobilizing within the respective geographic areas to assess co-occurring cases and facilitate service provision. The project also seeks to implement a task force enhancement component, which will provide critical training and technical assistance to rural task forces in developing a community-wide plan for the safety of battered women and their children.
Hawaii
The Na Wahine team is an ongoing collaboration of public and private medical and legal services for domestic violence, sexual assault, medical health, and mental health. Na Wahine has helped pull together front-line services for victims of violence and has created cross-disciplinary training for service professionals. It is Na Wahine's goal to help every female victim of violence in every community of Hawaii.
The Violence Prevention Consortium consists of a diverse group of individuals, public and private organizations, and community representatives statewide who are dedicated to the prevention of violence in homes, schools, and communities through primary prevention strategies.
The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, in collaboration with the League of Women Voters, is conducting a long-term project to monitor all domestic-violence related cases in the state court system. Its first phase focused on Oahu, and subsequent phases will feature each neighboring island district.
The Hawaii Women's Coalition consists of private and professional groups, governmental agencies and individuals interested in legislative issues that impact the lives of women and girls in Hawaii. Every year for the past two decades, members have come together to define common themes that require legislative action.
Idaho
Illinois
The goal of this study is to explore the causal effects of exposure to intimate partner violence, and to identify the theoretical perspectives that best explain any identified effects. Three major policy issues will be relevant to these results: 1) the criminalization of exposure to intimate partner violence; 2) funding for interventions that focus on children exposed to intimate partner violence; and 3) the concept of in-house treatment for victims of battering and outpatient treatment for batterers. The project will use longitudinal data taken from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods.
Indiana
This project is designed to help fill the legal needs of domestic violence victims in Indiana. The overall goal of this project is the development of a comprehensive legal advocacy and representation system that will assist victims of domestic violence throughout Indiana. A major component of this project is to provide centralized legal resources for domestic violence service providers, prosecutors, victims, legal aid centers, and others who assist domestic violence victims.
This Northwest Indiana project has two focus areas, research and culture. The first phase, running through 2006, consists of a public policy report, a three part cultural series and the launch of first regionally-based academic journal. The initiative is driven by community volunteers working together to stimulate public dialogue at the regional level on issues affecting region women's quality of life.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County opened in January, 2007.
Iowa
The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning established a task force to study sex offender-related issues. The task force released its first report, making recommendations and study plans for a variety of issues, including: electronic monitoring, updating addresses in the sex offender registry, risk assessments, treatment, and the impact of the special sentence (new 10-year or life-time supervision).
Created by the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the project helps state sexual assault coalitions across the country access resources. The project is designed to provide technical assistance and support, and to facilitate peer-driven resources for all state and territorial sexual assault coalitions.
Kansas
No current projects.
Kentucky
The Statistical Analysis Center within the Kentucky Criminal Justice Council is undertaking a project to:
- identify all available statewide data pertaining to the incidence of domestic and sexual violence including data from criminal justice sources, as well as social services, mental health and victim service providers;
- establish a plan and ongoing process for data collection to permit the ability to monitor the data over time and conduct trend analysis;
- coordinate data collection efforts through the Data Advisory Team of the Kentucky Criminal Justice Council; and
- analyze the data and publish the findings in a statewide report on violence against women.
The Center for Research on Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky is presently undertaking a study of sentencing and parole board decisions in cases in which battered women kill an abusive partner. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the influence of offender gender and victim type in this type of case and to provide a descriptive analysis of the experience of battered women who kill their batterers. The study will also detail one state's experience with a statutory exemption from the violent offender statute for domestic violence victims.
The overall purpose of this project, done in conjunction with Center for Research on Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Supreme Court, is to examine trends associated with protective orders in order to inform policy makers, the judicial system, advocates and practitioners, and researchers about the process by which victims of domestic violence access the protection of the court, and to recommend methods of improving protection for victims and increasing the efficiency of the process for the court. Specifically, the project is (1) examining trends over time associated with the issuance, service, or violation of protective orders; (2) examining characteristics associated with a subsample of petitioners; (3) examining protective order trends by rural, urban-influenced, and urban characteristics of the jurisdiction in which the order was issued; (4) examining characteristics associated with petitions denied by the court; and (5) analyzing offending patterns in a sub-sample of respondents to protective orders.
