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What We Do
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) currently has active programs addressing the following:
Aging and Disabilities
WCADV began its efforts on behalf of older battered women in the mid-80's. In 1994, we expanded and renamed this initiative Domestic Abuse in Later Life. In 1996, we began to broaden our focus to include abuse of people with disabilities. WCADV has established a national presence as a central point of contact on domestic abuse in later life and abuse of people with disabilities. In 1999, WCADV established the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). We develop and broadly distribute model program protocols, program design materials, safety planning and other printed materials, and provide training and technical assistance. WCADV's NCALL staff provide consultation across the country to a broad audience of advocacy groups, policy makers and services providers from federal and state domestic violence, health care, elder abuse, Adult Protective Services, disability, criminal justice systems and national associations.
Battered/Formerly Battered Women
Since 1978, WCADV has maintained a commitment to represent the voices of victims of domestic violence and their children. The Battered and Formerly Battered Women's Committee (B/FBW Committee) is an advisory committee to the board of directors. This committee, along with former victims of domestic violence who serve on the board of directors, or work at local programs or as WCADV staff, provides critical insight into the policy and education initiatives of WCADV.
Children and Youth
Established in 1998, the WCADV Children and Youth Program provides technical assistance and support to improve the services provided to children and youth who witness domestic violence. The WCADV Children and Youth Program Coordinator provides on-site and phone consultation, training, workshops and networking sessions for local domestic violence program staff who work with children. WCADV's efforts also focus on improving collaboration and coordination of efforts with child welfare systems and services.
Coordinated Community Response (CCR)
Many components of an effective, uniform and coordinated justice system and victim services network have been in place for several years in communities throughout Wisconsin. However, there continue to be areas with significant inconsistencies in local policies and practices across the state. There is broad agreement that such inconsistencies can be perilous for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. WCADV provides on-site staff to help local communities promote consistency in policies and practices.
Communities of People of Color Project
WCADV established a Communities of People of Color Project (COPOC) in 1995. The goals of this project are to support communities of color in determining best practices for their communities, to ensure the safety of domestic violence victims of color and their children and to improve perpetrator accountability. The COPOC works to improve responsiveness of domestic violence service providers, health and legal systems, the faith community and advocacy organizations to the needs of people of color. WCADV activities and efforts with or on behalf of communities of color and all battered women are determined by and led by battered and formerly battered women and their respective communities of color. They are women led and involve grassroots and community-based groups.
Education
The education department has been a core part of our work to ensure that WCADV's training, technical assistance and public education reflect the needs of battered women and their children and member domestic abuse programs in Wisconsin. WCADV provides an array of training and educational programs for domestic violence service providers and allied professional organizations including law enforcement, criminal justice, and health and human service professionals.
Health Care Project
In December 2000, Wisconsin became one of 15 states selected by the Family Violence Prevention Fund to participate in the National Domestic Violence Health Care Standards Campaign. The goal of this WCADV project is to support the health care system in becoming a primary partner with local domestic violence service providers in keeping women and their children safe. WCADV's campaign emphasis includes: Public Health and Education; Provider Education, Research, Evaluation and Data Collection; Building and Sustaining Domestic Violence and Health Care Programs, Teens, and Policy and Funding.
Immigration
WCADV examines and analyzes the roles of immigration and welfare laws in the lives of battered immigrant women. WCADV strives to enhance systems' response to battered immigrants' needs by collaborating and supporting grass-roots organizations and immigration attorneys in their fight to protect battered immigrants' rights and welfare rights.
Legal Department
WCADV's legal department examines the impact of the legal system and legal processes on victim safety and autonomy. The Staff Attorney, Immigration Attorney and Coordinated Community Response Specialist conduct research, provide technical assistance, conduct training and produce materials to assist advocates and legal professionals. WCADV also manages a legal fund to provide financial support with legal fees for victims of domestic violence and a law school Externship program for law school students.
Policy
WCADV's policy work dates back to its inception. Early efforts to develop funding for crisis services and legal remedies for victims of domestic violence were led by WCADV and volunteers. Today, WCADV provides integral leadership on policy development by working with state and federal legislators and government agencies as well as local communities. WCADV's policy initiatives are guided by the involvement of former victims of domestic violence and their families and friends.
Rural and Tribal Technical Assistance Project
WCADV has worked closely with all domestic violence programs throughout the state since its inception. Since the late 1990's Wisconsin has had state funded, local crisis services available in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties and 11 tribes. While this was a significant success, on-site technical assistance for the 100 program sites was impossible for WCADV. Working together with the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) with funding from a VAWA Rural domestic violence and Child Victimization Grant, WCADV established a Rural Technical Assistance Project in 1999. The Rural and Tribal Technical Assistance Project continues to grow in its capacity to meet the needs of rural and tribal programs and provides intense on-site technical assistance throughout Wisconsin.
Prevention
WCADV's Prevention Program was established to support the integration of prevention activities designed to prevent domestic violence from initially occurring into the coordinated community response model, such that local CCRs are able to implement the full-spectrum of prevention activities. This is a collaborative project with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 13 other state domestic violence coalitions and local CCR's. This project has been named the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) Program.