An integrated community response to domestic violence is more powerful than any one single community response . . .
Making the Case for Domestic Violence Prevention Through the Lens of Cost-Benefit
A Manual for Domestic Violence Prevention Practitioners
(and the State and Local Policy-Makers They Present to)
The Value Of A Collaborative Model
An integrated community response to domestic violence is more powerful than any one single community response . . .
Showing that your prevention program participates in or touches several parts of the community and social system in a collaborative way creates a greater understanding of the direct and indirect value of that program. The greater the value of a program in the overall effort to prevent domestic violence, the greater its cost-benefit. Many of California’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Councils (DVCCs) have shown this understanding: an integrated community response to domestic violence is more powerful than any one single community response.
Coordinating councils or interagency forums are an increasingly popular means of monitoring and improving responses toward intimate partner violence at the community level. Their aim is to exchange information, identify and address problems in the provision of services and promote good practice and awareness.
Fact Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence, World Health Organization, 2002
“We need to find a way to demonstrate that the collaborative effort of the high school program and the movie being shown and the media campaign all together have reduced domestic violence in a particular community or target group.”
Angela Browne-Miller, Program Manager, TC-TAT, September 23, 2005.
In many counties throughout the state of California, DVCCs are making great strides in this area. An estimated twenty nine California counties (Bugarin, Alicia and Marcus, Nieto. California County Approaches to Domestic Violence, California Research Bureau, California State Library, Sacramento, November 2003, p. 5.) have developed some degree of integrated community response to domestic violence, including DVCCs or other groups consisting of one or more lead agencies in cooperation with other organizations. (Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties have been participants in a five year national study evaluating the effectiveness of a collaborative model. These results are included in Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice, available at: http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/executvi/executvi.html. Ibid., p. 7.) Some counties do not have any formal coordinating body but rather have a number of agencies acting independently. From the cost-effectiveness perspective, it can be said that acting independently may render a program, no matter how valuable, less valuable than it would be acting along with other programs.
The California Research Bureau (CRB) conducted a survey to assess county policies that address domestic violence. In general, findings indicate that many counties have a “fragmented programmatic approach that is less effective than it could be.” However, several counties have developed an integrated community response to domestic violence. These counties have created a domestic violence coordinating council (DVCC), a domestic violence task force, or a domestic violence commission that work actively with advocacy groups and county agencies to coordinate an effective system wide response to domestic violence issues.
For more information about the CRB survey and California’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Councils, please see: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/13/03-013.pdf.
At this stage of development, California’s DVCCs are still learning the best – and therefore most cost-beneficial -- means of responding to, let alone preventing, domestic violence. Most counties have thus far quite naturally focused on responding to existing violence and crises rather than developing efforts to prevent new violence. As prevention practitioners, we must acknowledge that direct services are absolutely critical – while still making the case for the investment of funds in prevention to begin to lessen the crises requiring so much attention.
For a more technical look at evaluating and measuring the effectiveness of cross-sector collaboration, please see Appendix D: Multi-Sector Collaboration.
Organizations and individuals working together to help address and prevent domestic violence must relate to each other, know how to access each other, understand each other’s roles, and actually communicate with each other.
Coordinating councils need to be representative of the entire community by working to include non-traditional participants such as youth, survivors, and representatives outside of the criminal justice system and violence against women advocacy community. For example, coordinating councils with a heavy criminal justice representation and focus may not be seen as welcoming to some people of color who have traditionally not viewed the criminal justice system as a safe option for response.
A Vision for Prevention: Key Issues and Statewide Recommendations for the Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women in Michigan,
Michigan Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, p. 17.
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence Initiative
Established in 2000, this initiative is a multi-jurisdictional partnership created to help eliminate domestic and family violence and elder abuse in Contra Costa County, California. County staff, local law enforcement, the Courts and community service providers have banded together under the leadership of the Board of Supervisors to offer a comprehensive, coordinated, community-wide response to break the progressive cycle of domestic and family violence. “Zero Tolerance” activities are showing early indications of improved safety for victims and children, increased accountability for offenders, and streamlined, coordinated service structures that better serve the public. For more information:
http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/cao/DomViol/ztdv%20
overview%20for%20website%202%2002.htm.
Building Bridges Between Domestic Violence Organizations and Child Protective Services by Linda Spears (February 2000) is a resource for advocates seeking to strengthen efforts to help battered women with abused and neglected children. The paper reviews what is known about the effects of domestic violence on children, and provides a comprehensive overview of the child protection system and how it works. Finally, it provides a framework for collaboration with child protection agencies that will support the work of domestic violence advocates as they try to improve safety for women and their children.
Available at: http://www.vawnet.org/NRCDVPublications/BCSDV/Papers/BCS7_cps.php.
Example: Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention with People with Disabilities
When a person with a disability experiences abuse it is imperative that there be a community response to providing services.
In addition to domestic violence and sexual assault services and counseling, many people with disabilities require services such as Regional Centers, Independent Living Centers, Transportation Services, personal care attendant services, and medical-based services.
Additional services such as sign language interpreters, meal services, and schooling services may also be necessary.
Based on the consumers’ requests, many of these services can combine together to help the consumer with recovery.
Collaboration
The best services that can be provided for individuals with disabilities who are experiencing abuse are community-based collaborative actions and services, often crossing into other sectors or service areas – which is why we call this cross-sector collaboration.
Disability service providers need to be able to assess for abuse and provide basic crisis intervention counseling and then referrals to appropriate services within their communities.
Domestic violence programs will help by undergoing a paradigm-shift from one of no access to one of serving women with disabilities and making their programs usable and accessible for women with disabilities.
This can only happen through initial cooperation, cross training, and understanding of the fundamental issues of abuse in the disability community.
Across the country, many programs have collaborated to ensure that a continuum of services, including prevention programs, are provided for women with disabilities who experience domestic violence, abuse or assault.
Preventing Violence Against Women with Disabilities Trainer’s Guide, created by Transforming Communities Technical Assistance, Training and Resource Center (TC-TAT) under a grant from the California Department of Health Services.
Model Protocol on Screening Practices for Domestic Violence Victims with Disabilities, by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is a good example of “Changing Organizational Practices and Policies” (Level 7 on the Spectrum of Community Change). Available at: http://www.wscadv.org/Resources/protocol_disability_screening.pdf.