Ending Abuse—Improving Lives - Florida Department of Children ...

Executive SummaryEach year the Department of Children and Families, underthe guidance of Secretary Lucy Hadi, reports to the FloridaLegislature on the Domestic Violence Program’s administrativeactivities related to domestic violence interventionand prevention services. Fiscal year 2005-2006 was a yearof notable achievements considering Florida continued tosuffer from hurricanes, furthering thealready existing need for domesticviolence support programs and services.Secretary Hadi and the departmentacknowledge the unforeseenobstacles that have created additionalburdens on an already vulnerablepopulation of women and children,and remain strong in their commitmentto support community-basedprograms aimed at assisting victimsof domestic violence.The Florida Department of LawEnforcement (FDLE) reports forcalendar year 2005 a total of 126,386domestic violence incidents. TheFDLE Uniform Crime Reports AnnualReport indicates that domesticviolence in Florida accounted for 39percent of all comparably reportedviolent offenses and simple assault.Twenty-four percent of all domesticviolence crimes were committed bythe victim’s spouse. Based on nationalresearch conducted by Michael Johnson, PhD for theCenter for Law and Social Policy-2006, “it is estimated thatmore than two million women are victims of intimate terrorismin the US each year.” Florida is no exception to thisalarming statistic.Domestic Violence accounted for 176 (20 percent) of thestate’s 881 murders during 2005. These figures are up ahalf percent from 2004, when there were 946 homicides, ofwhich 184 were domestic violence related. The spouse orlive-in partner was the victim in 54 percent of these offenses.Children accounted for seven percent of the victims. Inorder to combat this serious problem, many communitiesin Florida have formed Domestic Violence Fatality ReviewTeams. In 2005, there was one new and fourteen active domesticviolence fatality review teams covering 23 counties.Florida has come to rely on the expert knowledge andinformation disseminated from the fatality review teamsreview process. The teams’ experience and quality reviewsassist policy-makers and law enforcement in their effortsto prevent future deaths.Through increased support andfunding, domestic violence centershave been able to enhance their servicesto women, children, and menand continue to offer a wide array ofadditional services, including transportation,transitional housing, andlife skills training. In FY 2005-2006two domestic violence centers wereable to build new and larger sheltersand outreach offices or to improveand upgrade their existing facilities.Of particular importance is Florida’sconcern for the elderly populationwhere abuse occurs at an alarmingrate. In FY 2005-2006, 101 individuals60 years and older were servedin emergency shelters and 1,200were served in outreach programs.Domestic violence centers continueto play a pivotal role through theirexpert knowledge, empathy, andadvocacy in procuring and offeringspecialized services for domesticviolence victims and survivors.The Domestic Violence Program Office remains committedto supporting the Governor’s personal conviction that“through heightened education and awareness, we canhelp identify victims of domestic violence and work to putan end to this crime.” During October 2005, domestic violenceawareness month, the department hosted trainingin Orlando that featured Lydia Walker, national domesticviolence advocate and child welfare expert, who presentedon the importance of child welfare workers and domesticviolence advocates working together to supportwomen and children suffering from violence in the home.Additionally, in June the department sponsored a trainingevent in Ocala designed to educate community–basedprograms wishing to establish a coordinated communityresponse to domestic violence. The presenters were fromDomestic Violence Annual Report 2005-2006