APPENDIX E TO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 5-40.1

This Domestic Violence Program for Families is a domestic violence intervention program for juvenile offenders and their families. This program is for families in which the adolescent is violent on a adult family member. It is designed to address the individual impact and resulting problem of a family lifestyle where family members engage in physical and/or psychological violence toward each other. It is presented by the Mediation and Education Department of the Clerk of Courts or by an approved provider pursuant to this Administrative Order. Each weekly session is two hours.

The cornerstone belief of the program is that violence in families constitute a pattern of learned behaviors. These behaviors frequently are the result of rigid attitudinal and belief systems regarding the roles individuals assume within the family and society. A key concept is that every family member plays a significant role in how the family functions overall.

The sessions are designed to challenge each family member to look at the roles he or she plays and how they interact with each other, with an emphasis on learning the necessary skills to live violence free. Contributing factors to family violence are explored with particular emphasis placed on teaching:

Communication skills

Problem solving

Anger management

Communication and listening skills

Peer pressure

Alcohol/drug use and abuse

Personal responsibility

Single parent stresses

Step-parents and blended families

Initially, the adolescent and parents meet separately in a group format for the first three sessions in an effort to reduce adolescent resistance to a program administered exclusively by adult professionals. Two adolescents (male and female) who have been selected from past groups or recommended by school counselors help facilitate the adolescent groups. The adolescent facilitators also contribute when the parents and adolescents are combined during the final four sessions.

The final four sessions bring the family together to assess individual roles, needs and responsibilities within each family unit. Each family member has an opportunity to share their family=s experiences based on their perception of each relationship within the family. They therefore reveal both the negative and positive elements of each relationship and the role they play in that development.

Referral recommendations are given as needed to each family to encourage their positive growth, and are informed that they can return to the program anytime in the future they feel a need for follow-up intervention.