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VICTIMIZATION

VICTIMIZATION-ABUSE-WITNESSES-VICTIM SURVEYS

Posts tagged domestic violence services
Strengthening Domestic Violence Service for Deaf Survivors: An Evaluation of Barrier Free Living’s Deaf Services Program

By Malore Dusenbery, Jeanette Hussemann, Teresa Crowe

More than 11 million people in the United States are Deaf, deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, or Deaf-Blind. Research indicates deaf people report experiencing victimization at higher rates, but a lack of accessible resources and trauma-informed services for American Sign Language (ASL) speakers makes it difficult for deaf people to report crimes and access support. In response to these issues, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2017 began funding Barrier Free Living (BFL), a provider of services for survivors of domestic violence and their families, to increase access to direct services for deaf survivors and increase local stakeholders’ awareness of deaf survivors’ needs through its Deaf Services (DS) program.

In 2019, Urban, in collaboration with Gallaudet University and NORC at the University of Chicago, began a multimethod process evaluation of BFL’s DS program to document its implementation and assess to what extent it achieved its intended goals. Drawing on information gathered from BFL staff, deaf consumers of BFL’s services, and community partners, we identified the following key findings:

The DS program provided a range of services to meet the diverse needs of deaf survivors, including counseling and support groups, legal services, case management, housing support, employment support, occupational therapy, and child care. Consumers reported overall positive experiences with the services they received and communication accessibility at BFL.

The DS program helped increase BFL’s ability to communicate with deaf survivors by increasing routine use of interpreters, training hearing staff in ASL, and improving communications technology.

The DS program led to increased awareness and collaboration around services provided to deaf clients, but communication and staffing challenges remain.

The DS program partners with a range of external agencies to support referrals or coordinate service provision, provide education and training, and conduct outreach and advocacy.

Funding and staffing are the primary factors that impede the provision of enhanced services for deaf survivors, but a community-wide lack of accessible and available services and housing also hinders providers from meeting their clients’ needs.

Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for

how BFL and similar direct service programs can improve and adapt staffing, services, and outreach to strengthen their response to deaf survivors;

how policymakers, funders, and system-level stakeholders can address societal and policy-level barriers to meeting the needs of deaf survivors; and

how researchers and funders of research can fill critical gaps in research on deaf survivors and deaf-focused services by increasing and improving the research done with the deaf community.

Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2022. 83p.

Supporting Women and Children Experiencing Family and Domestic Violence: THE ZONTA HOUSE TECHNICAL REPORT

By  Leanne Lester, Zoe Callis and Paul Flatau

 As more data is being collected by Zonta House, the importance of linking the data, ensuring measurement tools are valid and reliable, and that all program outcomes are measurable has become paramount. This process has enabled UWA to assess the impact and effectiveness of Zonta House programs. Linking of data sources The linking of Penelope and SHIP data enabled a complete evaluation of Zonta House programs. It is recommended that processes be developed to ensure the accuracy of data entry into both Penelope and SHIP systems. As the linking is done through birth dates and Statistical Linkage Keys, it is imperative that birth dates and client names are entered correctly into both systems. Mapping program logic to available data By mapping the program logic to available data we were able to ascertain that all outcomes were measurable using both internal (Penelope) and external (SHIP and Department of Communities) hosted data sources. Measuring program logic outcomes The results of the data analysis show Zonta House are performing well and achieving their outcomes in the crisis and transitional accommodation programs, Recovery Support, Outreach Support, Positive Pathways, Future Employment Connections, and Positive Pathways programs. Understanding a woman’s journey through Zonta House By mapping the flow of a woman’s journey through Zonta House we were able to determine common pathways of program engagement, and pathways of engagement which were more likely to lead to a woman’s exit from Zonta House. It is recommended that Zonta House encourage engagement with programs such as Safer Pathways, Recovery Support, Positive Pathways and Outreach Support programs as soon as possible within a woman’s journey through Zonta House. Reliability and validity of the Life Matrix In this study we explored the potential value for the Life Matrix to be used as a routine measure at Zonta House. Of particular interest was whether the Life Matrix was reliable and valid. Five domains of the Life Matrix (emotional wellbeing; social wellbeing; community and cultural involvement; mental health; and physical health) showed a reliable underlying theme of wellbeing and contribute to the Revised Total Life Matrix Score. Validity was tested against the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS 21), with significant correlations in the expected direction showing convergence between the two instruments. Clients in the moderate/severe/ extremely severe band had significantly lower Revised Total Life Matrix Scores than those in the normal and mild bands, also demonstrating convergence. The Life Matrix domains are significantly correlated with SHIP variables. The Life Matrix is a reliable and valid tool and is recommended for use. Optimisation of visualisation Many limitations were found when trying to extract and display data from the Penelope system. To enable effective visualisation of data, it is recommended that work is done directly with the developers of Penelope to access and customise visualisations  

Perth: Centre for Social Impact The University of Western Australia 2021. 57p.