The Center for The Study of Society

Effectiveness & Cost Effectiveness Evaluation of Batterers Programs

Duration of Research: 2002-2005

Funding Agency: National Insurance Institute of Israel & Ministry of Social Affairs.

Researchers:
Guy Enosh (P.I.)
Zvi Eisikovits (P.I.)
Gali Dotan (Research Coordinator)

Collaborators: 
Prof. Muhammad Haj-Yahia, School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Project Description:
The Israeli Ministry of Work and Welfare is supporting and employing three different settings for the treatment of domestic abuse. Those three settings are somewhat different in their operations, intervention agendas, and clientele. Those include the Centers for the treatment of Family Violence, which offer a wide scope of interventions, including women's groups, men's groups, couple therapy, and advocacy.The second is the Probation services, which in Israel probation officers are social workers and operate through the Ministry. Over the last couple of years the probation services have been receiving batterers through court orders, and extended their operation to include batterers groups.And finally, Beit-Noam, an experimental setting, which serves court-ordered batterers, using a comprehensive array of interventions, both on individual and group-work.

The goal of the evaluation study is three fold: first, to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the settings; second to evaluate the determinants of treatment dropout; and third to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of those three settings. The effectiveness and dropout profiling would be incorporated into the final cost effectiveness analysis.
The project is to be carried for roughly 3 years (34 months), following 240 batterers and their spouses, through therapy, and 6 months and a year follow-ups.

In order to read the final academic report (In Hebrew only), please enter the link.