Louisiana
As part of the Safe Havens initiative funded through the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women, Rainbow Research is working with the Institute for Domestic Violence in the African American Community to explore the extent to which African Americans, Native Americans and other people of color utilize supervised visitation programs in four distinct communities-Anadarko, OK; New Orleans, LA; Queens, NY and Zuni, NM-as well as review the culturally appropriate practices of these programs.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
Maine
With a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Maine Department of Human Services, Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse, and the Maine Primary Care Association are teaming up to integrate and implement a strategic plan to reduce violence against women in the state.
With a grant from the Violence Against Women Office, the Maine District Court is expanding the Domestic Violence Coordination Project with three additional courts. Courts in York and in Portland have successfully developed a model that improves service to citizens involved in domestic violence cases. Key elements of the project include: coordination of information about other court cases (criminal, divorce, family) that involve the same people; increased judicial monitoring of the offenders' compliance with court orders; and training and improved practices for judges, clerks, prosecutors, bail commissioners, law enforcement, victim services, probation officers, and others participating in the project.
Maryland
The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence and the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts have received a grant to create a statewide civil domestic violence database. The database will track protective and peace orders and should be operational in 2008.
One individual difference in response to treatment among batterers may be readiness to change, best conceptualized by the stages of change (SOC) model. It is the purpose of this project to: 1. compare the effectiveness of a 26-week SOC group treatment with a standard 26-week cognitive-behavioral gender-reeducation (CBTGR) group treatment; 2. assess the integrity of the two treatments with respect to therapist adherence, therapist competence, and processes of change; 3. conduct exploratory analyses on individual readiness to change as a moderator of treatment condition in predicting outcomes; and 4. conduct exploratory analyses comparing the effectiveness of these two approaches in Spanish-speaking groups. Two-hundred-and-forty court-ordered English-speaking male batterers will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, for a total of 12 groups in each condition and 10 men per group. In addition, 80 court-ordered Spanish-speaking male batterers will be randomly assigned to one of the two conditions, for a total of four groups in each condition. Effectiveness will be indicated by: a. increased involvement in treatment (lower attrition, higher working alliance, higher group cohesion); b. increased readiness to change; and c. desistance from violence (according to batterer self-report at post-treatment and partner reports at post-treatment, 6- and 12-month follow up). Groups will be conducted over the course of 2 years at the Montgomery County, Maryland Abused Persons Program (APP), with initial, mid-group, and post-treatment assessments collected on all group participants. Initial, post-treatment, 6-month and 12-month partner follow up assessments will be collected as a function of Montgomery County APP's participation in a project funded by the CDC (R49/CCR 319813-01) to predict batterers' response to treatment.
In this project, a needs assessment was conducted of African-American women who are residents of Maryland and who have been sexually assaulted. Analyses was conducted to determine whether differences exist by race in terms of details of assault, reporting to police, and medical and counseling services received, and also to determine if these differences are due to race alone or if they include such other variables as geographic location, age, and socioeconomic status.
Massachusetts
The Provider Sexual Crime Report (PSCR) is a data collection instrument that was created to help understand the volume and characteristics of rape and sexual assault in Massachusetts. Medical providers in Massachusetts are required by law to fill out a PSCR for every sexual assault and rape where the victim sought medical treatment. The PSCR provides detailed data on sexual crimes that commonly go unreported to police and as a result are not recorded or tracked in official statistics. The Research and Policy Analysis Unit of the Executive Office of Public Safety analyzes PSCR data to construct a detailed picture of sexual assaults and rapes in Massachusetts where the victim sought medical treatment.
Although the focus is not directly on domestic violence, the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies' Center for Social Policy is evaluating the Homeless Prevention Initiative (HPI), a collaborative project involving five foundations that pooled $3 million in resources for the implementation of homeless prevention services, which are carried out by 18 Massachusetts nonprofit organizations over a three-year period. The CSP evaluation team is currently at a mid-point in the three-year evaluation, and using both quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches, aims to generate cross-site process and outcome information that will have relevance for state policymaking. More recently, CSP has been contracted to evaluate several other homeless prevention projects, including the state's RAFT program. Using multi-method and cross-site/cross-project analytical approaches, products from the multiple evaluations are designed to be used widely by practitioner, policy, advocacy, philanthropic and other mainstream audiences.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Family Justice Center of Boston opened in 2005.
Michigan
This study is a joint effort between the University of Michigan School of Social Work and the Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence. The investigators plan to provide empirical evidence to identify factors that promote and hinder effective interventions in Asian communities in response to domestic violence. The study will employ a face-to-face semi-structured interview method to collect data from 320 Asian battered women on: 1) the types and life course trajectories of IPV experienced; 2) longitudinal trajectories of contacts with the criminal justice system; 3) factors associated with help-seeking; 4) responses of criminal justice system components such as police, prosecution, and courts; and 5) the relationship between contacts with criminal justice and women's safety/well being over time.
