An Evaluation of the Violence is Preventable (VIP) Program

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Project Overview 2 The “Violence Is Preventable” (VIP) project was initiated in 2004 in British Columbia with the goal of establishing a province-wide system that would provide children and adolescents with school-based support and education related to issues of domestic violence. Leading this initiative was the B.C. Yukon Society of Transition Houses (BCYSTH, established 1978), a charitable society representing transition houses, safe homes, second stage transition houses, and Children Who Witness Abuse Programs that serve the needs of battered women and their children. Currently the VIP program is in its third phase. Phase 1 of the VIP project involved establishing a provincial advisory group, exploring potential collaborations between Children Who Witness Abuse (CWWA) programs in British Columbia schools, and beginning an appropriate service delivery model. Phase 2 of the VIP project focused on developing curriculum materials, and delivering training and implementation to eight communities in British Columbia. The current phase of the project, phase 3, builds on the first two phases by expanding the VIP program throughout British Columbia. In the 2007-2008 VIP evaluation, 20 new communities joined, in addition to the original eight. In the fall of 2008, which is the focus of the present evaluation, a total of 33 community agencies participated in the VIP program. Given that the evaluation covered the first three months of the implementation of the VIP program 3 , five of the original evaluation questions (from the 2007-2008 evaluation) were considered at the time of this report writing. The remaining evaluation questions can only be revisited in a meaningful way after the 2008-2009 school year, when the VIP program has been in schools for a full school year. The VIP project is implemented throughout British Columbia by the Children Who Witness Abuse (CWWA) counselors. These counselors, who are trained to work with children who have experienced the impact of domestic violence, liaise with the schools and offer education and support to children and adolescents. A key strength of the VIP project lies in the communityschool partnerships that provide children and schools with specialized services rarely available at the school level. Through this collaboration, schools and community agencies are able to do prevention and intervention work with children and adolescents. The VIP program has four key outcomes that guide the process: 1. To increase effective, sustainable support services for children in schools. 2. To increase awareness and knowledge of the effects of domestic violence on children and how to recognize and respond to children being victimized in this way. 3. To support and change attitudes about the silence/acceptance surrounding domestic violence. 4. To create a system that can be used province-wide to measure the impact of the VIP program upon children and youth. 2 For a complete overview of the VIP project background and rationale, please refer to the 2007-2008 Evaluation report. 3 VIP training was held in mid-September 2008. All data gathered for this evaluation occurred from this point until mid-December 2008. 8 | F a l l 2 0 0 8 V I P E v a l u a t i o n
Evaluation Questions For the purposes of this evaluation, the impact of three key program activities was considered: 1. Awareness presentations: These presentations are aimed to educate adults (e.g. educators, parents, etc.) about to the impact of domestic violence on children and youth. 2. Violence prevention presentations: These presentations are designed for classrooms with children from kindergarten to grade 12 in order that children and youth can learn about domestic violence. Presentations take a preventative focus and include discussions and activities designed to foster positive communication skills, increased self-esteem and an understanding of healthy relationships. 3. Group interventions: These interventions are for children and youth who have been exposed to domestic violence. Multi-week cycle educational groups are offered to children and youth in order that they may get the support they need to reduce the negative impact that domestic violence has had on their lives. Through the above activities, the evaluation questions addressed from the data collected during the fall of 2008 focus on three program domains: capacity building; educator awareness and; services for students. Evaluation questions are presented below: Domain Capacity Building Educator Awareness and School Culture Change Services for Students Evaluation Questions 1. Has the VIP program increased the capacity of community-based CWWA programs and schools to work together to address needs of all students 2. Is there an increase in awareness of educators regarding the impact of domestic violence exposure on students 3. Is there an increase in educator knowledge regarding how they can recognize and support children and youth who have been exposed to domestic violence 4. Has there been a strengthening of student (including Aboriginal, immigrant/refugee students) ability in the following areas: getting along with other students, listening, expressing feelings, resolving conflict non-violently, seeking help when needed, and attending school regularly 5. Has there been an increase in knowledge about factors contributing to a healthy relationship 9 | F a l l 2 0 0 8 V I P E v a l u a t i o n
Page 1 and 2: An Evaluation of the Violence is Pr
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: Intended outcomes for this phase of
Page 7: 4. Promotes itself in communities t
Page 11 and 12: Groups Number of Children and Youth
Page 13 and 14: Variables and Data Sources Several
Page 15 and 16: Data Analysis Given that both quali
Page 17 and 18: Is there increased sustainability o
Page 19 and 20: Staff Increases in Awareness and Kn
Page 21 and 22: Number of School Staff 30 20 10 0 I
Page 23 and 24: There was a growth in awareness amo
Page 25 and 26: “I think that getting a chance to
Page 27 and 28: The following three charts examine
Page 29 and 30: 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 I think that a grou
Page 31 and 32: Presentation Feedback Respondents:
Page 33 and 34: Number of Students 300 250 200 150
Page 35 and 36: Services for Students: Key Findings
Page 37 and 38: affected in many ways, including th
Page 39 and 40: Lessons Learned Much has been learn
Page 41 and 42: VIP Resources Ideas The following a
Page 43 and 44: Recommendations The most critical r
Page 45 and 46: Appendix A: VIP School Staff Presen
Page 47 and 48: Do you have any suggestions about h
Page 49 and 50: Can you think of anything that woul
Page 51 and 52: Is there anything that would make t
Page 53 and 54: Appendix E: VIP Site Report Violenc
Page 55 and 56: Partner School #3: Please tick one:
Page 57 and 58: Have you applied any innovative fea
Page 59:
Appendix F: Innovative Features use
show all

An Evaluation of the Violence is Preventable (VIP) Program

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?