Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP)
About This Program
Target Population: Adult males who are both court-ordered (civil or criminal) and voluntary participants
Program Overview
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.
Program Goals
The program representative did not provide information about the program’s goals.
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP).
Essential Components
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.
Program Delivery
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 Setting
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
Homework
Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP) includes a homework component:
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
Manuals and Training
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.
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
Implementation Information
Pre-Implementation Materials
The program representative did not provide information about pre-implementation materials.
Formal Support for Implementation
The program representative did not provide information about formal support for implementation of Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP).
Fidelity Measures
The program representative did not provide information about fidelity measures of Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP).
Implementation Guides or Manuals
The program representative did not provide information about implementation guides or manuals for Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP).
Research on How to Implement the Program
The program representative did not provide information about research conducted on how to implement Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP).
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Child Welfare Outcomes: Safety and Child/Family Well-Being
Shepard, M. (1992). Predicting batterer recidivism five years after community intervention. Journal of Family Violence, 7(3), 167-178. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00979025
Type of Study:
Long-term follow-up
Number of Participants:
100
Population:
- Age — 19-58 years
- Race/Ethnicity — 85% White, 6% American Indian, and 4% Black
- Gender — 100% Male
- Status — Participants were men who had completed the DAIP program.
Location/Institution: Minnesota
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
Researchers tracked court-mandated offenders who had been ordered to complete a 26-week education program over a 5-year period. Data was collected from agency records and questionnaires completed at the time of the intervention. Data on recidivism rates was collected from police data and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, as well as Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP) records. Forty percent were identified as recidivists. Men who had been any of the following: abusive for a shorter duration prior to the program, ordered to a chemical dependency program, in a chemical dependency program, abused as children, or previously convicted of other crimes were more likely to be recidivists. Variables related to the original intervention, such as the number of sessions attended, completion of the program, and type of court intervention (criminal or civil) did not significantly predict recidivism.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 5 years.
Dobash, R. P., Dobash, R. E., Cavanagh, K., & Lewis, R. (1999). A research evaluation of British programmes for violent men. Journal of Social Policy, 28(2), 205-233. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279499005589
Type of Study:
Nonequivalent control groups
Number of Participants:
122 Men, 134 Women Partners
Population:
- Age — Not specified
- Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
- Gender — Not specified
- Status — Participants were men identified through pending criminal violence cases and their female partners.
Location/Institution: United Kingdom
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
Men ordered by the court to one of two British batterer intervention programs, including CHANGE, which is based on the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP), were compared with men given other sanctions such as probation, prison time, or fines in a nonequivalent control group design. Men self-reported violence on the Violence Assessment Index. Women partners self-reported injuries on the Injury Assessment Index. Assessments were taken at 3 and 12 months after a baseline interview. By the end of a year, 67 percent of men in batterer's programs had not committed another act of reported violence in comparison with 30 percent of men in the comparison group. Although they did not differ at three months, at one year, women in the intervention group were also less likely to report that their partner used violence "frequently." This report did not show results from the CHANGE program separately from the alternative intervention.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Approximately 5.5 months.
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:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
Men who agreed to undergo a batterer intervention program 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 (custodial) that did not include a treatment component. Re-assault rates were assessed using official records, including arrests and complaints, and also interviews conducted with victims at intake and 6 and 12 months postintervention. Those assigned to the 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 Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), showed no significant differences in rates of overall abuse or severe abuse during the 12-month follow-up period.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 and 12 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:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
A randomized control design assigned men into an experimental Duluth-type program (one-year probation and court-mandated counseling) or a control (one-year probation only) condition. The study followed the men for 12 months collecting data on self-reported violence using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), victims' reports, and official records of re-arrests. Batterers were also surveyed concerning attitudes about abuse using the Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating Scale and the Attitudes Towards Women Scale. 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 indicated that greater age and employed status was associated with higher treatment attendance and lower rates of re-offending.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 and 12 months.
Herman , K., Rotunda, R., Williamson, G., & Vodanovich, S. (2014). Outcomes from a Duluth Model Batterer Intervention Program at completion and long-term follow-up. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 53(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2013.861316
Type of Study:
Long-term follow-up
Number of Participants:
156
Population:
- Age — 16-59 years
- Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
- Gender — 100% Male
- Status — Participants were men who had completed the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP) program.
Location/Institution: Minnesota
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
This study examined changes in the beliefs and behaviors of offenders who participated in the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project - The Duluth Model (DAIP). Measures utilized include the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), Relationship Beliefs Scale (RBS), and the Perpetrator Beliefs Scale (PBS). Archival follow-up data, acquired approximately 9 years after completion of the program, were obtained from public records and were used to compare recidivism among program completers and noncompleters. Results from this study suggest that batterer program completion was not related to reduction in long-term recidivism rates. Overall, a significant percentage of perpetrators tracked over a number of years reoffended in some way with a violence-related charge, and the percentage of reoffenders did not vary significantly between DAIP completers and noncompleters. However, program completers did report significant decreases on average in physical, emotional, and verbal aggression measures immediately following the intervention, as well as decreases in violence supportive attitudes. Limitations include nonrandomization of participants, recidivism rates may be underestimates, and possible underestimates of violent behavior.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 9 years.
Additional References
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
Contact Information
- Scott Miller
- Agency/Affiliation: Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP)
- Website: www.duluth-model.org
- Email: smiller@theduluthmodel.org
- Phone: (218) 722-2781 x121
- Fax: (218) 722-0779
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: February 2021
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: April 2007
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: April 2007