Funded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics , the Michigan State University's Michigan Justice Statistics Center will conduct a study of intimate partner violence by analyzing Michigan Incident Crime Reporting (MICR) data. While an overall statewide examination will be conducted, analysis will also be conducted by region, county, major city, and urban vs rural areas. In addition to reporting the number of incidents, rates based upon jurisdiction population will be available. Density maps will also be created to depict areas of high concentrations of incidents across the state. A final research report, aimed at improving the investigation of intimate partner violence by law enforcement, will also be available.
Funded by the Michigan Department of Community Health, the SASS is an ongoing systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of sexual assault data for use in planning, implementation, and evaluation of sexual assault polices in Michigan.
DISCAR will develop, implement, and evaluate information systems at the local level to provide information on domestic violence incidents in Michigan.
The Marquette Research for Justice and Violence Agencies (MR JAVA) is a three-year project funded through the Michigan Department of Community Health. Michigan State University is the university partner responsible for the evaluation component, providing resources, and facilitating community relations. The purpose is to reduce domestic violence through community collaboration and coordination of intervention agencies. This project is implementing community-wide change through a variety of methods.
An Intersectional Analysis of Domestic Violence: Understanding the Help-Seeking Decisions of Marginalized Battered WomenResearchers at Michigan State University are collecting data from women in two urban cities in Michigan to identify barriers to seeking services. The research will use interviews of the largely marginalized population to determine how and why women make the decision of whether or not to seek help.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Statistical Analysis Center is working with the University of Minnesota's Center for Survey Research to ask a statewide sample of 800 Minnesotans about their crime victimization and perceptions of crime in their communities. This information will be analyzed by a variety of demographics, including geographic location, gender, and age.
The 22-member task force are developing a public awareness campaign around the issue of human trafficking, creating a statewide training plan and exploring the current services available for victims of human trafficking. The task force will focus on both sexual trafficking of women and children and labor exploitation.
The Minnesota Legislature created the Interagency Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention (IATF) during the 2000 legislative session and charged the task force with developing a statewide strategic plan to address and formulate:
- Recommendations on how to reduce incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault
- Recommendations on how to coordinate existing resources at the federal, state and local levels to reduce incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault, including specific proposals on how these entities may better cooperate
- Recommendations for changes in policies and laws to reduce incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault
- Recommendations on the need for increased services and resources to reduce incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault
- Other items deemed appropriate by the task force.
The Injury and Violence Prevention unit has several projects planned:
- Examining criminal justice data from orders-for-protection files with the Supreme Court
- Using multiple mortality data sources to examine intimate partner homicide
- Identifying homicide mortality in the state using newspaper clippings
With the support of the Bush Foundation in St. Paul, MN and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety - Office of Justice Programs, the Center for Reducing Rural Violence (CRRV) has engaged the services of Rainbow Research to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of rural violence in Minnesota in two phases:
- Examine proven violence indicators in rural Minnesota as well as trends in violence covering the period 1995 to 2005 across urban, suburban, and rural areas, including rural tribal communities
- Convene local and regional stakeholders across the state to discuss the impacts of violence in rural communities, current violence prevention and intervention practices, and barriers and public policy needs in addressing, resisting, and preventing violence.
Mississippi
No current projects.
Missouri
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the St. Louis Family Justice Center provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
Montana
The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Voices of Hope have received a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to create and maintain a Crisis Resource Center for mental health, sexual assault, and domestic violence service providers.
The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Injury Prevention for the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) project. The project focuses on three key areas: prevention, collaboration and a employing a multi-level approach to community involvement. DELTA is currently underway in Carbon, Hill and Ravalli Counties and Missoula.
The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has received funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to create a Native American Coalition in MT. Currently in the development state, this new Coalition will focus on meeting the needs of DV/SA victims on the 7 Indian reservations in the state.
Nebraska
The project, a collaboration between the Attorney General's Office, State Patrol, and Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition, uses law enforcement statistics and victim impact panels to develop regional training for local agencies. The project also determines the compliance of local agencies with state domestic violence statutory requirements and provides assistance to domestic violence and sexual assault response teams.
Nevada
No current projects.
New Hampshire
No current projects.
