NCJ Number
137666
Date Published
1992
Length
145 pages
Annotation
This report presents background information on and the first year's achievements of a 3-year evaluation of the extent to which five batterers education programs are an effective referral option available to and used by the criminal justice system as part of a comprehensive community continuum of intervention services.
Abstract
The Batterers Intervention Project (BIP) is based in the belief that battering is a socially learned and supported behavior that is used by perpetrators to establish and maintain power and control over their partners. Accordingly batterers education programs are considered a component of a wider societal response that incorporates a multidisciplinary range of community services. BIP participants may be referred through court orders or by voluntary action. The program consists of an education component and a long-term group. Topics discussed in the sessions focus on the education of batterers in the unacceptability of their abusive behavior and on the consequences of continuing such behaviors. During the initial evaluation stage, which began on April 1, 1990, evaluation activities focused on the development of data-collection instruments and a computerized system to enter, process, and analyze evaluation data on the clients referred, program participation, and program termination; the entering of initial evaluation data; and modification of the forms and the computerized system. In the second stage, which began on May 1, 1991, guidelines for evaluation of the community response were devised, and programs have been collecting community response baseline data, in addition to the ongoing collection of client-related information. The third stage will include the collection and analysis of on-going community response data, identification of training and programmatic needs, and development of intervention strategies tailored to each community. Data findings thus far are presented. 31 references and program and evaluation forms