Arizona State University's Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is building capacity for treating domestic violence in Arizona through intensive domestic violence advocacy across diverse service settings. The domestic violence advocacy intervention combines 1) evidence-based assessment, 2) risk-informed safety planning and 3) a period of intense case management.

The first step of intensive domestic violence advocacy is evidence-based domestic violence screening that is conducted during an initial assessment with a client who is seeking services at any one of our partner social service agencies.

The second step of the domestic violence advocacy intervention is risk-informed safety planning using an electronic safety planning tool called myPlan.

The last step in the domestic violence advocacy intervention is intensive case management, during which the AmeriCorps member will work with the domestic violence survivor to implement the risk-informed safety plan developed using myPlan.

Although domestic violence advocacy is one of the most widely used and recommended interventions for victims of domestic violence, it is often not standardized across service settings nor does it follow evidence-informed criteria. To date, this program has trained 150 AmeriCorps members to deliver an evidence-informed intensive domestic violence advocacy intervention. Through program participation, members certify as domestic violence advocates. Members offer 15 sessions of specialized advocacy/case management that include between 25-45 hours of planning to implement safety strategies. The intense advocacy has reached 240 domestic violence survivors throughout Arizona. This intensive domestic violence advocacy intervention leads to an increase in safety behaviors among survivors of domestic violence.  

The Survivor Link program aims to train members to disseminate the myPlan app in the community to streamline and standardize screening of and response to IPV across diverse organizations that serve IPV survivors, including domestic violence shelters, hospitals, and schools.