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Batterer Intervention Programs

The following are resources that address batterer accountability and intervention services, including State and local examples.

Achieving Batterer Accountability in the Child Protection System
Goodmark (2004)
Explores how the child welfare system can use the legal system to hold batterers accountable.

Advancing Change With Maltreating Fathers
Kelly & Wolfe (2004)
View Abstract
Discusses some of the ways that current views of fathers who maltreat their children or partners may be outdated, examines barriers to intervention with men, and considers appropriate services for these men and their families.

Batterer Intervention Programs Best Practice Bibliography (PDF - 188 KB)
Children and Family Research Center (2003)
Provides a list of programs focusing on interventions for batterers.

Breaking the Cycle: Fathering After Violence. Curriculum Guidelines and Tools for Batterer Intervention Programs
Family Violence Prevention Fund (2004)
Aims to increase men's awareness of the effects on children of domestic violence, motivation to stop abusive behavior, capacity for healing and having constructive relationships with their children, and support of their partner's parenting.

Controversies and Recent Studies of Batterer Intervention Program Effectiveness
National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women (2001)
Examines the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs in holding batterers accountable, increasing victim safety, and changing behavior and attitudes.

Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence: Batterer Intervention Programs
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC)
Describes batterer intervention programs that have been reviewed and rated using the CEBC Scientific Rating scale to determine the level of evidence for the program.

Parenting by Men Who Batter: New Directions for Assessment and Intervention
Edleson & Williams (2006)
View Abstract
Explores contact between abusive men and their children, presents a conceptual framework for fathering interventions with men who batter, and provides guidelines for intervention with abusive fathers.

State Standards for Domestic Violence Perpetrator Treatment: Current Status, Trends, and Recommendations
Maiuro & Eberle
Violence and Victims, 23(2), 2008
View Abstract
Surveys and analyzes existing standards for the treatment of domestic violence perpetrators across the United States, including the presence, scope, and content of treatment programs, screening and risk assessment protocols, minimum length of treatment, and more.

When a Parent Is a Batterer: Understanding and Working With Abusive Fathers
Goodmark
ABA Child Law Practice, 22(8), 2003
View Abstract
Weighs the parental role of men who batter their spouses and partners for an intended audience of lawyers, judges, and child welfare professionals.

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State and local examples

Accountability and Connection With Abusive Men: A New Child Protection Response to Increasing Family Safety (PDF - 603 KB)
Massachusetts Department of Social Services Domestic Violence Unit & Family Violence Prevention Fund (2004)
Describes strategies for interviewing and working with abusers, focusing on holding offenders accountable for their behavior and providing motivations for change.

Batterer Accountability: Responding to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
Hobart (2008)
Recommends improvements to the child protective services investigation and case planning process in Washington State by including batterer accountability efforts and strengthening collaboration between child welfare and domestic violence services.

Protecting Families: Multidisciplinary Strategies With Men Who Batter (PDF - 864 KB)
Bragg (2007)
Describes St. Louis County's approach to improving system responses to co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment.

State Standards Listing by State
Batterer Intervention Services of Michigan
Links to online information about standards for batterer intervention programs in the 45 States that have such standards.

Updated on July 8, 2009