The RCDV: CPC staff has assisted domestic violence organizations in the states of Ohio and West Virginia assess their current programs and/or practices. In both cases, the RCDV: CPC staff assisted these organizations by using the EBP Guide to identify current resources in data collection and evaluation capacity.

With assistance from RCDV: CPC staff, staff from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) identified existing data as a source to (a) understand their clients’ needs and (b) help guide their future work advocating for domestic violence survivors. Some of the existing data-informed ODVN staff about common characteristics of their clients and cases, as well as common outcomes in domestic violence cases (e.g., recommendations in custody cases). 

With assistance from RCDV: CPC staff, staff from the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence Network (WVCADV) developed evaluation questions related to (a) training effectiveness, (b) statewide changes, and (c) whether changes are associated with better outcomes for survivors and their children in West Virginia. While some of their evaluation questions could be answered by existing data, RCDV: CPC staff also assisted WVCADV staff in developing pre- and post-surveys to assess training effectiveness.

Navigating family court can be overwhelming, confusing, and stressful for families. Many people have financial barriers to accessing counsel, cannot qualify for traditional civil legal services, and are self-represented in their legal matters. The stress and risks involved in court appearances are amplified for survivors of violence. As part of an effort to build evidence for promising solutions, the Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody (RCDV:CPC) worked with Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT) to design and implement a client feedback process. This snapshot highlights LIFT’s experience augmenting their existing data to incorporate client voices systematically and measure the impact of their legal consultation services for self-represented families. 

This snapshot, written by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence for the RCDV: CPC, highlights one strategy of its four-year Empowered Family Kansas demonstration project, its child welfare project. The project developed and implemented training curricula and resources for over 1,450 child welfare and domestic violence professionals around the state on how to respond to families experiencing dual forms of violence. Evaluation data for all trainings across five common outcome measures showed an increase over the pre-test mean.