New Jersey
The Office of the Attorney General's Department of Law and Public Safety is conducting an evaluation of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner/Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE/SART) program operating statewide. The Office is gathering charging and sentencing data for the final analysis. A final evaluation report will be available.
Strengthen Our Sisters provides training to international visitors interested in learning how to start and run a domestic violence shelter.
Operated by Strengthen Our Sisters, SWAN is designed to provide job training and employment opportunities through the creation of SWAN businesses. The women are encouraged to participate as part of their plan to gain self-sufficiency and independence from their batterers and the welfare system. The businesses provide opportunities for job training and funds to employ some of the women and operate the shelter. Participants in SWAN also receive computer training, workshops in self-sufficiency, budgeting, resume writing, and job interview skills, and a car so they can get to and from work or school.
New Mexico
The New Mexico Criminal Justice Analysis Center is conducting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of domestic violence orders of protection as a tool for mitigating the risk of subsequent victimization. This will entail an analysis of the state's protection order records and incident, arrest, and criminal history data to determine the influence of orders of protection on subsequent offenses and explore any observed deterrent effect over time, specifically focusing on whether deterrent effects continue after the orders expire. Research findings will assist local, state, and national efforts to more effectively utilize protective orders to reduce domestic violence.
As part of the Safe Havens initiative funded through the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women, Rainbow Research is working with the Institute for Domestic Violence in the African American Community to explore the extent to which African Americans, Native Americans and other people of color utilize supervised visitation programs in four distinct communities-Anadarko, OK; New Orleans, LA; Queens, NY and Zuni, NM - as well as review the culturally appropriate practices of these programs.
The New Mexico Department of Health is engaged in an initiative focusing on four major issues that impact the quality of life for New Mexicans: violence (family violence and domestic violence), alcohol, substance abuse, and tobacco use. New Mexico health workers use the V.A.S.T. screening questionnaire to identify problems throughout the state and to conduct further assessments. Public health and health provider settings should be safe places to identify the people who are affected by these issues, to assess the extent and depth of the problem, and if needed, to provide further assistance or referrals.
The New Mexico Department of Health's Family Planning Program is implementing a male reproductive health project, the South Valley Male Involvement Project (SVMIP), in the South Valley area of Bernalillo County. The SVMIP provides information, education, and an opportunity for community members to access coordinated preventive health care services to improve the health and well being of men and boys. The goals of the project are to:
- Improve educational and clinical services for men of all ages in the South Valley
- Reduce the risk behaviors that lead to unintended pregnancy and HIV and STDs
- Decrease the prevalence of violence, pregnancy and STDs among teens 15-19 in the South Valley
The New Mexico Courts Information Center received a STOP Violence Against Women grant to create a central repository of protective order data accessible to state and national law enforcement agencies. A public Web site will also allow users to search the database.
The New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence is working with service providers on the development of a statewide data collection system for the Family Violence Prevention Fund. The system will be completed and in use in 2008.
The New Mexico Clearinghouse on Sexual Abuse and Assault Services has developed a database of professionals throughout New Mexico who are involved in the investigation, prosecution, treatment, judicial administration, and prevention of sexual abuse and sexual assault. The Colleague Network includes experienced advocates, clergy, lawyers, judges, medical professionals, law enforcement, forensic scientists, teachers, counselors, principals, and trainers who can address the specific needs of anyone involved in a sexual abuse or sexual assault case.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Somos Familia Family Justice Center provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
New York
While judicial monitoring has been shown to be effective with other criminal justice populations, few studies, and none involving a randomized control design, have been conducted with domestic violence offenders. This study will fill this gap through a randomized trial to determine the efficacy of a carefully designed, robust model of judicial monitoring. In addition to examining the impact of monitoring on official recidivism and victim reports of re-abuse, the impact on intervening offender perceptions regarding the swiftness, certainty, and severity of further sanctions in response to violations of the court's orders will also be examined.
