In addition, the program certifies, monitors, and funds the centers as authorized in s. 39.903, Florida Statutes . The program also promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to advocacy and the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking crimes.
The program also promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to advocacy and the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking crimes.
Domestic violence, also known as partner violence (PV), is a major social and public health problem in the United States. For the past three decades, individuals arrested for PV have been mandated to complete a course of treatment in accordance with the various standards in the states in which they were arrested.
The curriculum used in the Florida Batterer’s Intervention Program is based on a so-called “intervention model,” which considers domestic violence to be the result of “one person . . . systematically using tactics of emotional and physical abuse in order to maintain power and control over the other.”
If you have been accused, contact an attorney immediately . In Florida, Domestic violence is one of the most defendable charges in all of criminal law, and a decision to plead should not be made without a lawyer thoroughly reviewing your case and considering all of your legal options.
Content that supports the belief that domestic violence is primarily a learned behavior; Content that supports the belief that domestic violence is not provoked or the result of substance abuse; Content designed to improve the batterer’s ability to identify and articulate feelings; Content designed to improve communication skills ...
The failure of a defendant to attend all scheduled Batterer Intervention classes can result in termination from the program. This will cause the participant to violate probation, have a warrant issued for his or her arrest, and face the possibility of significant jail time.
What is Batterer Intervention? In Florida, the Batterer’s Intervention Program (BIP) is a 6 month intensive program designed and monitored by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). The program purports to address the root causes of domestic violence and prevent participants from committing acts of domestic violence in the future. ...
Violation of Batterer Intervention Program rules and procedures can result in a participant’s immediate expulsion from the program. Upon completion of the initial assessment, the ...
Each group session is typically an hour and a half long and is presided over by a designated “facilitator.”
If the duration and rigor of the Batterer’s Intervention Program was not enough, the Florida legislature and the Department of Children and Families has made the program exceedingly expensive.
The Florida Statue University's Institute for Family Violence Studies is aimed at educating professionals and the general public about the issues surrounding domestic violence. The course is a massive open online course, and will be a valuable tool for learning.
The Strangulation Training Institute has developed an online resource to assist in domestic violence stakeholders to learn about the dangers associated with domestic violence strangulation. While the course was originally developed for police, it has proven to be a valuable learning tool for domestic violence stakeholders of all varieties.
The intimate partner sexual abuse module is an inter-discinplinary course, combining concepts from the law, medicine, and social science to create a very informative training for judges and court staff on many critical issues in the area of intimate partner violence.
The Use of Technology to Stalk Online Course is a resource produced by the Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime with funding from the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice.
The AJA, with the assistance of Futures Without Violence and the National Center for State Courts ( NCSC ) has developed a free, online web tool designed to enhance judicial education on domestic violence.
40-hour certification is necessary to provide services in Illinois for survivors of domestic violence, including volunteer work with clients. Participants who take part in the full 40 hours of instruction in the required topics and successfully complete the final assessment will receive a certificate of completion.
20 hours of training are completed individually online and the remaining 20 hours are completed in a classroom setting. The 20 online hours MUST BE COMPLETED before the first classroom session and confirmation presented to the instructor either via email or in person.
We ask this question to ensure the safety of domestic violence victims due to the nature of information shared at the training. You may be required to submit to a background check. A criminal conviction does not necessarily disqualify you from participating in the training - this is assessed on an individual basis.
It is estimated that there are 3.3 to 10 million children who witness the abuse of a parent or adult care giver each year. A majority of the studies done on the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment reveal that there are adult and child victims in 30 to 60 percent of families experiencing domestic violence.
The Safe and Together Model is a field-tested approach to helping child welfare and its partners in making good decisions for children impacted by domestic violence perpetrators. Drawing on his more than two decades worth of experience in the field, David Mandel developed the model to help child welfare professionals improve competencies in working with families impacted by domestic violence. Being used in over 10 states, the Safe and Together Model consists of a set of assumptions, principles and critical components that when utilized in domestic violence cases, help to improve identification, assessment, documentation, case-planning, decision making, and cross systems collaboration and communication. The Department of Children & Families (DCF) partnered with David Mandel & Associates to provide training & technical assistance to child welfare professionals and domestic violence advocates throughout the state.
This publication was created to help dependency judges intervene with those who use violence in ways that promote accountability and maximize the safety and well-being of children and victim parents. It provides as framework to help the court leverage its authority to hold perpetrators accountable, provide appropriate services, and improve judicial decision-making. (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2011)
Domestic violence experts widely agree that positive family outcomes are more likely to occur when child welfare workers partner with the non-offending parent in their efforts to protect the children while holding the batterer accountable. In 2015, the Legislature to expand the CPI Project to all 67 counties in Florida.
Domestic violence, also known as partner violence (PV), is a major social and public health problem in the United States. For the past three decades, individuals arrested for PV have been mandated to complete a course of treatment in accordance with the various standards in the states in which they were arrested.
