From the Perspective of Diverse Users: An Evaluation of the City of Chicago Domestic Violence Help Line
(1/2004 - 1/2006)
In January of 2004 the Mayor's Office of Domestic Violence (MODV) and Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) initiated a two-year collaborative evaluation of the City of Chicago Domestic Violence Help Line. The National Institute of Justice funded this study to assess the effectiveness of the Help Line's operation in meeting the needs of diverse victims of domestic violence under its "Broadening Our Understanding of Violence Against Women From Diverse Communities" initiative.
The evaluation accomplished three main goals: 1) it assessed the effectiveness of the Help Line's operation in serving domestic violence victims from Chicago's diverse populations; 2) it described the unique needs of domestic violence victims’ diverse populations and their experiences using the information, referrals, and linkages received; and 3) it examined key features of the Help Line model. 399 victims, and 74 domestic violence providers were interviewed for the study. As well, 1,202 Chicago police patrol officers and 326 community residents were surveyed.
CURL and MODV are committed to ensuring that the information from this study is made as available as possible and continuing analysis of this rich data set of quantitative and qualitative data.
Reports:
A technical report has been submitted to the National Institute of Justice is available for download here.
An executive summary, and summaries of findings from each group of informants can also be downloaded:
Power Point Presentation developed for public release of data, March 20, 2006
For more information about this study, please contact Christine C. George, CURL Senior Research Fellow, at: cgeorg@luc.edu.
Research Team:
C. George, CURL
M. Fugate, Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence
N. Haber, Graduate Fellow
S. Stawiski, Graduate Fellow
Community Partner: