State Launches Program For High Risk Domestic Violence Victims
State Launches Program For High Risk Domestic Violence Victims
HARTFORD â The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) and eight member agencies recently announced the kick off the new Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), an innovative partnership with law enforcement from across the state to implement nationally recognized risk assessment strategies to better serve domestic violence victims in the greatest danger. Connecticut is one of only ten states nationwide selected to participate in this program.
The program, a result of collaboration between CCADV and the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC), kicked off in 14 towns across the state, including Manchester, New Britain, Waterbury, Norwalk, and New London. Modeled after the LAP program first piloted in Maryland, it is a two-pronged intervention process that makes use of a specialized lethality assessment instrument and an accompanying protocol.
Trained police on the scene of a domestic violence call assess a victimâs risk for serious injury or death using the one-of-a-kind lethality assessment screen. Officers immediately link âhigh riskâ victims to the community-based domestic violence program hotline in their area with the goal of quickly linking the victim to available services.
âThe Lethality Assessment Program will provide much needed enhancements to the stateâs response to high risk domestic violence victims,â said Karen Jarmoc, CCADV executive director. âWe are grateful to have this opportunity to partner with local law enforcement and are confident that this proven national model will allow for a more coordinated and cooperative relationship that helps to engage victims in available services.â
Examples of lethality factors include: has the abuser ever threatened to kill the victim; has the abuser ever used or tried to use a weapon against the victim; or has the victim recently separated from or divorced the abuser.
Individuals from the Maryland LAP Training and Technical Assistance Project trained domestic violence advocates and law enforcement earlier this year on the life-saving intervention process. Marylandâs LAP project is credited with reducing their stateâs domestic violence-related homicide rate by 40 percent. The Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee reports that over the past ten years the state has seen an annual average of 16 homicides resulting from intimate partner violence. CCADV and its 18-member programs serve more than 54,000 victims of domestic violence annually.
The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc is a membership organization made up of the stateâs 18 domestic violence agencies. Help is available to victims 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each agency offers free services to victims, including a toll-free hotline, safety through shelter, counseling and support groups, and by assisting in securing a restraining order.
If you or someone you know needs support, call the statewide free and confidential hotline at 888-774-2900. For more information about CCADV, visit www.ctcadv.org.