Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA)

Purpose of the Program

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem in the United States. Research indicates that IPV exists on a continuum from episodic violence-a single or occasional occurrence-to battering (Johnson, 1995). Battering is more frequent and intensive and involves one partner who develops and maintains control over the other. For additional information about the magnitude and consequences of IPV, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) web site.

All forms of IPV, from episodic violence to battering, are preventable. The key to prevention is focusing on first-time perpetration and first-time victimization. Knowledge about the factors that prevent IPV is lacking. CDC is working to better understand the developmental pathways and social circumstances that lead to this type of violence. In addition, the agency is helping organizations evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs to reduce both victimization and perpetration.

The Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) program seeks to reduce the incidence (i.e., number of new cases) of IPV in funded communities. The program addresses the entire continuum of IPV from episodic violence to battering through a variety of activities.

Learn about other activities that CDC is engaged in to prevent IPV.

History of the Program

The Family Violence Prevention Services Act was amended in the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act to support the work of Coordinated Community Responses (CCRs) addressing IPV at the local level. Chapter 6 of Title IV (Violence Against Women Act) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act funded nonprofit organizations to sustain IPV intervention and prevention projects (CCRs) in local communities.

A CCR is an organized effort to prevent and respond to IPV. These efforts can be organized formally (e.g., nonprofit organization) or informally (e.g., group of concerned citizens). CCRs typically involve diverse service sectors (e.g., law enforcement, public health, and faith-based organizations) and populations. Historically, CCRs have focused on providing services to victims, holding batterers accountable, and reducing the number of recurring assaults. Few have concentrated on stopping initial IPV, otherwise known as primary prevention.

CDC was given the responsibility of administering the federal funds provided by this legislation. The monies were first used to fund 10 CCR demonstration projects. To facilitate primary prevention at the community level, CDC began funding the DELTA Program in 2002. Nine state domestic violence coalitions were initially funded; five more were added in 2003.

The federal legislation is intended to support community level efforts. CDC funds state-level domestic violence coalitions to provide prevention-focused training, technical assistance, and funding to local CCRs. A local nonprofit organization serves as the fiscal agent and receives DELTA Program funding to support the local CCR's adoption of primary prevention principles and practices. CCRs integrate prevention strategies through increased cooperation and coordination among participating sectors.

Program Concepts

Primary prevention is the cornerstone of the DELTA Program. Prevention strategies are guided by a set of principles including:

• Preventing first-time perpetration and first-time victimization;
• Reducing risk factors associated with IPV; 
• Promoting protective factors that reduce the likelihood of IPV;
• Implementing evidence-supported strategies that incorporate behavior and social change theories; and
• Evaluating prevention strategies and using results to form future plans.

Prevention requires understanding the circumstances and factors that influence violence. CDC uses a four-level, social ecological model to better understand violence and potential strategies for prevention. This model considers the complex interplay between individual, relationship, community, and societal factors, and allows us to address risk and protective factors from multiple domains.

The DELTA Program encourages the development of comprehensive prevention strategies through a continuum of activities that address all levels of the social ecology. It is important that these activities are developmentally appropriate and are conducted over several life stages. This approach is more likely to prevent IPV across a lifetime than any single strategy or policy change.

Individual-level influences are personal history factors that increase the likelihood of becoming an IPV victim or perpetrator. Examples include attitudes and beliefs that support IPV, isolation, and a family history of violence. Prevention strategies at this level are often designed to promote attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that support intimate partnerships based on mutual respect and trust. Specific approaches may include education and life skills training.

Relationship-level influences are factors that increase risk because of relationships with peers, intimate partners, and family members. A person's closest social circle - peers, partners, and family members-influence their behavior, and contribute to their range of experience (Krug et al., 2002). Prevention strategies at this level may include mentoring and peer programs designed to promote intimate partnerships based on mutual respect and trust.

The community level of the model examines the contexts in which social relationships are embedded-such as schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods-and seeks to identify the characteristics of these settings that are associated with victims or perpetrators of violence. Prevention strategies at this level are typically designed to impact the climate, processes, and policies in a given system. Social norm and social marketing campaigns are often used to foster community climates that promote intimate partnerships based on mutual respect and trust.

Societal-level influences are larger, macro-level factors, such as gender inequality, religious or cultural belief systems, societal norms, and economic or social policies that influence IPV. Prevention strategies at this level typically involve collaborations by multiple partners to promote social norms, policies, and laws that support gender and economic equality and foster intimate partnerships based on mutual respect and trust.

Current Activities

State domestic violence coalitions that receive DELTA Program funds are working to build IPV prevention capacity within their organization, state, and local communities. Within each DELTA Program state, evaluators are working with the state domestic violence coalitions and local CCRs to assess changes in state and local capacity to prevent IPV and the impact of each CCR’s effort to prevent IPV.

Each of the 14 state domestic violence coalitions has recruited a diverse group of people from within their state to develop an IPV Prevention Plan. This 5-to 8-year plan will focus on the strategies needed to build the infrastructure required to prevent IPV. Prevention plans will be available in 2009 to inform capacity building efforts in the states that do not currently receive DELTA Program funding.

Each state domestic violence coalition is also working to integrate primary prevention principles into their own operating structures and processes, develop primary prevention resources, and deliver primary prevention training and technical assistance to various partners throughout their state.

At the local level, state domestic violence coalitions are supporting local CCRs in the development of an IPV Progress Report. The Progress Report is an opportunity for local CCRs receiving six years of DELTA Program funding to report the evaluation results of their prevention strategies. Evaluation results will be available in 2009 to inform and strengthen nation-wide efforts to prevent IPV.

By focusing on multiple levels within each state, CDC is supporting comprehensive efforts to prevent IPV. Many believe that IPV is a community problem requiring a community solution.

DELTA PREP Project

CDC has partnered with the CDC Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to offer state-level domestic violence coalitions that do not receive DELTA Program funding a foundation for building their prevention efforts.  The initiative, known as the DELTA PREP (Preparing and Raising Expectation for Prevention) Project offers coalitions training, technical assistance, and a small amount of funding to incorporate primary prevention in their coalition and community and state IPV efforts.  In spring 2009, the project will fund up to 20 state level domestic violence coalitions for three years to focus on strategies to prevent first-time perpetration and first-time victimization of IPV.

Publications

DELTA Program: At-a-Glance

 

References

Johnson MP. Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: two forms of violence of against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1995;57(2):283-94.

Krug EG, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, Zwi AB, Lozano R, editors. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2002.

View the DELTA states