Abstract
Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team: Participatory Action Research
Catherine Mohn1, Kelsey Leach2, Beth McMahon, Ph.D, M.S.1 and Joy McCoy, J.D., Chair of the Lycoming County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team3
(1)Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA, (2)Lock Haven University, Lock haven, PA, (3)Lycoming County Courts, Williamsport, PA
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Domestic violence fatality review teams have existed in the United States since the 1990s. The Lycoming County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team (LCDVFR) was established in 2015. The LCDVFR utilizes a model developed by the Director of The National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative. Its mission is to prevent domestic violence through the means of public education and community involvement. In Lycoming County, 27 citizens lost their lives due to child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. This review team analyzes relationship history, work history, system involvement, and criminal history to create a comprehensive timeline prior to the fatality. The review team consists of a judge, county coroner, law enforcement, shelter director, child protective services, substance treatment providers, and critical key stakeholders. A result is key community-based recommendations such as the creation of a supervised custody transfer center and PFA training for victims and perpetrators. This presentation will highlight the outcomes of the LCDVFR team in the identification of key risk factors, opportunities for early intervention and identification of gaps in service. In addition, it will present the community action that resulted in the change of social welfare policy.
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines Public health or related public policy Public health or related research
Abstract
Applying DVPO-Related Firearm Restrictions to Disarm Domestic Violence Abusers: Courtroom Procedures and Practices
Julie Kafka, MPH, Kathryn Moracco, PhD, MPH and Afsaneh Mortazavi
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Background: Women in the U.S. are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than by any other offender type, and the majority of these homicides are committed with firearms. Domestic Violence Protective Orders (DVPOs) are an effective secondary prevention approach for curbing intimate partner violence (IPV). By law, DVPO defendants are prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition. In practice, however, it remains unclear if and how firearm restrictions are included with DVPOs. Methods: This study used data from structured observations of DVPO hearings (n = 426) in North Carolina to assess court procedures regarding DVPO firearm restrictions. Counties were randomly assigned to two-week data collection periods (July 2016-Aug 2017) during which researchers conducted structured observations and obtained case files for all DVPO hearings. By leveraging both data sources, this study assessed, a) how often DVPOs were granted with firearm restrictions, b) how judges communicated firearm restrictions to litigants, and c) what factors influenced variations in DVPO firearm restrictions. Findings: Results indicated that only 47% of cases resulted in the issuance of a DVPO with a finding of fact. Of these cases, the judge explained that the defendant was prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms in only 25-28% of the observed hearings, and judges explained that the defendant must surrender any firearms or ammunition in their possession in only 22% of the hearings. Improved policies for discussing defendant access to firearms, and better guidance for DVPO judges around applying and communicating firearm restrictions are discussed.
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Other professions or practice related to public health Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Abstract
City of Los Angeles’ police community collaboration to reduce domestic violence
Aaron Celious, Ph.D.
Maroon Society, Inc., Los Angeles, CA
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Background:
The Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) program is a police-community partnership where officers and community advocates respond on-scene to 911 calls for intimate partner violence (IPV) to provide IPV services. In 2015, the City of Los Angeles expanded DART from 10 to all 21 police divisions. This study examines the characteristics of IPV services in Los Angeles (LA), and highlights how well DART responds to the City’s need for IPV services.
Methods:
Methods used include (1) Twenty-seven (n=27) in-depth interviews with community stakeholders, (2) Three (n=3) ride along ethnographies with DART, and (3) analysis of 911 calls (n=47,840) for IPV between October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016.
Results:
Fifty five percent (55%) of 911 calls for IPV come from 27% of households, the lethality of IPV increases with each additional call to 911, people living in concentrated poverty are more likely to experience IPV than all other communities; and, communities with the greatest need for IPV services are the least likely to receive them.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that the strongest predictor of experiencing IPV is where someone lives; and, when one lives in concentrated poverty, the likelihood of experiencing IPV is significantly increased. Los Angeles aims to disrupt the cycle of IPV with a police-community collaboration that uses IPV data to inform DART program administration. City’s that are committed to disrupting the cycle of IPV can use Los Angeles’s best-practices model and tailor it with locally relevant IPV data.
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Program planning Public health or related education Public health or related public policy Public health or related research
Abstract
Using photovoice to explore intimate partner violence survivors’ experiences of healing and coping
Channon Conner, MPH1, Mary Koenig, MSW, MPH1 and Kristin Black, PhD, MPH2
(1)University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, (2)East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Background: Photovoice is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach that uses photography as a medium to share personal stories. This project explored the experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors in Orange County, North Carolina.
Methods: Partnering with a local domestic violence agency, students in a graduate-level course on CBPR and photovoice conducted five photovoice groups with 17 women between 2009 and 2017, to better understand their experiences as IPV survivors. Each group completed at least 3 sessions that involved sharing photos that responded to a photo assignment question established by the women and choosing 1 photo to have a deeper discussion about the question and their shared experiences. Our qualitative analysis involved memoing, coding using Dedoose, and identifying emergent themes related to healing and coping.
Results: The women’s stories revealed: 1) healing is a complex, nonlinear process involving self-reflection and personal work; 2) barriers include both logistical constraints and internalized psychological concerns; 3) agencies are a crucial source of support during the healing process; and 4) there is a strong need to teach survivors’ social networks, as well as society, about how to effectively and compassionately support survivors.
Conclusions: Experiencing IPV gives survivors a unique lens on the dynamics of violence, the process of healing and coping, and how services and policies can be improved; making them valuable research partners. These findings have the ability to inform future programs at the domestic violence agency, as well as policy reform in Orange County to better support IPV survivors’ needs.
Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences