This Office on Violence Against Women funded project (15JOVW-24-GG-01527-MUMU) supports an outcome evaluation of a novel approach to domestic violence intervention in Seattle, Washington: The Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP). The DVIP seeks to intervene on DV through court-ordered DV intervention programming rooted in evidence-based practices in treatment and supervision. The DVIP uses a research-informed assessment of offenders’ risks and needs, an individualized treatment plan, and supervision by a multi-disciplinary team that includes a treatment provider, probation officer, community-based victim-survivor advocate, court-based victim-survivor advocate, and other practitioners as needed (e.g., substance use or mental health providers). The project team includes Tara Richards, Ph.D. (PI), Avanti Adhia, Ph.D. (Co-I; University of Washington), and doctoral research assistant, Michaela Benson-Goldsmith. We are using a rigorous quasi-experimental design to examine whether DVIP is related to (1) (decreased) offender recidivism (measured using official data and victim-survivor partner reports) and (2) (increased) victim-survivor partner hopefulness and empowerment and (3) (increased) victim-survivor partner utilization of supportive services. (4) Among DVIP participants who do not complete treatment, we will also assess which treatment Areas of Change are associated with failure to complete DVIP. The results will provide actionable information for DVIP team members on whether and how the DVIP is affecting recidivism as well as survivor wellbeing and service utilization. In addition, project deliverables will be instructive for other DV intervention programs that are moving to integrate EBPs into their programming. Products from the Teams’ ongoing evaluation efforts can be found here.
Analysis of preliminary data comprised individuals referred to DVIP from April 2018 (i.e., the onset of DVIP) and July 2023. Findings first showed that completion of DVIP was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of recidivism for a new DV crime in the 12 months after obligation end date (while controlling for criminal history and race) than non-completion. When specific types of non-completion were examined (e.g., warrant issued, DVIP revoked, DVIP stricken), findings showed that DVIP completion was associated with a lower likelihood of recidivism for a DV crime in the 12 months after obligation end date (while controlling for criminal history and race)compared to having a warrant issued and/or DVIP revoked; there were no significant differences between DVIP completion and having DVIP stricken. Taken together, these findings provide strong preliminary evidence that completing DVIP facilitates behavior change that is associated with a reduction in future DV. Future analyses will include (1) examination of DVIP completion on victim-survivor outcomes (e.g., service referrals and utilization), (2) comparison of these individuals referred to DVIP and similar individuals who were not referred to DVIP regarding DV recidivism, and (3) examination of recidivism for other crime types (e.g., other violence, drug/alcohol related crimes).
See Judge Catherine McDowall’s 2026 Op-Ed in the Seattle Times on DVIP below.
Investment, not just punishment, is key to stopping domestic violence | The Seattle Times
VVSRL 