VVSRL awarded new OVW grant

VVSRL team awarded a new Office on Violence Against Women grant to complete an evaluability assessment for Seattle Municipal Court’s Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP)
Seattle Justice Center via Seattle.gov

This Office on Violence Against Women funded project (15JOVW-21-GG-02488-MUMU) supports a formative evaluation and evaluability assessment of a novel approach to DV intervention treatment in Seattle, Washington: The Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP). The project team includes Tara Richards, Ph.D. (PI) and Emily Wright, Ph.D. (Co-I) and doctoral research assistant, Alyssa Nystrom.

 Specifically, the DVIP seeks to intervene on domestic violence through court-ordered batterer intervention treatment that relies on EBPs in treatment and supervision: the DVIP model uses a research-informed assessment of offenders’ risks and needs, an individualized treatment model, and supervision by a multi-disciplinary team that includes a treatment provider, probation officer, DVIP assessor, and a community-based and court-based victim-survivor advocate.  

While the DVIP is founded in EBPs, before determining whether the DVIP model is “effective,” we must determine how well it is being implemented and how evaluable it is. As such, in this formative evaluation and evaluability assessment we will examine: (1) the extent to which the program theory aligns with the program implemented, (2) the likelihood the program will produce positive results as currently applied, and (3) the feasibility of outcome evaluations as currently designed. Without a comprehensive understanding of program functioning, barriers, and areas in need of improvement, investment in a full outcome evaluation of the DVIP would be premature.   

The results of the proposed formative evaluation and evaluability assessment will provide actionable information for DVIP stakeholders on what is working well in the Seattle DVIP model, what needs improvement, and determine ideas for revision and enhancement. In addition, project deliverables will be instructive for other DV intervention treatment programs that are moving to integrate EBPs into their programming.