Critical Analysis Report Kia Ferguson Wilmington University Dr.

Adrienne Bey March 22, 2012

The Fairfax County Office for Women and Domestic & Sexual Violence Services offers a number of services in Fairfax County. It is the largest agency in the state of Virginia that provides services for residents and their families who have been affected by domestic or sexual violence. Some of the services offered are: 24-hour crisis hotline, individual and group counseling, education and outreach, economic and housing assistance, legal assistance, shelter for victims, hospital accompaniment, as well as offender services. For the purpose of my critical analysis, I will focus on the offender services program of the OFWDSVS. Program Description The offender services piece is a very important aspect in the agencys mission to end violence in the home and in the community. The program is called ADAPT, which stands for Anger and Domestic Abuse Prevention & Treatment. ADAPT is a state-certified batterer intervention program that features an 18-week psycho-educational group approach. Counselors focus on teaching skills to regulate emotions to residents who have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abusive to a spouse, partner, child, parent, or family member. This program is offered to all residents of Fairfax County, but 80% of participants are referred on a compulsory basis by local courts or community agencies for recent domestic abuse. In most cases, the participants are required to complete the 18-week program in order to avoid additional legal ramifications. Mission: To educate, counsel, and empower individuals and families to develop compassion for themselves and others leading to increased family safety and a more peaceful community. Vision: Equality and compassion among individuals Growth promoting environments within families Safety and accountability in communities

Program Supervisor The ADAPT program is managed by Mr. Sam Bachman. Sam is the most tenured staff member of the Fairfax County Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. Sam is responsible for supervising the Offender Services team, as well as its volunteers. In supervising the ADAPT program, Sam works through his staff in scheduling when and where group sessions will take place, validating documentation and records are being kept correctly, and advising the group facilitators should any conflict arise within their group setting. Sam and the Offender Services Team meet on a weekly basis to discuss the progress of their groups and present any opportunities they may have with their clients. Sam has also been temporarily acting as the County Domestic Violence Coordinator, a position that became vacant last fall and has since been filled in February. The DV Coordinator serves as a liaison between all of the agencies in Fairfax County that work with survivors and perpetrators of Domestic Violence. Program Management The ADAPT program consists of four counselors that facilitate the group sessions and one supervisor. The group counselors hold sessions once a week for 18 weeks, each in a different city in Fairfax County. The sessions are held on Tuesday or Thursday nights from 7-9pm in Chantilly, Reston, Woodburn, and Alexandria. The participants of the ADAPT program are taught anger management, communication, conflict resolution, parenting, and substance abuse awareness skills in order to prevent abuse. Each participant is given a 200 plus page treatment manual at intake. Lecture, video, live demonstration, and weekly homework assignments are used throughout the 18 week program. The program promotes emotional self-regulation and individual responsibility instead of blame, coercion, and aggression.

Opportunities within the ADAPT Program After spending a significant amount of time with the ADAPT team, I can conclude that their program is very efficient in serving their clients and the community as a whole. The team is a group of compassionate counselors with Masters level education that take great pride in changing the ideas and behaviors of their sometimes resistant clients. One of the opportunities that the team struggles with is the collection and processing of payments from clients. Since ADAPT is a state-certified batterer intervention program, most clients are court ordered to complete the program as an alternative to incarceration. Therefore, the fees involved for participating in the program are mandatory for all clients. The total cost for the 18 week program is $450.00, and must be paid by the 5th group session. Group facilitators are prohibited from taking payments from clients, but give clients clear instructions on how payment should be submitted. The team has had some confusion in the past with validating which clients have failed to pay the required fees, and therefore should be refused participation in group sessions. Although the ADAPT counselors already have an extensive workload, I believe if they were permitted to accept valid forms of payment during group sessions they could easily keep an up to date record of which clients are permitted to continue with the program. The counselors could then submit these payments to the OFWDSVS for processing. They could also remind those clients that are missing payments of due dates and the consequences for non-payment. We could also involve our program volunteers in documenting that the payment was in fact received from the client. The only other opportunity that I see present within the ADAPT program is the need for more Spanish Speaking group facilitators. As of now there is only one counselor that holds group sessions in Spanish, and her groups are filled to capacity very quickly. I foresee a back-up in Spanish-speaking clients as the sessions fill up and clients are forced to wait for the following 18-week session.

Program Strengths The ADAPT program has proven its efficiency with the satisfaction of the clients and families it serves. Many clients enter the program unwillingly, but by the time they complete the program are very happy with the results and have learned to recognize their abusive behaviors and how it affects their family and community. If I were supervising this program, I would continue to use the same approach using group counseling sessions and self-regulation techniques. Program Funding The ADAPT program has an easier time with funding than some of the other programs within the OFWDSVS. ADAPT receives funding from the Fairfax County government, as well as through fees paid by its clients. Very few grants are used as funding for the ADAPT program. I would continue to use the court system as a referral source to support the financial needs of the program. If clients are ordered to complete the program to avoid incarceration or probation, it is very likely that they will comply with the payment requirements as to avoid jail time. Strategically this will guarantee the appropriate funding is available to keep the program going. I would also attempt to acquire more grant funding, for the purposes of possibly hiring another Spanish-Speaking group counselor. Qualities for Employees/Interns Employees and Interns for the ADAPT program have certain characteristics and personality traits that are necessary when dealing with violent people. The level of compassion the employees have is extremely important to the success of the program. Clients often enter the program very resistant, dismissive, and often deny they are at fault for the violent behavior that is responsible for their requirement of the program. It is important for the counselors to form relationships with their clients that are non- judgmental. If a client feels that the counselor or the group members are judging or

condemning their actions, it is likely that the client will not progress through the compassion training and successfully complete the program. Employees and interns must also have a high threshold for the resistance and unwillingness of some clients. In contrast to the victims of domestic violence, the perpetrators are often very resistant in receiving treatment, and can sometimes seem rude or threatening in their actions toward their group facilitators. Anyone working within this program should be prepared to work with clients that are extremely opposed to their cause. Staff also must be able to separate their work stresses from their personal life in order to prevent burnout. Conclusion The Anger & Domestic Abuse Prevention & Treatment (ADAPT) program has made an exceptional contribution to ending domestic and sexual violence in Fairfax County. The program has been a great success within the Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. Together with the services of the Counseling Program and the Community Support and Outreach Program, ADAPT is an integral part of the countys effort to ending violence and creating a safe and compassionate community.

References Office for women and sexual and domestic violence services(2011). Anger and domestic abuse prevention treatment. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ofw/adapt.htm