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Batterer's Treatment Forum
The North
Dakota Adult Batterer’s Treatment Forum was formed in 1995.
It was a joint effort of the North Dakota Council on Abused
Women’s Services and the Division of Parole and Probation.
The volunteer members of the forum include individuals from
a variety of human service, criminal justice, legal, and
social service fields.
VISION AND MISSION
The vision of the North Dakota Adult Batterer’s Treatment
Forum is to realize an end to domestic violence in North
Dakota.
It is our mission to develop standards for the treatment
of batterers in North Dakota that will create a network
which promotes the safety of victims and assists batterers
in stopping abusive behavior.
PHILOSOPHY
The standards define domestic violence as a crime involving
power and control requiring swift and sure consequences
for batterers in order to protect victims. Cooperation with
and intervention by the police, courts, and probation services,
as well as victim advocates, offender-specific treatment
programs, schools, and child protection service are all
necessary to deter this abusive behavior.
PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE
- Marriage, couples, or family counseling should never
be an initial intervention. Such counseling is not precluded
forever, but should never occur during batterers’ treatment
and may be used only when the abuser has completed the program,
the violence has stopped, and the victim is in agreement.
- Battering a family member or intimate partner is a crime
and is never the fault of the victim.
- Intervention with batterers must be a cooperative effort
involving at least the following: police, probation, courts,
victim advocates, schools, offender-specific treatment and
child protection service.
- Domestic violence is not a disease or an illness, but
a learned behavior.
- Violence is a choice that is not provoked or elicited
by the battered partner.
- Victims of domestic violence should not be mandated into
any treatment or intervention program as a result of their
seeking redress for having been victimized.
PROGRAM ETHICS
The standards proscribe the following ethical guidelines
for group treatment. Programs should, at minimum:
1. Meet the standards of the Adult Batterers’ Treatment
Forum.
2. Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships
with local domestic violence programs, domestic violence
task forces, victims of violence and the Adult Batterers’
Treatment Forum.
3. Refrain from seeking funding for batterers’ treatment
services that competes with funding for victims’ services.
4. Acknowledge in all services that the safety of victims
and their children takes precedence over all other treatment
objectives.
5. Develop and enforce policies addressing ethical standards
for their staff such as sexual harassment, equal opportunity
and professional practice policies.
6. Abide by standards regarding human subjects research
and accept responsibility for the selection of research
topics and methods that will promote the safety and integrity
of victims, protect victim confidentiality and contribute
to the elimination of domestic violence.
TREATMENT STAFF ETHICS
All treatment staff should:
1. Be of good moral character, including remaining violence
free in their own lives.
2. Model respectful personal and professional relationships
and communicate respect toward victims of violence.
3. Be open to self-examination and receptive to feedback
on issues of power and control, victim blaming, sexism and
collusion in their own lives.
4. Immediately warn victims of any danger that the provider
believes they may be in.
5. Immediately report suspected child abuse or neglect
pursuant to North Dakota Century Code 50-25.1-02.
QUALIFICATIONS OF GROUP FACILITATORS
Within each treatment group, the two facilitators should
always have between them the educational and experiential
components listed below. In the case of only one facilitator
(which is not recommended), he/she will meet all of the
following requirements:
- Be licensed in a human service-related field by a North
Dakota licensing board. If one facilitator is not licensed,
he/she would be required to complete continuing education
credit in domestic violence issues.
- Be experienced working with both victims and perpetrators
of domestic violence, including a minimum of 50 hours of
direct clinical work with perpetrators and one year of direct
clinical work with victims.
- Facilitators should always have training in the following
areas prior to facilitating a group:
– dynamics of violence substance abuse
– power and control gender issues
– interviewing and assessment victims’ issues
– crisis intervention legal issues
– group process resistive issues
– cultural competency character disorder
– diversity criminal personalities
For more information or for a referral to a batterers’
program nearest you that is currently in compliance with
the standards contact:
NDCAWS/CASAND
418 EAST ROSSER AVENUE #320
BISMARCK, ND 58501
701-255-6240 or 888-255-6240
FAX: 701-255-1904
[Contact Us]
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