NCJ Number
156991
Date Published
1994
Length
67 pages
Annotation
The Commission on Minimum Standards for Batterers' Treatment, comprised of victim advocates, batterers' intervention program providers, representatives of the criminal justice system, and the military, held numerous public meetings and gathered expert testimony before proposing these recommendations for consideration by the Florida Legislature.
Abstract
The primary focus of the standards is victim safety, and the safety of affected children; a secondary focus is accountability of the perpetrator. The proposed program is a minimum of 29 weeks, including 24 weeks of mandatory group intervention led by trained facilitators. Programs and personnel are required to be certified by the State under these standards. Batterers are required to pay costs of the program, but each area is permitted to set fees on a sliding scale. Specific topics covered include declaration of purpose, definitions, declaration of policies, when intervention is appropriate, standards of care, intervention approaches, inappropriate intervention approaches, system procedures and flow, conflicts of interest, assessment, program specifics, program content, qualifications for batterers' intervention providers, credentials for batterers' program personnel, and program monitoring and evaluation requirements.