Integrated Service Model for Domestic Violence Survivors

1. Integrated Service Model for Domestic Violence Survivors Catherine Shugrue dos Santos, MSW Deputy Clinical Director Presented at the National Conference to End Family Homelessness Seattle, WA, February 2008

2. Sanctuary for Families Defines Domestic Violence as: A pattern of gender-based intimate partner, dating, or family violence with a central dynamic of power and control

3. Sanctuary for Families • The largest provider of clinical and legal services exclusively to survivors of domestic violence and their children in New York. • In FY 06/07, we provided legal, clinical, shelter, and hotline services to over 8,000 adults and children.

4. Services Must Be: • Holistic: Comprehensive and integrated • Culturally and linguistically competent • Fully sensitive to the unique needs of domestic violence survivors

5. Physical & Sexual Safety planning Counseling Case Management Shelter Legal Services Emotional/Psychological Counseling Economic Case Management Legal Services Services Must Address All Forms of Abuse

6. Safety Planning • Immediate physical safety • Do you need to call 911? • Planning for safety • Home • Work • School • Church • Tools

7. Case Management • Service Coordination • Information • Referral • Advocacy • Follow-Up

8. Clinical Issues for Survivors of DV • Understanding the dynamics of domestic violence • Power and Control Wheel • Cycle of abuse • Trauma • Trauma associated with the domestic violence • Other trauma (childhood abuse, traumatic migration experiences, etc.) • Grief and Loss • Relationships with children and family that have suffered from the abuse • Co-Occurring Issues • Substance Abuse • Mental Illness • Oppression (culture, immigration, bias)

9. Clinical and Service Issues for Children Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence • Child abuse co-occurs with domestic violence at a high rate, in over 60% of cases • Cognitive, psychological and developmental effects of the trauma of experiencing or witnessing abuse over the lifespan • Relationship with the abuser • Insensitive systems (education, medical, legal, etc.)

10. Clinical and Service Issues for Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence • Domestic violence in the cultural context (e.g. FGM, honor killing) • Co-occurring trauma (e.g. political torture; traumatic migration experiences; anti-immigrant abuse) • Distrust in systems or lack of awareness of resources and local laws regarding domestic violence • Limited English proficiency as a barrier to services and resources • Possible legal remedies

11. Clinical and Service Issues for LGBTQ Survivors of Domestic Violence • Accessibility and availability of sensitive services • Lack of legal protections • Oppression: societal and internalized homophobia, transphobia, heteronormativity

12. Clinical Work with Survivors for Adults and Children • Healing and Recovery from Trauma • Psychoeducation • Empowerment

13. Counseling: Adults, Children and Families • Hotline • Crisis Intervention • Individual Counseling • Group Counseling • Creative Arts Therapy

14. Psychiatric/Psychological Consult • Augmentation of counseling services • Particularly useful for co-occurring mental health issues • Essential to ensure sensitivity to domestic violence is present in assessment of survivors and children, which can prevent misdiagnosis or pathologizing and further ensure appropriate services are received

15. Shelter and Housing • A safe place to be can be the one thing that helps a victim survive • 50% of families in the homeless system are fleeing domestic violence • Domestic Violence Shelter • Homeless Shelter • Alternatives to Shelter

16. Economic Dependence vs. Independence • Economic Abuse and the Power of the Trap (Jody Raphael’s “Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse”) • Economic Independence as a Tool For Independence from Domestic Violence • Economic Justice and the Shrinking Safety Net

17. Services that Promote Economic Stability • Direct Financial and Material Assistance • Public Benefits Advocacy • Financial Planning • Credit Counseling • Tax Preparation and Education • Job Preparation, Training and Placement

18. Legal Services • Orders of Protection • Divorce (contested and uncontested) • Custody and Visitation • Child Welfare • Immigration • Housing • Public Benefits Advocacy • Other Criminal Law

19. Social Supports, Recreation and Education • Recreational, Educational and Cultural Activities • Positive Socialization Experiences • Networking

20. The Mentors Program • Victim Survivor • Survivor Survivor Advocate • Sharing Stories • Raising Awareness and Educating Public • Advocating for Policy Change to Help Victims • Standing Up as Role Models for Others

21. Sanctuary for Families Integrated Service Models 1 Community Law Project attorneys partnering with dedicated Clinical staff, promoting collaborative practice with linguistic and cultural competencies: • African Domestic Violence Initiative • Latina Domestic Violence Initiative • South Asian Community Outreach Initiative • The LGBTQ Initiative

22. Sanctuary for Families Integrated Service Models 2 • The FamilySafe Initiative • The New York Family Justice Center (Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens) • Bronx Community Office

23. Catherine Shugrue dos Santos, MSW Deputy Clinical Director csdossantos@sffny.org