This is the final report of an evaluation conducted from 1996 to the summer of 2001 to assess 123 American Indian projects that received grant funding under the STOP (Service, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) grant project of the VAIW (Violence Against Indian Women) program, which is intended to counter domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking against Indian women.
The evaluation research relied primarily on four primary data sets derived from site visits, the mailout survey, the telephone survey, and ancillary materials supplied by the programs. This report provides basic descriptive information about who is served by the programs, the structuring of programs, what services are being provided, service recipient responses, and level of satisfaction, as well as the program impact overall. The projects varied widely in their missions and goals, their structuring, their activities, the nature of their implementation, and their primary clients. The report, although covering all aspects of program activity, focuses on best practices and successful innovations. Throughout the report, the discussion features activities in various arenas of endeavor, such as the court, law enforcement, and victim services. The topics addressed include the development of codes and ordinances, survivor services, the role of the advocates, and protection orders. Innovative and best practices are assessed in terms of their effectiveness in serving the needs of the victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The best practices identified are those that have resulted in changes in values and belief systems that result in reductions in violence against women, changes in structures and procedures that facilitate preventing and addressing violence against women, and direct services for women who have been victimized. Specific recommendations are provided under the general areas of coordinated community response, victim services, law enforcement, and prosecution. Extensive figures, appended evaluation methodology, 17 references, and attachments