Part II: The Role of Alcohol Abuse in Domestic Violence and Its

Implications for Criminal Justice Interventions

Background of the Discussion

The discussion began with a review of what the criminal justice system can do to address domestic violence generally, and, specifically, domestic violence related to alcohol abuse. Participants agreed that, although there has been significant progress in raising the visibility of domestic violence within the system, the need for more effective responses to domestic violence in general and to domestic violence related to alcohol abuse still presents critical challenges.

The participants felt that a difficult barrier arises from the apparent tension which emerges between the goal of assuring accountability and sanctions for batterers and the goal of providing alcohol treatment for batterers. In brief, domestic violence advocates are concerned that a heavy emphasis upon an offender's alcohol addiction may relieve him of responsibility for his actions and downplay deserved sanctions. Even beyond that, it may encourage the use of treatment resources for addiction issues rather than for batterers issues. Some felt that after the lengthy battle to label domestic violence for what it is--a crime--it seems like a step backward to focus upon batterers needs for alcohol treatment rather than the punishment they deserve.

At the same time, for those whose violence is exacerbated by alcohol addiction, addressing addiction issues can be important in preventing future victimization--a concern for all domestic violence advocates.

Targets for Change

As with the other three working groups, a recurring theme running through the discussions of the domestic violence group was the importance of collaboration. Although particularly difficult in this area, the group identified a number of the potential benefits of true collaboration. They include the ability to:

• Develop a better understanding of the issues underlying domestic violence and alcohol abuse;
• Increase the frequency and effectiveness of screening at all points in the criminal justice system;
• Recognize the need for and conduct cross-training;
• Truly integrate service delivery;
• Recognize the need for and conduct research on linkages;
• Provide services to families; and
• Assume more responsibility--ultimately--for women's safety across agencies (treatment, medical, courts, etc.).

However, the forces militating against collaboration can be significant. Funding increasingly does require collaboration, but too often efforts can go forward unilaterally without the leverage of funders encouraging or requiring collaboration. In addition, the difficulties of maintaining collaboration, once begun, are well-known.

Effective Linkages and Integration Issues

Even beyond the general need for collaboration, the group felt that effective interventions for domestic violence require specific, rigorous efforts to link agencies and services. This is critical in order to ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence who have alcohol abuse problems and those who do not. The dimension of alcohol abuse only intensifies and makes more complex the requirements for integration. Several participants urged using the "peacemaker" approach to address the intersection of all these fragmented agencies and agendas. Some of the specific issues in this area raised by participants include the need to:

• Integrate a domestic violence assessment component into all alcohol treatment programs;
• Integrate safety-related strategies into all alcohol treatment planning/case plans for victims of domestic violence;
• Provide services that better meet victims' needs and that are women friendly and appropriate (this is essential if we are to successfully integrate domestic violence and alcohol services);
• Bring more community-based representatives to the table when a "team" or task force is created;
• Look at victims' involvement in the criminal justice system on other charges and use that involvement to help deal with alcohol or drug addiction and victimization;
• Be clear about the purpose of screening for alcohol or drug addiction for batterers in the criminal justice system (i.e., is it an avenue of additional intervention, a way to diminish responsibility, or will it be used to give priority to alcohol or drug addiction treatment over batterers' intervention and sanctions?);
• Consider joint classification of batterers for treatment needs, justice requirements, and risk assessments;
• Assure that specific screening components be included in all programs associated with alcohol abuse and domestic violence (i.e., shelters, the batterers' interview, treatment, etc.); and
• Include law enforcement as integral partners in all collaborative efforts to address domestic violence.

Participants suggested a unified court, such as the domestic violence docket which is currently operating in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as a vehicle for assuring integration. A unified court brings a range of points to bear including victim interests, and does not have to depend upon the strength of any other agency's particular commitment or focus on this issue. In such a court, the system can:

• Provide a quick response (i.e., by the next day) with no time for intimidation by the batterer;
• Ensure that all relevant parties are present in court;
• Provide protective orders;
• Provide regular accountability to the court; and
• Provide linkages to batterers' programs in jail and in the community.

