Family Violence Project

Announcements

Sept. 30, 2009: The Family Violence Project has just received $350,000 in additional funding to continue the Southwest Rural Family Violence Project for two more years!

Aug. 30, 2009: Congratulations to Martha Roditti on the publication of her article, Resiliency and Social Support Networks in a Population of Mexican American Intimate Partner Violence Survivors, in the journal Families in Society

Mission

The Family Violence and Border Populations Project will serve as a source of innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing family violence. These approaches are informed through current research and evidence-based practices, which are then disseminated with the goal of promoting cultural competence in family violence service provision.

Description

This is a multi-state, multi-country project that is focused on expanding the body of knowledge regarding family violence, including its causes and potential solutions, and in training social workers and others to provide culturally competent domestic violence services. Sites in the US include Las Cruces, NM, the County of Doña Ana, and El Paso, TX. This project also has a partner in Ciudad Juarez, MX.

Goals and Objectives

1. Use research to identify and implement innovative and interdisciplinary approaches for addressing family violence in the Doña Ana/El Paso/Juarez border area.
2. Train social workers and others to be competent in addressing the unique challenges faced in addressing family violence.
3. Address some of the unique challenges in addressing domestic violence in the US/Mexico border area.
4. Support local domestic violence and family violence agencies and others working to address family violence.

Programs

• Encuentro Latino National Institute Family Violence Institute
  
  The Institute is a collaborative project between NMSU School of Social Work and La Casa, Inc. The Institute focuses on identifying and promoting best practices in providing culturally competent domestic violence services to Hispanic populations. The Institute offers training and technical assistance on a nationwide level.
  
  
• Southwest Rural Family Violence Project
  
  The full title of the project is the Southwest Rural Family Violence Data Development, Prevention, and Outreach Project. This project uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map family violence incidents in Dona Ana County, NM. These are then used to target domestic violence prevention and outreach services to communities with higher than average levels of domestic violence. This project also has 3 Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) stipend students placed in community centers located in colonias in Dona Ana County. This is a collaborative project between the NMSU School of Social Work, NMSU Geography Department, Dona Ana County, and La Casa, Inc.
• Domestic Violence and Hispanic Families Training Grant
  
  This project, completed in October 2008, trained Social Work students to provide culturally-competent services in the field of family violence. The project focused on providing intensive training and stipends to students placed in family violence field placements. Students were required to take a course on violence in the family and receive additional training on family violence during their field placement. Students were placed either at La Casa, Inc in Las Cruces, NM or the Center Against Family Violence in El Paso, TX.
  
  This project was funded by a grant through the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The Training Project ended in October 2008.
  
  
• Technical Assistance to Centro de Proteccion de Mujer a Mujer (Ciudad Juarez, MX)
  
  This technical assistance project focuses on raising awareness of the shelter in the US and on identifying income-generating opportunities for this shelter located in Ciudad Juarez, MX. Many student field trips are held to increase students' understanding of the challenges faced by those providing grassroots family violence services in foreign countries.
  

Research Projects

• Social Network Mapping, Resilience, and Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence
  
  The purpose of this study is to identify protective factors that may reduce some of the adverse health effects of intimate partner violence (IPV). The research is designed to uncover the resilience/protective factors existing in families' social networks that may enhance their ability to recover from intimate partner violence. The results of this study will contribute to the understanding of the relationship of social support and resilience in this vulnerable population and the coping mechanisms that will buffer risk factors in these families. The study is conducted in the southern part of New Mexico and the western part of Texas in two domestic violence shelters. This project is funded through the Southwest Partnership Center as part of a collaboration with the NMSU School of Nursing.
  

Collaborating Partners

• La Casa, Inc
• Center Against Family Violence
• Dona Ana County Health and Human Services

Contact Information

Madeline Gillette, LISW
Project Coordinator
NMSU School of Social Work
PO Box 30001, MSC 3SW
Las Cruces, NM 88003

Phone: 575-646-6010
Fax: 575-646-4116

• © 2005 Regents of New Mexico State University
• Updated: October 2, 2009