Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP)

Adult males who are both court-ordered (civil or criminal) and voluntary participants

The DAIP was designed in 1981 as a Coordinated Community Response (CCR) and includes law enforcement, the criminal and civil courts, and human service providers working together to make communities safer for victims. The DAIP, located in Duluth, Minnesota, includes a 28-week education program for offenders. This model is commonly referred to as the “Duluth Model.” The program uses the curriculum Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter, which was developed by the DAIP. Advocates at the DAIP contact the partners of men court-ordered to the program to offer advocacy, community resources, and education groups for women.

Scott Miller

• Agency/Affiliation: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP)
• Website: www.theduluthmodel.org/
• Email: smiller@theduluthmodel.org
• Phone: (218) 722-2781 x121

The essential components of Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model include:

• The DIAP has two distinct aspects: the Coordinated Community Response and the “Duluth Model” offender education program:
  • The Coordinated Community Response (CCR)
    • Focus interventions on stopping an offender’s use of violence, not fixing the relationship
    • Use the power of the state through arrest and prosecution to place controls on an offender’s behavior
    • Monitor an offender’s compliance with conditions of probation, protections orders, and court-mandated counseling
    • Provide victims of abuse emergency housing, protections orders, information, and advocacy to increase safety and autonomy
    • Monitor the community response by tracking cases to ensure intervening agencies conform to agreed-upon policies
    • Resolve problems by examining and documenting the manner in which practitioners are responding to cases that appear to be in conflict with policies and administrative procedures (in Duluth, this is the responsibility of the DAIP)
    • Work through problems in interagency meetings coordinated by the DAIP
    • Work to shield children from violence by determining visitation conditions and by linking the safety of children to the safety of their mother
  • “The Duluth Model” offender education program
    • Assist the participant to understand that his acts of violence are a means of controlling his partner’s actions, thoughts, and feelings by examining the intent of his acts of abuse and how it is tied to the belief system from which he operates
    • Educate the participants through the use of group dialogue
    • Increase the participant’s understanding of the causes of his violence by examining the cultural and social contexts in which he uses violence against his partner
    • Increase the participant’s willingness to change his abusive behavior by examining the negative effects of his behavior on his relationship, his partner, his children, and himself
    • Increase the participant’s ability to hold himself responsible for the hurt he has caused by creating a safe and accountable environment
    • Assist the participant to understand equality, respect, love, and partnership by examining the actions, intents, and beliefs necessary to realize these positive characteristics of relationships.

Adult Services

Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP) directly provides services to adults (regardless of whether they are parents or caregivers) and addresses the following:

• Males who have been arrested for abusing their partners

Recommended Intensity

Weekly 1.5 hours classes

Recommended Duration

28 weeks though many programs around the country have extended this to 52 weeks

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider

Homework

Homework can vary depending on the program. It is rare to give written homework due to a number of factors. Homework is typically to act or reflect on the outcomes of a class. For example, the men might be asked to monitor their thinking when they walk in their home and report back on what they discovered. This assignment is usually given as a way to empathize with what it is like to live with them.

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• A room with chairs
• Relationship with the courts so there is access to police reports and accountability for men who re-offend and/or quit attending the men’s program
• Relationship with a battered women’s shelter for contact/advocacy for the victim

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

• Interest in working with men who batter
• An ability to be an educator
• An openness to be self-reflective regarding ones own struggle with privilege
• Trained in the use of the program’s curriculum

There are no educational requirements for providers.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Please reach out to the program representative listed in the Contact Information section for more information.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Type/Location:

Training is done either onsite or within individual communities.

Number of days/hours:

Trainings range from 2 to 3 days

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is no formal support available for implementation of Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Child/Family Well-Being, Safety

“What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?”

• Taylor, B. G., Davis, R. C., & Maxwell, C. D. (2001). The effects of a group batterer treatment program: A randomized experiment in Brooklyn. Justice Quarterly, 18(1), 171–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820100094861

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 376

  Population:

  • Age — Mean=33.0 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 36% African American, 28% Hispanic, 21% Western Caribbean, and 16% White, Asian, or Other
  • Gender — 100% Male
  • Status — Participants were men convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense.

  Location/Institution: Brooklyn, NY

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to present results from an experimental evaluation in which adult males were convicted of domestic violence. Participants were randomly assigned to either a 40-hour Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP)– type program or to 40 hours of community service that did not include a treatment component. Measures utilized include the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) and administrative data of re-assault rates using official records, including arrests and complaints, and also interviews conducted with victims at intake, 6 months, and 12 months. Results indicate that those assigned to the DAIP intervention showed significantly lower levels of re-assault, based on official arrest and complaint records, and significantly longer periods until re-assault. However, reports by victims, using the CTS, showed no significant differences in rates of overall abuse or severe abuse during the 12-month follow-up period. Limitations include a limited sample size due to case eligibility, low follow-up response rates, and treatment misassignment.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 5.5 months.