From a social work perspective, Shlonsky and Gibbs (2004) define evidence-based practice as “a systematic process that blends current best evidence, client preferences (wherever possible), and clinical expertise, resulting in services that are both individualized and empirically sound ” (p. 137). According to the American Psychological Association (2006): “ Evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP) is the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences” (p. 273). The best available research can be ranked on a scale of most to least reliable (e.g., Centre for Evidence-based Medicine, 2001). Level I evidence derives from meta-analyses and RAC (random assignment to conditions) studies. Level II evidence includes quasi-experimental designs (controlled studies without randomization, using non-equivalent control groups or a pretest-posttest design). Level III consists of well-designed non-experimental studies (i.e., case and correlational studies, also known as explanatory research ). The vast majority of research on partner violence falls in this category. (Unless otherwise indicated, the studies in this review are the level III type.) Level IV data are qualitative and descriptive, based on observations, theory and/or clinical experience (e.g., program descriptions and case studies). Reliable evidence in the field of partner violence can also be obtained from Level I-III studies conducted with related populations (e.g., substance abusers, criminals, people with mental health issues). Level IV information is the least reliable and policies and interventions based on this alone cannot be considered evidence-based.
Based on these criteria , current policies on batterer intervention are not evidence-based for a number of reasons. PV policy and intervention, including state batterer intervention standards, are based on recommendations from battered women’s advocates and limited to Level IV information and theory, or based on Level I-III selected data sets—e.g., relying exclusively on crime studies rather than general population studies, cherry-picking from outdated studies (Corvo et al., 2008, 2009; Hines, in press). While these organizations should be applauded for the work they have done on behalf of victims, they are an unreliable source of data on partner violence.
57.5% of PV has been found to be bi-directional, 28.3% is female-on-male and 13.8% male-on-female (Langhinrichsen- Rohling et al., 2012a).
Child abuse and PV are significantly correlated (Sturge-Apple et al., 2012). Although the most common pattern of family violence involves violence by the parents against each other and the children (Slep & O’Leary, 2005), abuse can take a variety of possible pathways (Appel & Holden, 1998; Davies & Sturge-Apple, 2007). Family violence is often reciprocal (Ullman & Straus, 2003) and sometimes initiated by the children, upon their parents and each other (Caffaro & Con-Caffaro, 1998; Lynch & Cicchetti, 1998; Moretti, Penney, Obsuth, & Odgers, 2007; Straus & Gelles, 1990). The one common element appears to be the role of stress in maintaining the various dysfunctional and abusive interactions (Margolin & Gordis, 2003; Salzinger et al., 2003). PV in families can thus be best understood according to a systemic perspective.
Ideally, the modalities of couples and family counseling should be included as part of a batterer intervention program, along with individual and group. In states such as California, current BIP guidelines ought to be rewritten accordingly. For now, while some Probation departments in California have interpreted PC 1203.097 as prohibiting all couples or family counseling, the law in fact only prohibits programs from including these modalities as part of the 52-week requirement. In light of compelling Level I and II research evidence for the that the effectiveness of couples therapy, there is no reason for Probation to prevent or discourage couples to seek such counseling on their own, so long as it is in addition to and not a part of the 52-week group program. Certainly, appropriate guidelines are needed on how referrals should be made, to whom, and under what circumstances. At a minimum, couples or family therapy should be conducted by a licensed mental health professional who is also a certified BIP, and only take place when the victim approves and when the offender has demonstrated a sufficient ability to control his or her violence.
These trained individuals are the core of DVIP’s volunteer program. They answer crisis lines, perform emergency intakes, facilitate support groups, provide advocacy in a variety of settings, and provide information and referrals to victims of domestic violence.
Become a Volunteer. DVIP suggests a commitment of 3 hours per week of volunteer time; however, many of DVIP’s volunteers have active schedules, and most are able to work in a couple of hours per month on a regular basis. If time is an issue, please call for more information.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact DVIP’s Volunteer Coordinator for more information at 319.351.1043 or 800.373.1043 or submit a Volunteer Application. DVIP suggests a commitment of 3 hours per week of volunteer time if possible, but will work with you and your schedule.
DVIP is always in need of youth volunteers. While youth make up half of our shelter residents, DVIP has funding for only two full-time staff members to handle youth issues and programming. From playing video games with a group of teenagers to taking the kids in shelter to the park, to facilitating a pre-teen support group, youth volunteers play a vital role at DVIP.
Domestic violence includes: assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any other criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death to petitioner or petitioner's family or household members who are residing in the same single dwelling unit with the petitioner.
Restrain the respondent from committing any acts of domestic violence;
For this type of injunction, however; there must be at least two (2) incidents of physical violence, threats of violence, or stalking, and at least one (1) of them must have occurred within the last six (6) months.