The Center for Court Innovation and John Jay College of Criminal Justice will conduct a population assessment and formative evaluation to provide information and a model to respond effectively to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). The goals of the research are to: (1) develop a better understanding of the CSEC population, (2) assist the Coalition to Address the Sexual Exploitation of Children (CASEC) in assessing, monitoring, and improving capacity and performance, and (3) institutionalizing and disseminating lessons and best practices. The applicant will conduct a multi-method study that will estimate the size, characteristics and needs of the CSEC population through the use of respondent-driven sampling, Geographical Information System Technology, and direct observation in the field. Two hundred youth who engage in child prostitution will be recruited and interviewed over a 9-month period. The applicant will use action-research methods to conduct a formative evaluation of the New York City CSEC demonstration program. Action-research methods will be used to engage the CASEC collaboration partners in establishing criteria and systems for ongoing self-evaluation and improvement. The applicant will work closely with the CASEC to document the program's implementation and operational processes, and to identify, define, disseminate, and institutionalize best practices. This will include review of program documentation; interviews with staff, partners, and the CASEC residential clients; assessment of data and information-sharing needs; identification of performance measures; and establishment of mechanisms for feedback on performance to the program.
As part of the Safe Havens initiative funded through the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women, Rainbow Research is working with the Institute for Domestic Violence in the African American Community to explore the extent to which African Americans, Native Americans and other people of color utilize supervised visitation programs in four distinct communities - Anadarko, OK; New Orleans, LA; Queens, NY; and Zuni, NM - as well as review the culturally appropriate practices of these programs.
The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence is partnering with the Center for Disability Rights and the Empire Justice Center (formerly known as the Greater Upstate Law Project) to improve services for women with disabilities who are abused. The Grant to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities is an exciting and unique statewide initiative that allows the three organizations to help create an informed, educated, and interconnected community of domestic violence and disability rights advocates in New York State who provide services to women with disabilities who are abused. The overall goal of the project is to reduce or eliminate the physical, programmatic, and attitudinal barriers that hinder women with disabilities' access to, and utilization of, essential crisis and support services. With this in mind, this collaborative project will:
- provide technical assistance and education
- develop a series of cross-trainings for domestic violence and disability advocates
- create a comprehensive training curriculum and resource materials
- develop a comprehensive self-assessment tool to assist domestic violence shelters and programs in evaluating their architectural and programmatic accessibility
- establish a Listserv for the exchange of information, ideas, and resources among domestic violence program advocates, disability-related service organizations, and service providers for the deaf.
In 1998, the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, and the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives received a grant to assist local probation departments in their development of local domestic violence policies, procedures, and protocols, and in their efforts to implement probation-related provisions of the NYS Model Domestic Violence Policy for Counties within the criminal justice and Family Court systems. Specifically, local probation departments are being asked to provide a more consistent legal system response to abused women and domestic violence offenders, promote collaboration within communities and across agencies, and foster relationships with local domestic violence advocates.
The New York State Victim Assistance Academy is an interdisciplinary, academically based learning experience for crime victim service providers, advocates, and allied professionals. It provides a foundation in the principles and policies of victims' rights work and a comprehensive set of skills, knowledge, and resources to enable service providers to better meet the short- and long-term needs of crime victims in New York State.
The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault is partnering with The Enterprising Kitchen to allow the public to donate spa baskets to survivors of sexual assault.
The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault analyzed the type and range of services offered by city hospital, community, child and adolescent, and criminal justice programs. Emergency departments in 39 of the 63 hospitals participated.
The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault will identify the adequacy of services available to sexual assault victims from the survivors' perspective. Staff are using a standard survey administered through three channels: rape crisis programs, hospital-based sexual assault programs, and online from the Alliance's Web site. Researchers will ask survivors to reflect on the medical, mental health, law enforcement and criminal justice services made available to them after their assault. The overarching purpose is to: 1) inform each of the service sectors involved in the care of rape survivors on how their current services either fulfill or do not fulfill needs of rape victims; and 2) provide these service sectors with guidelines on how to better the care they provide to rape survivors in New York City.
The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault is also planning a research project in conjunction with the Columbia Center for Youth Violence Prevention to survey youths in four high schools on data violence. Data collection will begin in the fall of 2006.
The broad aim of this research project is to develop youth-focused approaches to the identification, management, and referral for intimate partner violence within health care settings. Although numerous private, professional, and governmental health care organizations recommend screening and intervention programs for all women, almost no information specific to the expectations and needs of adolescent and young adult women exists. As a first step toward this goal, the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University and Planned Parenthood New York City will collaborate to develop and test the feasibility of a comprehensive intimate partner violence screening and referral program, including a provider-training component, directed specifically toward young women.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. Two of the first centers, the Family Justice Center of Erie County and the New York City Family Justice Center provide services from a variety of on-site partners.
