The Arlington County Board has approved a sweeping initiative aimed at curbing domestic violence in the county through a coordinated community response.
Project Peace outlines a plan for implementing an array of preventive, protective and support services for those affected by domestic violence. The campaign also will address concerns that hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of cases of abuse and violence go unreported in the county each year. Arlington could have as many as 3,000 victims a year, officials said, based on national statistics that 47 out of every 1,000 women are victims of domestic violence. Last year, Arlington police filed 400 incident reports for domestic violence.
"This is a very serious problem, and it's much more pervasive than you might think," said board member Barbara A. Favola, who chaired the roundtable that oversaw the creation of the plan. "If we were going to do this, we wanted to do it right. We wanted to leave no stone unturned."
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A group of citizens spent nearly a year developing the plan, which outlines necessary changes and steps required to implement them. Although services are in place, the plan provides a way for community partners, including government agencies, organizations and individuals, to work together more effectively.
Favola said the group studied domestic violence programs in the region, including Alexandria and Fairfax, and modeled Arlington's plan after the best practices.
The county has created a coordinator position in the Department of Human Services to manage launching the plan. Valerie C. Cuffee, chief of Child and Family Services, expects to hire someone in the next week.
Cuffee will co-chair an implementation task force of representatives from social service agencies, public schools, law enforcement, the courts and other organization, aimed at ensuring across-the-board collaboration. The plan is to set up infrastructure and then seek grants to hire other staff members.
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Favola said the two most positive things to emerge from the project are an increased focus on prevention by starting education programs in the county's elementary, middle and high schools and ensuring that children in homes where abuse is occurring receive counseling.
"Working with those kids and helping them recover is a big thing on many levels," Favola said. "Studies show that children who are in homes of domestic violence turn out to be perpetrators. If you really want to break the cycle, you need to get to the kids."
The plan will help coordinate services "in a much more efficient and high-quality manner," said Linda Dunphy, executive director of Doorways for Women and Families, a nonprofit agency that offers shelter and services to abused, homeless and at-risk women and families.
For example, there are four domestic abuse hotlines in the county, said Dunphy, co-chairwoman of the task force. The plan recommends consolidating the system.
The project also seeks to improve data collection to provide a more accurate picture of the extent of domestic violence in the county. The report recommends establishing routine data collection, reporting and analysis across primary points of entry, such as law enforcement, legal services, schools, hospitals and social service providers, to best inform the community about trends, strengths and gaps in service.
Another priority is enhanced response from the judicial system, including more resources for affordable legal representation.
Putting in place the infrastructure is regarded as key to launching a successful community-wide system of care. To that end, the report recommends such steps as providing better training for service providers; securing new federal, state and private funding; and establishing performance indicators.
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The plan also aims to enhance services for underserved populations, including greater outreach to the county's multicultural community. Doorways for Women and Families reported that 39 percent of victims it dealt with last year had limited English skills.
The program will provide help to victims regardless of immigration status, sex or sexual orientation. The report advocates developing "unified, culturally sensitive, multilingual materials" to describe available local resources.
"Our main goal is to raise awareness and show a welcoming face," Favola said. "It's hard for people sometimes from another country or culture to trust the government, to trust the police, to feel comfortable calling, especially if they don't have their papers, but we are making a real effort.
"We want everybody to be safe in Arlington. We are going to address a problem that comes up, period," she said. "If somebody's a victim, we're going to try to help them, not ask for their papers."
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The effects of domestic violence are far-reaching and transcend culture and class, the report states. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, violence against women costs companies $72 million annually because of lost productivity, and 74 percent of employed battered women were harassed by their partner while at work. Victims can incur financial costs from seeking legal help, develop mental disorders, face homelessness in escaping dangerous situations and risk serious or fatal injury.
Favola said efforts in the program's first year will focus on changing the way the county does business. Implementation includes setting up protocols and focus groups and determining strengths and weaknesses in the plan, Cuffee said. The task force will explore housing opportunities for those displaced by domestic violence. The greater goal of the initiative is to provide better services to everyone affected, not just the victim.
"Everybody recognizes that this is the beginning," Cuffee said.
