COA - Council On Accreditation

	Domestic Violence Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

Definition

Domestic Violence Services provide a range of supportive services appropriate to the needs and preferences of survivors of partner abuse, including crisis assistance, safety planning, advocacy, case management, material assistance, counseling, and/or housing.

Note: These standards can apply to programs that provide housing, that is, shelters and safe homes, and programs that do not provide housing. Organizations that provide only crisis hotline services will be reviewed under Crisis Response and Information Services (CRI), not Domestic Violence Services (DV).

Note: A review of the literature suggests that individuals experiencing domestic violence can be referred to as “victims” or “survivors.” The term “survivors” is used in these standards to encourage service delivery that promotes the empowerment of service recipients.

Note: Please see Self-Paced_Training: Domestic Violence Services (DV) in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.

Research Note: Literature suggests that many individuals go through a nonlinear process of change before they are ready to leave an abusive relationship. As such, if individuals stay in abusive relationships after receiving domestic violence services, it is not an indication that the interventions in question had no effect. Although cessation of abuse is an outcome of ultimate interest, research suggests that survivors usually return to perpetrators a number of times before permanently ending abusive relationships. Accordingly, it is important to measure interim outcomes that mark a survivor’s progression through the stages of change and ultimately increase the survivor’s ability to disengage from the perpetrator and remain free from violence. Interim outcomes can include, but are not limited to: increased social support, increased effectiveness in obtaining resources, increased empowerment, increased self-esteem, improved life-skills, and improved quality of life.


	PURPOSE: Individuals who receive Domestic Violence Services gain a sense of empowerment, improve their well-being, and increase their ability to live safely and independently.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	EMPOWERMENT The process of helping individuals, families, groups, or communities to increase their personal, interpersonal, political, social, and/or economic strength or position and to develop influence that may impact their circumstances.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	ADVOCACY An act performed with or on behalf of others through direct intervention, empowerment, or representation. Case advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a particular individual consumer. Cause, social, or systems advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a common issue affecting a group of persons.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	QUALITY In this context, the extent to which contemporary and generally recognized standards for professional practice are met and exceeded, and desirable service outcomes achieved.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION