University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs Malcolm Goggin Barbara Paradiso

1. Building School-based Capacity to Help Children and Youth who Witness Domestic Violence:An Assessment of the END Violence Project University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs Malcolm Goggin Barbara Paradiso Lorrie Johnson

2. Outline of Presentation • Origins of the END Violence Project • Project Description: Objectives and Strategies • The Logic Model: Train the Trainer Approach • Research Methods • Data • Major Findings • Bringing it Home: Common Scenarios • Next Steps • Questions and Ideas for Future Research

3. Origins of the END Violence Project • The Statewide Strategic Use Fund & the RFA • The 18-member interdisciplinary team, including: • UCD Center on Domestic Violence: Director Barb Paradiso • UCD School of Public Affairs: Professor Malcolm Goggin • UCD School of Education: Professor Farah Ibrahim • UCD Center for Education and Policy Analysis: Beverly Buck • National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: Director Rita Smith • The grant proposal review process • Grant period: October 2009 – June 2011

4. Project Objectives and Strategies • Design and implement an innovative outreach model in public schools across Colorado to enhance their capacity to respond to children and youth exposed to domestic violence in the home • Provide technical assistance to schools to write policies that helped students who witnessed • Facilitate the collaboration of schools and local service providers • Provide prevention education to students

5. Train the Trainer Approach • The domestic violence specialists as trainers • 5 specialists in 5 communities • School personnel as trainees • School counselors, social workers, and school nurses • Teachers, administrators, and other personnel • The curriculum • On-the-job training of school personnel • A UCD 3-credit course for school personnel

6. The Sample: Schools and School Personnel • 28 public schools with a large percentage of free or subsidized school lunch, i.e., many children and youth in TANF-eligible families • The RFP • The clustering of schools • School personnel who received some type of training over a three semester period • Administrators • Key informants (School Nurses, Counselors, Social Workers) • Teachers • Others

7. Research Design • The logic model: Building capacity in schools so they can deal more effectively with the effects on children who witness • The instruments for collecting data • The pre-test/post-test survey • The key informant survey • Focus groups • Telephone interviews with Specialists

8. Data • Responses to questions on the pre-test/post test surveys • Responses to open-ended questions on the key informant survey • Responses to questions raised in focus groups • Responses to questions on phone interviews with school administrators

9. Major Findings: Pre-test/Post-test • The approach: survey attitudes, knowledge and skills, and behavior of school personnel before and after training • The findings: By all measures, the End Violence Project, which stands for Extend Needed Domestic Violence (END Violence) Resources to School-age Children and Youth Projects, was successful. • The project significantly improved the attitudes and beliefs as well as knowledge and skills of teachers, administrators, counselors, and other personnel with regards to domestic violence.

10. Details from pre-test/post-test:Changes in Knowledge and Skills Example: Statement 7 Shift Toward Correct Before After

11. Details from pre-test/post-test:Changes in Knowledge and Skills • The three statements with the largest shift in agreement toward the desired answer were: • Statement 12: I am not familiar with the local resources available for families who are involved in domestic violence. • 36% more participants disagreed with this statement after the domestic violence training • 56% of participants felt they were more familiar with local resources after the training • Statement 7: I know how to appropriately respond to a child that has disclosed that he or she has witnessed domestic violence. • 21% more participants answered in the affirmative after the domestic violence training • 41% of participants felt closer to agreement with the statement after the domestic violence training • Statement 14: I am aware of the policies and procedures at my school that address issues related to domestic violence and the threats that violence may pose. • 19% more participants answered in the affirmative after the domestic violence training • 38% of participants felt more aware of policies and procedures after the training.

12. Details from pre-test/post-test:Changes in Attitudes and Beliefs Example: Statement 13 Before Shift Toward Correct After

13. Details from pre-test/post-test:Changes in Attitudes and Beliefs • The test responses also illuminated that beliefs surrounding domestic were more difficult to change than knowledge. • This insight can help guide future trainings to include more discussion around beliefs and attitudes. • The most contested statement read: • Abused women should leave their partner if they don't like being hit no matter the circumstances. • Only 24% of participants disagreed with this statement before the training, and 34% disagreed afterward.

14. Major FindingsFocus Groups and Survey • New policies and programs • New curriculum institutionalized • New reporting protocols • New practices • Connection to community services • Advocacy model use • Better identification of students and their needs • Recommendation • Continue the project – more training of staff; more time with kids

15. Major FindingsExit Interviews of Specialists Challenges • Project time period too short – Takes time to build trust and gain buy-in • Turnaround schools “stressed, maxed out” • Staff turnover Successes • Found new ways to reach and train staff • Paradigm shift in attitudes • Learned to navigate school needs and relationships

16. Common Scenarios

17. Next Steps • Address the Research Design Problem of Too Few Cases and Too Many Variables • Treat the End Violence Project as a demonstration project – a pilot study • Explore other collaborations • Kirk Williams at the University of Delaware • Kim Henry at Colorado State University • Ideas for future research: • William T. Grant Foundation • IES at the U.S. Department of Education

18. The END Violence Project Your questions?