"A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Criminal Justice Success in Responding to Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Crimes: Final Results and Recommendations"

Authors

Sarah Goan, The Data Innovation ProjectFollow
Kris Lugo-Graulich, Data Innovation Project, Universtiy of Southern Maine
Susy Hawes, The Data Innovation ProjectFollow
Hannah Brintlinger MPH, University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service, Cutler Institute for Health and Social PolicyFollow
Susan Smith Howley, Data Innovation Project, University of Southern Maine

Files

Description

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), established under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, leads national efforts to prevent and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through 19 grant programs that strengthen victim services and enhance offender accountability. These programs include four formula grants distributed to states and fifteen discretionary programs for which OVW defines eligibility, goals, and deliverables. Grantees submit biannual progress reports containing quantitative and qualitative data that are later compiled into biennial Reports to Congress. While these reports effectively capture outputs such as numbers of victims served, trainings conducted, and partnerships formed, they provide limited information about long-term outcomes or community impact. Recognizing the need for more meaningful performance measures, OVW launched the Violence Against Women Act Measuring Effectiveness Initiative (VAWA MEI) in 2020, a collaboration between the University of Southern Maine’s Catherine E. Cutler Institute and the Justice Research and Statistics Association. The initiative was designed to develop, test, and recommend new outcome measures that would allow grantees and OVW to better assess the effectiveness of funded programs while minimizing reporting burdens. This report presents the results of that effort, focusing on three discretionary grant programs: the Improving Criminal Justice Responses Program, the Rural Program, and the Tribal Governments Program, and provides insights and recommendations for improving how OVW evaluates its nationwide work to reduce and respond to violence against women.

Publication Date

6-2022

City

Washington, DC: Office on Violence Against Women: US Department of Justice

Keywords

violence against women, Data Innovation Project

Disciplines

Art and Design | Digital Humanities | Education | Graphic Design | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Statistics and Probability

Recommended Citation

Goan, Sarah; Lugo-Graulich, Kris; Hawes, Susy; Brintlinger, Hannah MPH; and Smith Howley, Susan, ""A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Criminal Justice Success in Responding to Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Crimes: Final Results and Recommendations"" (2022). Publications. 1.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/dip_publications/1