NCJ Number
180762
Date Published
1999
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the approaches used by the Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP) in Minnesota to improve the level of communication and coordination among agencies intervening in domestic assault cases and explains the crucial elements of successful networking strategies currently implemented around the country.
Abstract
The DAIP defined coordination as a dynamic process that went beyond the improvement of communication or case handling within current policies and procedures. The DAIP also proposed to evaluate the impact of the entire coordinated response and to guide the development of solutions to identified problems. The DAIP worked with each agency to develop coordinated policies to improve the consistency of the overall response and initiated strategies to increase communication among the agencies. The DAIP coordination model is flexible and sophisticated and has resulted in real reforms in the community, as well as agreement on victim safety as the guiding principles of policy and practice. Central to successful coordination efforts are a stated goal of victim safety and a commitment to maintaining victim safety as the top priority. The composition of the coordinating body and the establishment of methods to evaluate activities from this perspective are also crucial elements in these efforts. Other elements include decision making procedures and problem solving strategies that take account of the existing power dynamics in the justice system and the community and agreements to exchange information that improves responses to individual cases and allows monitoring of adherence to interagency agreements and evaluation of the coordinated effort's impact. A final crucial element is having persons with exceptional negotiation skills plus the needed time and resources to fulfill the coordination responsibilities adequately. 9 references