"We recommend legislation requiring all non-Judicial family violence programs be
grounded in evidence-based practices. Connecticut is only one of six states that do not have
guiding policies or requirements for family violence programs (along with Arkansas,
Mississippi, New York, South Dakota, and Wyoming). Because of this, it is possible for family
violence offenders who are eligible for one of the three court-mandated programs to attend
different types of programs that have not been shown to be effective at reducing future violence
(such as individual counseling, couple’s therapy, anger management, substance abuse treatment, counseling, etc.).
Although we cannot determine exactly why offenders in the comparison groups did not attend a court-mandated program, we believe that many of them attended an alternative
program and likely had higher arrest rates than offenders completing a court-mandated program, where the Judicial Branch has created and monitors specific requirements.
Therefore, we recommend the General Assembly consider legislation mandating all family violence programs be state-certified and required to adopt consistent protocols for screening and assessment, program content and modality, program length, staff education and training qualifications, data collection and reporting, and periodic outcome evaluations and dissemination of findings. Such legislation should also prohibit the substitution of alternative approaches to family violence treatment in lieu of state-certified programming."
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