The County of San Diego Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team case review process begins with case selection by the District Attorney’s Office. The medical examiner’s office supplies the investigative report to the support staff, which disseminates the information to agency representatives of the team. Using a Case Finding Worksheet, member’s forward relevant information on the victim, perpetrator and family members to the lead statistician. This information is down loaded into a specialized database. During case review, the lead law enforcement agency gives an overview of the case. Individual agency representatives share information about the victim, perpetrator and family members, prior to the death. The team’s statistician identifies domestic violence-related risk factors, and policy recommendations for systemic changes are developed. The team determines if the case was Intervenable, not Intervenable or, due to a lack of information, undetermined. Recommendations are directed at whether intervention could have been provided at an individual/family level, agency level or public policy level. Obstacles to the case review process can include: 1) lack of information by agency representatives because members are not present at the meeting. 2) Inability to obtain necessary information on the case because of confidentiality issues in releasing the data. 3) An agency is not represented on the team, therefore the information is not available. After all recommendations are compiled, a report is created for the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors. Community leaders will disseminate the recommendations to the appropriate agency, in the hopes of eliminating future deaths.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to: 1)Construct the review process of a domestic violence fatality review team. 2)Describe the obstacles to obtaining case review information.
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Homicide
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: County of San Diego Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.