Court Responses to Batterer Program Noncompliance: A National Perspective

The purpose of this study is to investigate how courts use batterer program mandates to keep defendants under tight court supervisions. This study will involve a survey of criminal courts, batterer programs, and battered women's programs in each of the 50 states. An average of three communities per state will be surveyed (n=150). Selection criteria will include whether the community has a batterer program, battered women's agency and court that can respond. All communities whose courts mandate batterer programs pre-disposition will be included. The survey will assess how the court uses batterer programs pre- and post-disposition; what policies exist for responding to noncompliance; and how respondents perceive the message the court's enforcement practices send about the seriousness of intimate partner violence. The study will take place over a 15 month period. Months 1 and 2 will involve preparation and finalization of the research instruments. Months 3 and 4 will involve identification of the batterer programs to be included in the study. Months 5 and 6 will involve distribution and collection of the surveys. Months 7 to 9 will involve data analysis, and months 10 to 12 will involve report-writing, leaving three months for NIJ review. ca/ncf