Domestic Violence Court Intervention Project

Abstract

This research study examines the effectiveness of two domestic violence interventions to increase shelter use among women in a court advocacy program in upstate New York. The study found a significant advantage to offering a brief counseling component during an intervention, as opposed to only handing out an agency brochure and verbalizing shelter services to participants. Through qualitative inquiry rooted in Grounded Theory, the study accesses the impact of the criminal justice setting, direct observation, and the unstructured interview in acquiring pertinent screening information from victims. The study also uses Prochaska and DiClemente=s (1982) AStages of Change@ to better gage the readiness of each victim to make substantial and lasting changes in their relationship with the abuser. The study uncovered three potential areas for future research such as expanding service options for those victims who are not ready or willing to extricate themselves from the abuser. Second, preventing domestic violence earlier by directing preventative programs at children. Third, expanding what domestic violence workers look for during the screening process to measure the feasibility of including both family systems in the treatment plan especially if children are involved.