Pathways to Family Peace is a "live" video-conference men's non-violence program option for court ordered domestic violence offenders and is now available and taking referrals. Pathways to Family Peace uses the Duluth Model's "Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter" curricula and the addendum curricula entitled "Addressing Fatherhood with Men Who Batter" (Scaia, Connelly & Downing, 2007).
Pathways to Family Peace provides programming for domestic violence offenders. In 2018, Pathways to Family Peace began as a research project to decide if offering a men's non-violence program for domestic violence is appropriate using video conference software technology. The program began by Melissa Petrangelo Scaia of Minnesota and Jon Heath of Maine. The research was conducted by Professor Nicole Westmarland, PhD and Rosanna Bellini, PhD candidate of the University of Durham in England. The Initial Lessons Learned from Using Video Conferencing Software to Deliver Interventions for Men using Violence in Intimate Relationships was written by Professor Westmarland and Rosanna Bellini in 2020 as part of this research.
After the research was complete in 2020, Pathways to Family Peace began as a direct service of Global Rights for Women (GRW) in Minneapolis. GRW took what was learned from the research to implement the program in the United States. However, in order to take referrals, Pathways to Family Peace needed to know what the standards in each of the 50 states in the United States are for domestic violence offender programming. Hanna Sobhani, a GRW intern, worked with GRW’s Melissa Petrangelo Scaia to develop this document in 2020.
Pathways to Family Peace seeks to keep the document below as current as possible. If you live and work in a state with more current information than what is reflected here, please e-mail us at pathwaystofamilypeace@gmail.com
State Standards for Domestic Violence Offender Groups in the United States
State Standards Research Project Intern
Hanna Sobhani is an undergraduate student who interns with Global Rights for Women (GRW) to research standards for Batterers Intervention Programs (BIPs). In her most recent project for GRW, Hanna compiled the standards and certifications needed to provide BIP services and facilitate group treatment for all 50 states. Hanna is a current junior at the College of Saint Benedict studying Political Science and Hispanic Studies and her policy interests include Women’s Rights, Human Rights, and Ethnic Justice. Hanna is a part of the CSB Honors Program, Harvard Model United Nations, a student-run organization that works to promote sustainable business practices, and is multilingual. She is committed to developing inclusive atmospheres and works to ensure that marginalized groups’ perspectives and individual experiences are valued.
Have someone to refer to Pathways to Family Peace?
Pathways to Family Peace is currently taking referrals. If you want to know more about the Pathways to Family Peace program and requirements, click here.
If you want to attend or refer someone for a domestic violence related offense, please click here for the referral and client forms.