Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #101937

Susan Brutschy, BA, Applied Survey Research, 991 West Hedding, Suite 102, San Jose, CA 95126, 408-247-8319, susan@appliedsurveyresearch.org

In February of 2000, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors made a bold and laudable declaration of “zero tolerance for domestic violence” and subsequently authorized the Zero Tolerance (ZT) for Domestic Violence (DV) Initiative, and sought state authorization for funding that would bring about system changes intended to increase safety for victims, access to services for people impacted by abuse, and capacity for those organizations that intervene in domestic/family violence and elder abuse.

There are two unique features of the Initiative: 1) ZT interventions are concentrated at the misdemeanor level, which for understandable reasons (given the urgency of addressing egregious felonies) had not been the focus of activities before the initiative was created and 2) it is a system-wide effort that takes into account the role of each partner in contributing to reductions in violence and trauma related to domestic and family violence and elder abuse.

In 2004, an evaluation was conducted and findings indicated that collaborative partners are effectively working together to hold batterers accountable as seen by the low rate of recidivism rate (between 2-4%) among participants processed through the Domestic Violence Court, increase number of DV reports filed by law enforcement, and the increase in arrest warrants (70%) that were recalled, bringing perpetrators back into police custody. Additionally, domestic violence victims reported that they were receiving the services they needed as evident in the increase in referrals among the partners and the increase in DV waivers for CalWORKS participants.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Articulate the goals of the ZT Initiative,
• Describe the outcomes associated with the Initiative at the system and client level, and
• Identify existing gaps in the ZT system.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Evidence Based Practice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.