• Feder, L., & Dugan, L. (2002). A test of the efficacy of court-mandated counseling for domestic violence offenders: The Broward Experiment. Justice Quarterly, 19(2), 343–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820200095271

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 404

  Population:

  • Age — 19–71 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 57% White, 36% Black, and 6% Hispanic
  • Gender — 100% Male
  • Status — Participants were men convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.

  Location/Institution: Broward County, FL

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a batterer’s intervention program in reducing repeated violence among men who were convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP) program or a control condition. Measures utilized include the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), the Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating Scale, and the Attitudes Towards Women Scale. Results indicate that no significant differences were found in rates of severe and minor abuse; rates of re-arrest; or attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding domestic violence. Further analysis indicates that greater age and employed status was associated with higher treatment attendance and lower rates of re-offending. Limitations include low response rate from victims.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 5.5 months.

• Zarling, A., & Russell, D. (2022) A randomized clinical trial of acceptance and commitment therapy and the Duluth Model classes for men court-mandated to a domestic violence program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 90(4), 326–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000722

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 338

  Population:

  • Age — 18–66 years (Mean=33.84 years)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 62% White Non-Hispanic, 29% Black, 5% Hispanic, and 4% Asian
  • Gender — 100% Male
  • Status — Participants were men who were court-mandated to complete a domestic violence program after being convicted of assault against a female partner.

  Location/Institution: Iowa’s 5th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to present findings of the first randomized controlled trial to compare Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with the Duluth Model curriculum [now called Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP)], which took place in community-based corrections for the treatment of men convicted of domestic violence. Participants were randomized to complete either the 24 sessions of the ACT program or the Duluth Model Men’s Nonviolence Classes. Measures utilized include the Conflict Tactics Scale-2 (CTS-2), the Controlling Behaviors Scale (CBS), the Stalking Behavior Checklist (SBC), the Iowa Risk Assessment Revised, and administrative data from the Iowa Corrections Offender Network (ICON). Results indicate that in intent-to-treat comparisons to Duluth, ACT participants did not show a difference in domestic assault charges at 1 year posttreatment. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy participants acquired significantly fewer violent charges and nonviolent charges compared to Duluth participants. Data from victims indicated that victims of ACT participants reported significantly fewer IPV behaviors than victims of Duluth participants on the Conflict Tactics Scale, the Controlling Behaviors Scale and the Stalking Behavior Checklist at 1 year posttreatment. Limitations include attrition was high, with over 60% of the ITT sample not completing the full program to which they were assigned, there was a smaller overall sample size than had been planned due to the pandemic, and results may not be applicable to “repeat offenders” or those who are very high risk.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 1 year.

• Stover, C. S., Shayani, D. R., Ramos, K. L., Sullivan, T. P., & Hayes, A. (2025). Comparing Fathers for Change Individual Therapy for IPV use to the Duluth Model Intervention in individual and group formats. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605251372568

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 82

  Population:

  • Age — Mean=33 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 54% Black, 32% Hispanic or Latino, 18% White, 10% Other, 9% Multiracial, and 1% Native American
  • Gender — 100% Male
  • Status — Participants were men who used intimate partner violence behaviors.

  Location/Institution: Connecticut

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to evaluate an individual intervention for fathers who use intimate partner violence (IPV), Fathers for Change (F4C), in comparison to the standard of care for IPV, the Duluth Model Batterer Intervention Program [now called Domestic Abuse Intervention Project – The Duluth Model (DAIP)], delivered either in its original group format (Duluth-G) or in an individual format (Duluth-I) developed specifically for this study. Participants were randomly assigned to F4C, Duluth-I, or Duluth-G. Measures utilized include the Abusive Behavior Inventory (ABI), TimeLine Follow-Back Spousal Violence and Harsh Child Discipline (TLFB-SVCD), and Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form (WAI-SF). Results indicate that only fathers in F4C reported significant improvements in their emotional regulation from pre to posttreatment. Limitations include a small pilot sample size, which constrained statistical power to detect differences; limited examination of potential covariates influencing treatment outcomes (e.g., participant diversity, age, relationship status); and restricted exploration of how interventions affected different forms of IPV. Furthermore, the absence of a fourth treatment group assessing Fathers for Change (F4C) in a group format precluded direct comparison of F4C content across group and individual delivery modalities.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Gondolf, E. (2002). Batterer intervention systems: Issues, outcomes, and recommendations. Sage.

• Pence, E. & Taylor, T. (2003). Building safety for battered women and their children into the child protection system. www.thegreenbook.info/documents/buildingsafety.pdf