Treatment and Intervention

A basic value shared by the members of this group was that every facet of treatment and the criminal justice system is responsible for providing safety for women. This presents significant challenges, since funding and services are often fragmented. Other challenges regarding treatment and intervention include the need to:

• Avoid victim-blaming;

• Develop culturally competent treatment;
• Recognize that alcohol and domestic violence are inter-generational and co-generational, and this has implications for screening and service delivery (i.e., treatment as prevention, its role in juvenile offenses; and how to approach it with children, teens, mothers, and partners);
• Develop and implement intervention models that are not colonizing;
• Understand the role and value of spirituality in recovery;

• Address the undermining of linkages and services by the movement of public services to managed care; and
• Advance the integration of alcohol treatment and batterers' intervention programs by exploring such innovations as:

• The intensive case management model by probation as it is used in some drug courts, and

• Outreach to judges about integration.

Recommendations

These recommendations reflect a wide breadth of experience among group members. Although there was no effort to achieve consensus, the recommendations are listed in rough order of priority (within each category) as determined by votes taken during the discussion. The recommendations fall into the following categories:

• Collaboration;
• Treatment and Intervention;
• Education and Information Dissemination;
• Training; and
• Policy.

Collaboration

Participants recommended that OJP support and promote the following efforts and initiatives.

• A continuation of the dialogue between domestic violence programs (victim/survivor and offender treatment programs) and the alcohol field (include representatives from both treatment and prevention) that occurred at the symposium. One vehicle for such a dialogue would be a forum/conference for practitioners and policy makers to review current research and promising practices regarding alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Such a forum should include a diversity of opinions and approaches. It could also form a basis for subsequent training on the conclusions which emerge from the conference.
• Development of an understanding of the cultural dimension of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, in particular, for treatment in Indian Country.

• Collaboration with other federal agencies to deal with the problems of domestic violence and alcohol abuse in at least two ways. First, OJP agencies should enter into collaborative efforts among themselves and with other federal agencies. This will model and encourage collaboration among the state and local efforts supported by federal funding. Further, OJP funding should be conditioned upon efforts at collaboration at the local and state levels.
• Encouragement of more coordination among criminal justice agencies and batterers intervention programs.
• Involvement of survivors (consumer community) as well as the broader community in planning, developing, and implementing integrated programming.

Treatment and Intervention

Participants recommended that OJP should support and promote the following efforts and initiatives.

• Provision of appropriate non-coercive alcohol treatment options for women who are victims of domestic violence.
• Screening of offenders for alcohol abuse at all points of contact within the criminal justice system.
• Development of a model treatment program for batterers that includes screening, an assessment of alcohol use, and addresses the relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Such a program should be evaluated in terms of its effectiveness for various typologies of batterers.
• Provision of domestic violence education and prevention services to all high risk groups (i.e., offenders, ex-offenders, those on probation and parole, and their families), especially through community-based organizations.
• Provision of information about alcohol use/abuse as a safety issue to victims and survivors of domestic violence.
• Establishment of a domestic violence component in substance abuse programs with the involvement and input of the domestic violence victim advocacy community. This will also require cross-training of respective staff involved in assessment, placement, screening, and alternative treatment modalities.
• Provision of more resources and facilities to meet basic needs in many parts of Indian Country where such resources and facilities are lacking (i.e., victim services, shelters, transportation, and alcohol treatment).

• The recognition of domestic violence and alcohol or drug addiction issues in the homes of juveniles who are in trouble with the law.

Education and Information Dissemination

Participants recommended that OJP support and promote the following efforts and initiatives.

• Presentation of criminal justice system data to the public to educate and raise the awareness of domestic violence as a serious problem, including the intersection between domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
• Improvements in the measurement of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, and an opening of the design process to a wider circle of input.

Training

Participants felt that OJP should support and promote the following efforts and initiatives.

• Integration of training for criminal justice, advocacy, treatment, and other agencies.
• Identification of best practices and provision of training for law enforcement, judges, and other decision-makers on domestic violence and alcohol linkages.

Policy

Participants recommended that OJP support and promote the following efforts and initiatives.

• Development and support of policies which ensure that domestic violence offenders receive appropriate criminal justice sanctions. Alcohol should not mitigate or increase the criminal justice penalty.
• Development of more unified court models for domestic violence and alcohol abuse issues.

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