Creating a Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program
Given the link between traumatic experience and subsequent perpetration of domestic violence, and the potential for tremendous innovation and impact in this challenged field, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII), along with the Urban Resource Institute, created a trauma-informed abusive partner intervention program (TI-APIP) in Manhattan that incorporates best and promising practices for working with abusive partners who have experienced trauma. CJII’s TI-APIP goals are far more expansive than those of traditional APIPs. In addition to holding the abusive partner accountable, the TI-APIP aims to increase the likelihood that abusive partners will gain insight into their behaviors, develop empathy for survivors, accept responsibility for their actions, and engage in meaningful and sustained behavior change.
The TI-APIP has developed innovative approaches to working with abusive partners, serving survivors, and integrating trauma-informed care into behavioral health and social service delivery. One year into implementation of the program, this policy brief explores the new TI-APIP approach being piloted in Manhattan, describes core program tenets of that model, and outlines early policy recommendations from the TI-APIP planning and implementation process.