North Carolina
The Governor's Crime Commission Criminal Justice Analysis Center is conducting a research study to compare methods for increasing the filing rate for child support payments within the context of pending domestic violence cases in the courts. The study uses a quasi-experimental design in which some domestic violence victims with children receive a financial affidavit while others receive an information packet outlining the procedures for requesting child support. Court personnel are responsible for the distribution of materials and the Center will be analyzing the final aggregate data. The differing methods will be compared to determine the most effective means for increasing child support requests.
The Governor's Crime Commission Criminal Justice Analysis Center is also assessing the automation capabilities and needs of the state-funded domestic violence and sexual assault provider programs. The study will collect baseline data to determine th readiness for development of an automated statewide data collection program.
In the summer of 2003, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence began a new initiative aimed at addressing domestic violence in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) relationships. The initiative, Project Rainbow Net, is a grassroots effort based on the insight of an advisory council made up of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people who have an understanding of domestic violence in LGBT relationships and a desire to end it. Project Rainbow Net will provide a series of trainings to LGBT community groups and domestic violence service providers across the state in order to improve the state's response to LGBT survivors of domestic violence. Information will be gathered and disseminated to domestic violence programs and LGBT community groups working to address domestic violence in LGBT relationships.
The Governor's Crime Commission will be developing a statewide data collection system that captures information about the types of services provided by domestic violence and sexual assault agencies as well as methods for measuring the data to determine the impact or effectiveness of services on victims.
An Intersectional Analysis of Domestic Violence: Understanding the Help-Seeking Decisions of Marginalized Battered WomenResearchers at Michigan State University are collecting data from women in an urban city in North Carolina to identify barriers to seeking services. The research will use interviews of the largely marginalized population to determine how and why women make the decision of whether or not to seek help.
North Dakota
North Dakota Department of Health provides grants to domestic violence and rape crisis service providers, law enforcement, prosecution, judicial, hospitals, and other agencies to address violent crimes against women.
Ohio
The Institute received a grant from the Anthem Foundation to forecast health trends, analyze key health issues, and communicate current research to policymakers, state agencies, and other decision-makers.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Family Justice Center of Northwest Ohio will provide services from a variety of on-site partners.
Oklahoma
As part of the Safe Havens initiative funded through the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women, Rainbow Research is working with the Institute for Domestic Violence in the African American Community to explore the extent to which African Americans, Native Americans and other people of color utilize supervised visitation programs in four distinct communities - Anadarko, OK; New Orleans, LA; Queens, NY and Zuni, NM - as well as review the culturally appropriate practices of these programs.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Ann Patterson Dooley Family Safety Center provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
Oregon
No current projects.
Pennsylvania
The National Center for State Courts is conducting an 18-month evaluation of the impact of organizational capacity building initiatives undertaken by five victim services agencies funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The Justice Research and Statistics Association is conducting this study to identify ways to increase the utilization of crime victim compensation in Pennsylvania. The objectives of the study are to: 1) assess Pennsylvania's current rate of utilization of crime victim compensation and compare this to the rates of other states; 2) identify, via literature review and data analysis, factors that are related to utilization of compensation programs; and 3) develop recommendations for improving the program.
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and The Pennsylvania Department of Aging are currently engaged in a collaborative training project, funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, to enhance the safety and access to services for older victims of domestic violence throughout Pennsylvania. The project's primary goal is to establish clear and concise direction to guide the direct service providers in both the Aging and Domestic Violence systems to establish a coordinated response to meet the needs of victims age 50 and older.
The Project is a collaboration of three national organizations to provide training, technical assistance and other resources on domestic violence-related issues. The Minnesota Program Development coordinates the Criminal Justice Office; the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence coordinates the Civil Justice Office; and the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women coordinates the Defense Office.
Staffed by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, this project promotes the timely, universal enforcement of protection orders in state and tribal courts throughout the country in accordance with the federal Violence Against Women Act.
Rhode Island
This study will explore the impact of identifying and charging for the crime of stalking in the state of Rhode Island on offender accountability as measured by successful prosecution as well as victim safety, as measured by re-arrest for domestic violence within two years. Researchers will use a multi-methods approach that includes secondary data analysis of a mandated law enforcement reporting system as well as court based data regarding prosecution and qualitative interviews with select Rhode Island law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers and court advocates for a more complete understanding of the factors influencing the criminal justice response to stalking. The researcher plans to explore answers to the question, "Does identifying the crime of stalking have an effect on prosecution outcomes, as well as longer terms outcomes in regard to subsequent arrests for domestic violence?" A sample of 1,297 incident and arrest reports where citations have been made by police for threats and harassment between January 1,2001 and December 31, 2005 will be reviewed to extract those cases where stalking charges should have been brought against the suspects. These extracted cases will be compared with 140 cases during the same period where the suspects were actually cited for stalking. Comparisons will be made on a variety of characteristics, with the end result being the development of a more complete profile of stalkers. Qualitative interviews (group) with 30 key informants from smaller cities in Rhode Island will be conducted to assess factors that may influence the criminal justice response to stalking.
