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Training Length: 7.5 hours (1 day)

Training Description:

This training provides Homeless Shelter staff with fundamental knowledge about domestic violence.
It is learner focused, performance based and highly interactive and has been designed in accordance with basic instructional design principles.
Incorporates an experiential excercise “In Her Shoes”, designed to increase participants' awareness of the struggles that battered women face in trying to gain safety for their children and themselves.
It is designed to assist partipants in building knowledge and skills regarding the provisions of the Family Violence Option, as well as effective intervention, case planning and service delivery in cases where domestic violence is an issue.

Who Should Attend:

This training is limited to NYC Division of Homeless Services and Homeless Shelter Staff, and it will be offered four times this year.

Prerequisites: None

What you will learn:

How to identify victims of domestic violence
Determine how domestic violence impacts your client’s ability to move towards independence
Identify why women are entrapped, feel the need to stay, and /or return to an abuser
How to identify tactics used by the abuser

How you will benefit:

Your awareness of the struggles that abused women face and your ability to appropriately refer clients will be increased. This training is designed to provide you with job relevant skills and knowledge.

Training Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

Introduction: Domestic Violence and Temporary Assistance (TA)

Lesson 1: Identifying Domestic Violence and Its Impact On Clients

“In Her Shoes” Activity
How Can an Abusive Partner Sabotage a Client’s Attempt to Move Toward Self-Sufficiency?
Why Are Women Entrapped?
What Are the Excuses Used by Abusers to Explain their Abusive Behaviors?

Lesson 2: “Developing a Plan for Intervention”

Possible Emotional Responses by the Victim and the Homeless Shelter Worker
Screening Question to Identify Domestic Violence
Interventions to Enhance the Safety of the Children and the Adult Victim
Overview of the Family Violence Option
Good Cause Exemptions vs. the Family Violence Option
Services Available to Victims of Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Programs
Additional Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence
Legal Services for Battered Immigrants
The Violence Against Women’s Act 2000 (VAWA 2000)
Practice: Case Review

For further information and to register for the training please contact the Project Director at: opdvldss@opdv.state.ny.us.

What Do Professionals Need to Know?

Social Services