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Collaborations
Successful coalition building requires working collaboratively. We have many local, state and national partners with whom we regularly work. There are also specific projects and initiatives on which we collaborate with others. Below are some of the current collaborations.
PREVENTION
DELTA CCR Prevention Project
Collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thirteen other state domestic violence coalitions, local WI domestic violence programs and CCR's.
Domestic violence advocates and the criminal justice system do not have the answers for solving this social problem. Certainly the existence of local domestic violence programs has prevented initial domestic violence from occurring. And the general public is much more aware of how to identify domestic violence and how to help victims. However, there is limited evidence as to what other activities or community efforts truly make a difference in preventing initial domestic violence from occurring.
In October 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a lead federal agency for promoting health and safety through partnerships, awarded three years of funding to WCADV and eight other state domestic violence coalitions to collaborate on research and development of prevention enhancements. In February 2003, five additional state domestic violence coalitions were added. This funding was released under the project title, Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) program. WCADV is awarding grants to local domestic abuse programs to support their local Coordinated Community Response projects to participate in the collaboration and to adopt and implement primary prevention enhancements.
This collaboration among WI DELTA grantees, WCADV, thirteen other state domestic violence coalitions and the CDC will develop, implement and evaluate new domestic violence primary prevention enhancements that will prevent initial occurrences of domestic violence in particular priority populations.
HEALTH CARE
National Health Care Standards Campaign
Collaboration with the Family Violence Prevention Fund, local WI domestic violence programs, the WI Division of Public Health, the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation, University of WI-Madison, WI Nurses Association, the WI Medical Society, the WI Department of Public Instruction, and fourteen other state domestic violence coalitions.
WCADV is a participating state coalition in the Family Violence Prevention Fund's National Health Care Standards Campaign. The goals of this program are to craft new policies and continuous funding sources for clinical responses to domestic violence; develop a set of comprehensive, multi-disciplinary clinical guidelines on domestic violence; confront society's acceptance of domestic violence and raise awareness by generating small and large scale public health campaigns, and pilot a business case for domestic violence that defends the need for screening and intervention from an ethical and financial perspective that can be used to engage managed care companies, health policy makers, and administrators. The National Health Care Standards Campaign is funded by the Hilton Foundation. Participating states and districts include: Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The FVPF (http://www.endabuse.org) is a national domestic violence organization that has focused on improving the health care response to domestic violence through public policy reform and health education and prevention efforts.
DISABILITIES
National Program Development, Training and Technical Assistance
Program development and training for practitioners regarding domestic violence and sexual assault against people with disabilities. Collaboration among WCADV's National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (WCADV/NCALL), the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) and the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA).
WCADV/NCALL, CALCASA and NAAPSA are developing materials and protocols and providing training and technical assistance for state and local domestic violence and sexual assault programs and coalitions, elder abuse, aging and adult protective services systems regarding domestic violence and sexual assault in later life and against people with disabilities. This collaboration is intended to improve the identification of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault who have disabilities and improve services and responses.
Wisconsin Program Development, Training and Technical Assistance
Collaboration among the WI Coalition for Advocacy (WCA), WCADV, the WI Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) and IndependenceFirst (IF).
WCA, WCADV, WCASA and IF are working together to create a statewide capacity to appropriately respond to women with disabilities who experience sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking. The key activities of the project will include (1) developing training materials; (2) providing cross training in all five regions of the state to staff of sexual assault, domestic violence, and disability organizations; (3) providing technical assistance to local sexual assault, domestic violence, and disability programs on program issues and individual cases of violence against women with disabilities; and (4) performing physical and program accessibility reviews of sexual assault and domestic violence programs.
ELDER ABUSE AND ABUSE IN LATER LIFE
National Program Development, Training and Technical Assistance
Collaboration among WCADV's National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (WCADV/NCALL), the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) and the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA)
The Adult Protective Service System (APS) is guided by the principle of self-determination, which means that competent abuse victims may refuse protective services. This can leave a victim at risk. APS workers need to learn to assist with preparing a safety plan while respecting victims' autonomy. Domestic violence and sexual assault advocates need training about doing safety planning with older victims and how their needs for safety may differ from younger victims.
WCADV/NCALL, CALCASA and NAAPSA are developing materials and protocols and providing training and technical assistance for state and local domestic violence and sexual assault programs and coalitions, elder abuse, aging and adult protective services systems regarding domestic violence and sexual assault in later life.
Training Project For Wisconsin Law Enforcement
Collaboration among the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV), Wisconsin Department of Justice's Office of Crime Victim Services (OCVS), Wisconsin Department of Administration Office of Justice Assistance (OJA), and the Wisconsin Association of Area Agencies on Aging (WAAAA).
The criminal justice system too often sees elder abuse situations as a problem to be addressed only by social service agencies. There is a failure to recognize the applicability of Wisconsin's domestic abuse mandatory arrest law, explaining their lack of action as being unwilling or uninformed about how to incarcerate older perpetrators with complex medical needs. In other cases, law enforcement has inappropriately used the same mandatory arrest law to take into custody individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. Consequently, individuals with serious dementia are placed in local jails or psychiatric institutions, neither of which are prepared to address the individual's needs.
This collaborative effort will address the needs of law enforcement by providing training and developing model policy and protocols on a range of issues. Some of these include investigative and interviewing techniques when working with elders, safely taking into custody perpetrators with complex medical and mental health needs, Wisconsin's mandatory arrest law, judicial accommodations for elderly victims, and sentencing options. Because domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocates and elderly advocates will be playing a major role, law enforcement will have the benefit of their experience in ensuring that Wisconsin activities continue to pursue the goals of victim safety and abuser accountability.
National Elder Abuse Mandatory Reporting Research Project
Collaboration between WCADV/NCALL and the American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly (ABA-CLPE)
WCADV/NCALL and the ABA-CLPE are researching and analyzing state elder abuse reporting laws. Currently there are conflicts in most states between laws pertaining to mandated reporting of elder abuse and laws that protect confidentiality of victims of domestic violence. In many cases laws that protect the location of domestic violence victims inadvertently prohibit advocates from reporting elder abuse and neglect. This collaboration is seeking to identify the breadth of the problem nationwide and solutions to these legal and practice problems.
WISCONSIN POLICY INITIATIVES
Collaboration between WCADV and the Governor's Advisory Council on Domestic Abuse (DAC)
WCADV and the Governor's Advisory Council on Domestic Abuse have had a longstanding collaborative relationship. WCADV works with members of the Council and the Council's committees. For example:
WCADV and the DAC Access Committee have worked closely to evaluate the impact of W-2 and TANF on victims' access to services and safety.
Biennially, WCADV and the DAC form a committee to examine the status of local program financial needs and changes in service trends across the state. This process results in a report and plan to guide program development for subsequent years. This document serves as the basis for legislative advocacy efforts.