Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence - Policy Initiatives
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare's (CEBC's) primary focus is to review and rate selected evidence-based psychosocial programs within child welfare. The CEBC is not designed to, nor does it have the capacity to be able to, review policy initiatives.
The following initiatives are well known in the field of domestic intimate partner violence. A summary of the Greenbook Initiative and Safe Start Initiative are provided for informational purposes only.
Greenbook Initiative
In 1999, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) published Effective Interventions in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice. This publication, commonly referred to as “the Greenbook” due to its green cover, is helping child welfare, domestic violence service providers and family courts work together more effectively to serve families experiencing violence. Since the Greenbook’s release, dozens of communities around the country have used it to improve their policies and practices and developed enhanced coordination among courts and social service agencies to better serve families in need.
From 2000-2007, the United States Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice funded six demonstration sites across the country. The demonstration sites joined battered women’s organizations, child protection agencies, the courts, and other partners in implementing the Greenbook’s recommendations. NCJFCJ, Family Violence Prevention Fund, and the American Public Humane Association provided technical assistance to the sites. Every local site was evaluated individually, and a comprehensive national evaluation was conducted at the completion of the initiative.
Many lessons were learned and products such as training curriculums, community assessment tools and multimedia materials were developed and collected to assist others in doing this work. These items are available on their website: http://www.thegreenbook.info/index.htm
Safe Start Initiative
The Safe Start Initiative is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The goal of the Safe Start Initiative is to broaden the knowledge of and promote community investment in evidence-based strategies for reducing the impact of children's exposure to violence.
Safe Start Promising Approaches II sites
Eight Promising Approaches II sites, funded in 2010, will provide evidence-based or theory-based interventions to prevent and reduce the impact of children's exposure to violence in their homes and communities. These interventions will address the needs of children and youth ages 0-17 who have been exposed to violence and their families through a comprehensive and collaborative approach that uses the current knowledge base to address children's exposure to violence.
Safe Start Programs 2005-2009
Fifteen Promising Approaches Pilot Sites, funded in 2005, focused on implementing and measuring developmentally appropriate services for children exposed to violence within the context of the systems that serve them. A process and outcome evaluation of these sites broadened our understanding of the impact of specific intervention strategies on outcomes for children and families.
Safe Start Demonstration Sites
Originally Funded Safe Start Programs
Eleven demonstration sites were funded from 2000 to 2006 to create a comprehensive service delivery system to improve the accessibility, delivery, and quality of services for children exposed to violence and their families at any point of entry. A process evaluation broadened our understanding of how communities can successfully implement policy and practice interventions to minimize the negative consequences of exposure to violence.
Page last updated in 7/2011