The Rhode Island Department of Health will be comparing the violent deaths in the Rhode Island Violent Death Reporting System with the data collected by the Rhode Island Supreme Court's Domestic Violence Training and Monitoring Unit to determine the proportion of victims of violent death who were victims or perpetrators of domestic violence in the 12 months prior to death.
The Rhode Island Department of Health will be comparing the violent child deaths in the Rhode Island Violent Death Reporting System with the data collected by the Rhode Island Supreme Court's Domestic Violence Training and Monitoring Unit to determine whether children who live in homes with police-reported domestic violence have an increased risk of death from all causes.
South Carolina
The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of sex offender registration and community notification policies in reducing sexual violence against women and girls. To date, effects of broad sex offender registration and notification policies have been almost entirely exempt from empirical review. The present study will evaluate sex offender registration and notification policies as applied in South Carolina to determine whether these policies have deterred new sexual offenses or reduced sexual recidivism. Additionally, this study will examine whether an unintended effect has occurred; that is, whether the prosecution or conviction of individuals arrested for serious sexual offenses might have declined since policy implementation, perhaps due to perceived harshness of these policies. Because general crime rates have declined over the past decade, data on robbery and aggravated assault will also be examined to control for reductions in sex offenses.
The study examines the effectiveness of sex offender registration and community notification policies in reducing sexual violence against women and girls. Because registration and notification policies were federally mandated and have been implemented across the country, they represent the most comprehensive attempts at the prevention and reduction of serious sexual violence. To date, the effects of broad registration and notification policies (e.g., policies that do not distinguish between different offender risk levels and that apply for life) have been almost entirely exempt from empirical review. The present study will evaluate broad sex offender registration and notification policies as applied in South Carolina to determine whether these policies have deterred new sexual offenses (Aim 1) or reduced sexual recidivism (Aim 2). Additionally, this study will examine whether an unintended effect has occurred: that is, whether the prosecution or conviction of individuals arrested for serious sexual offenses might have declined since policy implementation, perhaps due to perceived harshness of these polices (Aim 3). Because general crime rates have declined over the past decade, data on robbery and aggravated assault will also be examined in the context of some analyses to control for reductions in sex offenses that might be due to non-specific factors. Data from 1991 to 2003 to be analyzed include all South Carolina "registry" sexual offense charges and convictions; all robbery and aggravated assault charges and convictions (for comparison); and victim reports of sexual offenses (also for comparison purposes). Patterns of pre-policy (1991-1995) charges and convictions will be compared with post-registration policy data (1996-1999) and with post-Internet notification policy data (2000-2003). This study will represent the first empirical examination of broad registration and notification polices, such as were implemented by approximately half of all U.S. states. These policies have been in effect for over a decade, and examination of their effectiveness is overdue.
In January 2006, enhanced sanctions for several criminal domestic violence offenses went into effect in the state, including increased sentence length, mandatory minimum sentences, and increased fines and court assessments. As a result, there is concern that offenders may be charged with non-domestic violence offenses in order to avoid the more stringent sanctions attached to domestic violence offenses. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the State Budget Control Board's Office of Research and Statistics (ORS) are collaborating to collect criminal domestic violence disposition data from 2005 and 2006 to compare dispostion outcomes between the two years to determine how often and in what manner criminal domestic violecne arrest charges change.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is also using incident-based law enforcement data to conduct a study of sexual violence on victims under the age of 18. When conducting a previous report of sexual violence, it became apparent that sexual violence victimization rates amont the younger age groups significantly exceeded the rates among older age groups. The Division will therefore be conducting a more detailed examination of sexual violence among young victims.
South Dakota
No current projects.
Tennessee
The Cultural Competency Project addresses access, language and cultural barriers faced by immigrant and refugee victims and works to enhance culturally competent domestic violence and sexual assault services. The project seeks ways to improve services to immigrant, refugee and trafficked victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Tennessee, to increase collaboration between DV/SA programs and organizations that serve immigrant communities, and to increase understanding issues of immigrant victims among DV/SA programs and organizations that serve immigrants.
