As prepared by the DVHPDI Evaluation Team, Yale University and Michigan State University, March 2016
Purpose: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Office for Violence Against Women (OVW) will evaluate the implementation process and impact of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative.
This evaluation seeks to draw critical findings and potential lessons from the combined experience of the sites including: 1) how the models work in different communities; 2) the barriers and facilitators to implementing the models; and 3) outcomes of the model delivery. The evaluation team will also disseminate the findings with the goal of informing replication.
Process Evaluation: The process evaluation will assess: 1) the training and technical assistance provided to sites; 2) the implementation of the models in the communities; and 3) characteristics of the service delivery systems.
- Technical Assistance Providers (model and culturally specific) will document the training and technical assistance (TTA) they provide to the sites including: 1) the amount of TTA; 2) the timeline through which TTA is provided; 3) the content of the TTA; 4) the recipients of TTA; 5) recipients’ perceptions of any barriers/facilitators to implementing TTA by site; 6) modifications to TTA by site (including changes to policy recommendations); and, 7) TTA provider perception of model uptake by site.
- Sites will be asked to identify key stakeholders to participate in interviews before the implementation begins and then two additional times during the demonstration phase. In addition, data will be gathered from administrative systems to assess aspects of model implementation.
- Recipient’s Perception of the TTA received: how the TTA met their community’s needs; how prepared the community is to implement the model; impact of TTA on the approach to addressing IPV; and, ways TTA helped them adapt policies and/or procedures to implement model.
- Model Fidelity: key informant interviews will assess adherence to the model as designed. Sites also will be asked to provide administrative data to increase understanding about how the model is being implemented in their community such as characteristics of victims who were screened and those who were not; how the lethality/risk assessments were processed; how the information was shared with domestic violence service providers; types of services victims receive; types of pre-trial conditions that are applied. Systematic observations of law enforcement initiated screens will be conducted by a member of the evaluation team who will join patrol officers for “ride-alongs”.
- Model Implementation: will be assessed through examination of law enforcement, domestic violence service provider, prosecutor, and corrections administrative data to understand the level of model penetration -- the extent to which the model is being implemented in the community. The evaluation team also will ask questions as part of the key informant interviews regarding barriers and facilitators to model implementation.
- Victims who have utilized the services of the High Risk Team will be interviewed and asked about their perceptions of the DVHRT process including any suggestions for modification of the model, barriers and facilitators to safety planning and engaging in services and their perceptions of the service delivery system. The team plans to interview at least 20 percent of the victims who have participated in the model during the 6-month period prior to the site visit.
- Victims who have participated in the Lethality Assessment Program will be interviewed and asked about their perceptions of the LAP process, barriers and facilitators to safety planning and engaging in services and their perceptions of the service delivery system.
- Model Impact: will be assessed through key informant interviews in which participants will be asked about: the strengths of the model in their community; additional improvements that are needed to increase safety for victims; and the impact of the model on collaboration among different service sectors. Victims will be asked about their satisfaction with the LAP/DVHRT process; knowledge of the services available; types of services they utilize and their satisfaction with these services; and their perception of safety before and after participation in LAP/DVHRT.
- Impact Evaluation: The impact evaluation will assess changes in: 1) collaboration among service systems; 2) supervision and sanctions for those who commit offenses; 3) recidivism and re-victimization; 4) victim reported feelings of safety; 5) utilization of resources; and 6) nature of safety planning.
- System Collaboration will be assessed through a web-based survey completed at three time points by key stakeholders representing all potential partners in the community. Social network analysis will provide a visual depiction of how the network changes over time.
- Longitudinal Victim Interviews will be conducted in four of the LAP sites to determine the impact of involvement in the model program on their safety and wellbeing. Victims will be interviewed at three time points and will be asked about: domestic violence severity; collateral or displaced violence; the convicted person promises to change; previous contact and satisfaction with police and providers; participation in initial intervention contact; awareness and utilization of resources; fear, safety and utilization of protective strategies; coping and social support; economic dependence and financial stress; mental health and substance use; health self assessment; daily discrimination and micro-aggressions; children’s exposure to trauma; and qualitative questions to assess: changes in victim and partner’s behavior, beliefs and attitudes since intervention and unintended consequences of participating in the intervention.
- Administrative Data will be utilized to examine the breadth of the model implementation; the impact of the model programs on criminal justice processes; and whether there is a connection between the extent of post-risk assessment sanctions and services and the pattern of newly recorded incidents between the victim and person who committed the crime. The evaluation will compare processing and outcomes across cases that are in many ways similar except that some cases were determined to be high risk and a risk assessment was completed and others where a risk assessment was not conducted. To facilitate these comparisons, the evaluation team will build a comprehensive database that will depict the “life-history” of each dyad of victim and person committing the offense. We will compile this these data from the following systems: 1) law enforcement information databases; 2) state-wide criminal history database; 3) law enforcement incident databases; 4) law enforcement lethality / danger assessment screen databases; 5) judicial warrant / summons databases; 6) jail / sheriff booking/custody databases; 7) weapons/firearms confiscation/property databases; 8) prosecutor complaint review databases; 9) prosecutor arraignment databases; 10) judicial court hearing databases; 11) pretrial supervision/service databases; 12) disposition and sentencing databases; 13) restraining/protective order databases; and, 14) corrections tracking databases.