National Evaluation of the LEAA Family Violence Demonstration Program - Summary of Major Findings

• NCJ Number: 95217
• Author(s): J Fagan; E Friedman; S Wexler
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-MU-AX-0049; 80-JN-AX-0003
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Urban and Rural Systems Associates
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This evaluation of the LEAA family violence demonstration programs covers program and evaluation design; victim, family, and offender backgrounds; and impacts on families, the justice system, and policy.

Abstract

Overall, the evaluation concludes that legislative, policy, and procedural changes are required to further the justice system's response to family violence. A specific recommendation is that the extent of family violence be documented as fully as possible, preferably by changing the FBI Uniform Crime Code to include family violence or by individual State legislative mandates for similar data collection changes. Also, special family violence prosecutors, vertical integration of cases to allow both felony and misdemeanor assault charges, and screening and case evaluation techniques are recommended to target the most serious cases for special court processing and dispositions. Another recommendation is that family violence legislation be modified to impose criminal sanctions for violations of civil court restraining orders. New legislation should be tested through experimental programs designed to determine the best implementation methods, and family violence legislation should allow victims to file petition for protection in the criminal courts without the assistance of an attorney. Diversion counseling programs for batterers should include vigorous evaluation of their efficacy. Police training should include sensitization to the problem of family violence and specific procedures for the handling of initial incidents and violations of protective orders. Research into the causes of family violence needs longitudinal studies of the onset, escalation of desistance of violence, and its environmental and individual correlates. Funding for shelters should be made available through contract support to private organizations. Victims' per diem reimbursements, including case management and legal advocacy as well as room and board, are needed. Funding should be structured to avoid fiscal crises and sustain organizational development. Children's services in shelters are critical.