	Domestic Violence Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

DV 18: Personnel

Personnel are capable of supporting, empowering, and promoting the safety and independence of survivors.

DV 18.01

Direct service personnel are qualified by:

a bachelor’s degree from an accredited program of social work or a comparable human service field; or
appropriate experience, training, and supervision.

Interpretation: Appropriate experience can include both work experience and life experience.

DV 18.02

Personnel have the competencies and support needed to:

engage, empower, and communicate effectively, respectfully, and empathetically with survivors from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives;
assess risks and safety;
develop safety plans;
recognize and address barriers to escaping abuse or accessing services;
recognize the presence of medical or health problems;
recognize and respond to the co-occurrence of domestic violence, substance use conditions, and mental health conditions;
manage stress and intervene in crisis situations;
set appropriate boundaries with survivors;
understand relevant legal and civil rights issues;
coordinate services and collaborate with other providers; and
follow reporting mandates.

Interpretation: Competency can be demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience.

DV 18.03

Personnel providing services in a group setting have the competencies and support needed to:

engage and motivate group members;
educate group members;
understand group dynamics;
lead discussions; and
facilitate group activities.

Interpretation: Competency can be demonstrated through a combination of education, training, and experience.

NA The organization does not provide services in a group setting.

DV 18.04

Personnel who work directly with children, or with survivors who have children, are knowledgeable about:

child development;
possible effects of witnessing domestic violence;
signs and symptoms of, and reporting requirements for, child abuse and neglect;
collaborating with child protective services; and
non-violent discipline methods.

NA The organization does not serve survivors who have children.

DV 18.05

The individual who has administrative responsibility for the direct delivery of services has a bachelor’s degree and two years’ experience working with survivors, at a minimum.

DV 18.06

The individual who has administrative responsibility for shelter operations has:

at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and two years' experience in human services; or
substantial experience in human services, including at least two years' experience in shelter services.

NA The organization does not provide shelter services.

DV 18.07

Employee workloads support the achievement of positive outcomes for survivors, are regularly reviewed, and are based on an assessment of the following:

the qualifications, competencies, and experience of the provider, including the level of supervision needed;
the work and time required to accomplish assigned tasks and job responsibilities; and
service volume, accounting for assessed level of needs of new and current survivors and referrals.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Individuals who receive Domestic Violence Services gain a sense of empowerment, improve their well-being, and increase their ability to live safely and independently.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	EMPOWERMENT The process of helping individuals, families, groups, or communities to increase their personal, interpersonal, political, social, and/or economic strength or position and to develop influence that may impact their circumstances.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	SOCIAL WORK Professionally responsible interventions carried out by persons with formal, professional education at the BSW or MSW level from an accredited school of social work and appropriate licensing, certification, and registration credentials. Interventions are directed toward improving the transactions between people and environments to enhance the adaptive capacities of the participants and improve environments for all that function within them. Social work is a professional practice with a consumer group consisting of individuals, families, small groups, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities and involving the disciplined application of knowledge and skill.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	HUMAN SERVICES Programs designed to address individual and group development and well-being in addition to conditions that impact individuals and groups including: aging, delinquency and crime, child welfare, poverty, housing, education, employment, mental health, physical health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities.


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	WORKLOAD The amount of work assigned to or expected from a person within a specified period of time. See also CASELOAD.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.