Transitions-Domestic Violence Treatment Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Domestic Violence Transition (DVT) Program was developed to provide a coordinated community response to family violence within Wayne County. County stakeholders developed an intensive jail-based and out-patient treatment program for felony domestic violence offenders, who also present with a co-occurring substance abuse problem. This was the first such program of its type in Michigan that aggressively sought to effectively address family violence and substance abuse concurrently. Funding deficiencies have forced Wayne County to seek new sources to support this program. In 2010, Wayne County transformed the existing program and transformed its mission to provide treatment beyond the original scope of the program. Wayne County has continued this intensive 12-wweek jail-based program that is followed by 26 weeks of out-patient treatment program. The program also reaches out to serve sentenced out-patient misdemeanor domestic violence offenders. The expansion provided earlier intervention in family violence and sought to further reduce incidents of domestic violence within Wayne County.