IDVAAC has several products, such as DVDs and reports, to disseminate insightful information and promising practices gathered through roundtable discussions, focus groups, interviews and other Safe Return Initiative activities. These resources offer the perspectives of domestic violence practitioners, parole and corrections professionals, battered women, and ex-offenders to present first-hand, practical knowledge on how to effectively serve battered women and their families as their current or former partners return to the community. Products are designed to educate service providers in the corrections and domestic violence fields, as well as other service providers and stakeholders who serve this population.

DVDs

PUBLICATIONS

SRI Roundtable Brief During the initial phase of the Safe Return Initiative, IDVAAC in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice conducted a roundtable discussion with representatives from re-entry programs in Nashville, Tennessee; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Portland, Oregon. These programs are unique because of their attention to the safety needs of women in relationships with men in prison and on parole. This report summarizes these sites’ descriptions of their work, what they perceive as challenges and what they believe can enhance their efforts.

Safe Return: Phase 1 Report 2003-2005 Oliver Williams, Ph.D. Most efforts to address re-entry have focused on the influence of unemployment, substance abuse, and inadequate housing on prisoners’ post-release success. To date, limited attention has been given to the connection between domestic violence and criminal recidivism. This report highlights Safe Return Initiative training efforts in Minnesota to address the important, yet understudied intersection of prisoner re-entry and domestic violence.

Domestic Violence and Prisoner Reentry: Experiences of African American Women and Men Creasie Finney Hairston and William Oliver This report recommends ways to address domestic violence when African American women are in intimate relationships with African American men who are in prison or on parole. The report draws on discussion groups of men and women dealing with reentry who were asked how similarly situated people experience and manage conflict with their partners. Through these discussions, Safe Return found that some women believe the experience of imprisonment negatively influences some men's behavior as husbands and fathers after release; men reported that some similarly situated men try to control their intimate partners while inside prison or consider violence to be an appropriate response to infidelity or perceived slights. The recommendations include emphasizing cultural competence in programming and providing institutional support to intimate partners and their children who are preparing for an incarcerated person's return, whether or not they choose to reunify with returning prisoners.

Safe Return: Working Toward Preventing Domestic Violence When Men Return From Prison Mike Bobbitt, Robin Campbell, and Gloria L. Tate Corrections and parole officials and domestic violence advocates met in two roundtable discussions to examine ways to address intimate partner violence when men return from prison. This report summarizes the practices and key challenges identified in those meetings and addresses themes such as institutional resistance to addressing domestic violence, ways to involve intimate partners-including women who may have been victims of domestic violence-in reentry planning, and the value of cultural competence and programming that considers race. Participants expressed a need for training and ongoing dialogue between criminal justice staff and domestic violence advocates, and noted the value of including the perspectives of former victims to improve practice.

The Front Line: Building Programs that Recognize Families' Role in Reentry Mike Bobbitt and Marta Nelson People leaving prison often turn to their families for assistance. These families become the "front line" of reentry, providing people coming home with critical emotional and material support. But criminal justice systems have only recently begun to engage families in the transition. This Issue in Brief examines the trend towards providing family-focused reentry programming in prison and in the community, highlights ways that jurisdictions can and are structuring such efforts, and addresses the challenges involved. As an example of programming that engages family in reentry, the paper discusses the family reintegration program of Project Greenlight, a prison-based pilot program operated by Vera in partnership with the New York State Department of Correctional Services and the New York State division of Parole.

Justice and Safety for All: Promoting Dialogue Between Public Defenders and Victim Advocates Jennifer trone, Lori Crowder, and Chandra Yoder The lawyers who defend individuals charged with domestic violence and the advocates who work just as passionately for the rights and needs of victims tend to fall into opposing camps. Misunderstanding, suspicion, and occasionally open hostility exist between these professionals. Yet because defenders and advocates often serve the same families, improving their relationship is part of providing just and safe resolutions in domestic violence cases. Structured dialogue between defenders and advocates can help them understand each others' roles and perspectives and can lead to mutual respect and cooperation. Filled with the voices of a handful of defenders and advocates talking about each other and their work, Justice and Safety for All is written to help other advocates and defenders begin their own conversations.

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