This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) hosted a Webinar that presented strategies and approaches you can use in your program to raise awareness and change behavior, and had an emphasis on working with men in a fatherhood context and empowering them to take these conversations to family, friends and community. Topics included: ways to raise fatherhood program participants' awareness of the realities of violent and controlling behavior and the negative impacts for children; emphasize communication, mutual understanding, and healing; and, ways to use fatherhood groups to reinforce the message and build mutual support systems to change behavior.

One in five women experience domestic violence at some time in their lives, and over 15 million children witness domestic violence each year. Given these statistics, fatherhood programs may be serving families where violence has been an issue. It is imperative that fatherhood programs establish protocols to address domestic violence and protect the safety of all family members, including children. Health and Human Services' funded State domestic violence coalitions are an important resource in building partnerships with domestic violence providers and developing protocols. The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) has resources, training webinars, and more tools to help fatherhood programs address and combat the issue of domestic violence.

The National Network to End Domestic Violence recently launched a new toolkit which provides comprehensive information about ensuring confidentiality and safety for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Included in the toolkit are templates, tip sheets, charts, sample policies and procedures and frequently asked questions relating to ensuring confidentiality. The toolkit can be a valuable resource for TANF programs who are seeking to enhance their services to domestic violence survivors. Additionally, the toolkit includes specific resources for programs that are co-located with domestic violence providers, a practice that has become increasingly more common among TANF agencies.

The Assets for Independence (AFI) Resource Center had developed a collection of resources relating to assisting domestic violence survivors build assets, use Individual Development Accounts, and gain financial independence. Resources are provided to help AFI programs better understand domestic violence, ways to partner with domestic violence programs, and information to share with domestic violence service providers about ways AFI can help survivors. A section also exists, especially for domestic violence service providers, that explains what AFI is and how the program can help. These resources would be helpful for TANF agencies and AFI programs to share with domestic violence service providers in their area to help build collaboration.

Mending the Sacred Hoop is an organization charged with ending violence against Native women and children. Violence against all women is a social problem that has wide-ranging consequences for society. As such, it requires social change to help alleviate the problem. Native women are the highest victimized population by perpetrators of all racial groups in the United States. The Sacred Hoop Tribal Domestic Violence Coalition works to build the capacity of survivors, advocates, Native women’s organizations, and victim service providers to end violence against Native women in Minnesota. Mending the Sacred Hoop also has a Technical Assistance Project, which provides technical assistance to the Office on Violence Against Women Tribal grantees.

The PeerTA Network that provided an overview of the relationship between economic security and the empowerment of domestic violence survivors; outlined models of asset-building programs for survivors of domestic violence; and explained partnerships between TANF agencies, the domestic violence community, and asset-building programs that work to ensure the economic security and, ultimately, the safety and self-sufficiency of survivors of domestic violence. Anne Menard from the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence facilitated the webinar. Speakers included MaryLouise Kelley and Shawndell Dawson of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program within the Family and Youth Services Bureau, Kim Pentico from the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and Ilene Stohl from the Washington State Coalition against Domestic Violence.

Research and statistics indicate that Native women are victims of violence at rates much higher than their non-native counterparts. This violence can include domestic violence, sexual assault, and physical assault by strangers. The violence and its effects are often significant barriers to work and self sufficiency for Tribal TANF participants along with lasting emotional, physical and spiritual scars. The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored a Webinar entitled, "Domestic Violence and TANF Partnership in Indian Country" on June 27th at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. Topics included models for partnering with domestic violence agencies, culturally appropriate ways of handling domestic violence when working with Native survivors and an overview of resources available for engaging Native survivors.

The United States Conference of Mayors published the findings of a survey documenting 77 cities within 31 States and their current strategies of domestic violence prevention and response. The survey’s report explains the size and scope of domestic violence and examines findings using data collected from survey responses and previous research. The report describes specific prevention and response strategies submitted by cities and States: public-private partnerships, best practices, and coordinated community response. This report represents a significant initiative towards improving domestic violence prevention and response. As the report shows, responding efficiently to domestic violence requires a significant amount of time and effort. In order to provide the best services possible, it is essential to collaborate and share strategies.

This report details the Family Violence Option and some of the current issues that exist in implementing the policy for violence victims. Case studies are given based on the policies and practices in New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. Each city’s data was examined to determine how many TANF applicants identified themselves as victims of domestic violence and how many were granted waivers and given services as mandated by the Family Violence Option. Recommendations are provided for Federal, State, and local TANF agencies as well as domestic violence advocates.

In State College, Pennsylvania, home to Penn State University, there were over 500 cases of domestic violence from 2001 to 2003. In the same two-year period, the only homicides reported were domestic violence related. One of the victims of these cases was Amy Homan McGee. In order to raise awareness of domestic violence, Penn State Public Broadcasting has recently released "Telling Amy’s Story: the Story of Amy Homan McGee." The story is told by Detective Deirdri Fishel, the primary investigator and Case Manager of the State College Police Department’s Victim Center Intensive Care Management (VCICM) Unit. The film serves to educate its viewers and raise awareness of the gravity of domestic violence. The film’s Web site functions as a forum for discussion of the film and domestic violence, offers resources for domestic violence awareness, especially in relation to the prevention of domestic violence, and focuses on methods to protect domestic violence victims based on the lives of previous victims. "Telling Amy’s Story" is a powerful resource for those interested in learning more about how to prevent domestic violence on both an individual and systematic level.