This project was designed to develop consistent, ongoing domestic violence response training statewide. The Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence provides technical assistance to law enforcement agencies on policy development and law implementation. The Coalition also conducts 40-hour specialized domestic violence and sexual assault schools and provides a manual of updated laws.
This project funds outreach workers who provide services to domestic violence victims in 15 underserved rural communities.
The overall purpose of the Social Norms Project is to create a prevention campaign about sexual violence among youth. In order to accomplish this goal effectively, the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence will first examine and assess what Tennessee youths believe sexual violence is and how they feel about it. Once these beliefs are understood, the project can determine the best way to help prevent sexual assault.
The Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has received a three year federal grant from the Office for Victims of Crime to develop, implement and evaluate a Tennessee-specific victim assistance academy. The Coalition will coordinate, plan and implement the Academy with support from the Victims of Crime State Coordinating Council, the Office of Criminal Justice Programs, the State Treasurer's Office and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Tennessee Victims of Crime State Coordinating Council has been established to promote awareness of the needs of victims of crime and their families and to coordinate and assist the efforts of victims' rights organization. The Council does not provide direct services assistance to individual victims or families of victims, but instead refers victims and/or will advise victims of available resources.
Texas
The Child and Adolescent Counseling Program at SafePlace provides counseling to children and adolescents who have experienced domestic and/or sexual violence. Services provided to clients include individual counseling, play therapy with younger children, crisis intervention, long-term counseling, and peer support groups. Given current services offered, the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will be conducting an evaluation of the program's assessment tools and observation methods to assess their suitability for evaluating client outcomes.
This project's purpose is to evaluate the BabySafe Program, an outreach program for pregnant women who are experiencing domestic violence, offered by SafePlace, Austin, TX. Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault project staff will refine measures to evaluate two components of the BabySafe program: 1) training offered to medical and professional staff by BabySafe program staff and 2) the impact of the program and the achievement of program objectives, if needed. After data analysis, the principal investigator and project staff will produce a final report.
This Migrant Clinicians Network project is a peer-led family violence community education project in Maverick and Presidio counties, empowering community members to become advocates, or promotoras, who speak out against family violence.
PRISA began in 1995 as an initiative of the Political Asylum Project of Austin to provide immigration legal services to battered immigrants and children. Project staff provide outreach and education to social service providers, members of the faith community and law enforcement officials on the legal remedies available to battered immigrants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and their role and responsibility as advocates for immigrant victims of domestic violence.
The PFJCI is a pilot program administered by the Office on Violence Against Women that has awarded more than $20 million to 15 communities across the country for the planning, development, and establishment of comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers. The goal of the PFJCI is to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of services together under one roof. One of the first centers, the Bexar County Family Justice Center provides services from a variety of on-site partners.
Utah
The Utah Attorney General's Office created the state's first non-profit visitation and exchange center for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and their children. The All-R-Kids Center provides monitored exchanges where the visiting parent is carefully supervised and guidelines are in place to ensure there is no contact between parents. The center was made possible by grants from the U.S. Department of Justice/Office on Violence Against Women.
The Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault is evaluating sexual assault victims' system of care, including the sexual assault nurse examination, rape crisis advocacy, and response by law enforcement and hospital services personnel.
The Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault is measuring the effectiveness of sexual violence intervention and prevention efforts designed for developmentally disabled adults and their caregivers.
Vermont
No current projects.
Virginia
Project RADAR is a provider-focused initiative to promote the assessment and prevention of intimate partner violence in the health care setting. Through the RADAR initiative, the Center for Injury & Violence Prevention at the Virginia Department of Health seeks to enable Virginia's health care providers to recognize and respond to intimate partner violence (IPV) by providing them access to:
- "best-practice" policies, guidelines, and assessment tools
- training programs and specialty-specific curricula
- awareness and educational materials
- information on the latest research/data related to IPV
Washington
The Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence develops training curricula, service protocols, and models for collaboration that will increase and enhance support and advocacy for people with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence.
The Washington State Department of Corrections was awarded a grant and has subcontracted to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs to create curricula and provide training in the areas of Inmate Orientation, Staff training and Investigations for both adult and juvenile facilities.
The Black People's Project, created by Communities Against Rape and Abuse, develops creative and radical ways to challenge rape culture as it connects to the experience of being black in America. This includes presentations, curricula, and peer education about the American slave trade and culture; lynching movements at the turn of the 20th century and in contemporary USA; sexual abuse, torture