An Awesome Opportunity: The National Plan to End Violence across the Lifespan Prepared by the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence INTRODUCTION: SEEING PAST THE NUMBERS ......................................................................... 10 The Impact of Violence ...................................................................................................................... 12 Like a footprint in wet cement: the impact of violence throughout life .......................... 12 The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Calculating ACE Scores ......................... 13 Violence begets violence: the importance of poly‐victimization research ..................... 14 The interconnection of all violence and the necessity of ending silos ............................. 15 SEIZING OUR AWESOME OPPORTUNITY: THE PLAN FOR ENDING VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES ................................................................................................................................... 17 I. IMPROVING EDUCATION AND TRAINING ................................................................................ 18 A. Improving training at the undergraduate and graduate level ....................................... 18 Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 18 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 24 1. Undergraduate and Graduate Reforms .................................................................................................. 24 Within 5 years, every state must have at least two colleges or universities that have implemented a child and adult advocacy studies (CAAST) minor that provides rigorous, experiential instruction to social work, criminal justice, nursing psychology, education and other students on addressing violence across the lifespan (child abuse, interpersonal violence, bullying, elder abuse, etc). ............................ 24 2. Medical school reforms........................................................................................................................... 26 Within 5 years, at least 25% of accredited medical schools in the United States must have at least one course dedicated to addressing violence across the lifespan ................................................................. 26 b. Within 5 years, at least 25% of residency programs in the United States, irrespective of specialty, must provide specific, experiential coursework in recognizing and responding to violence across the lifespan ................................................................................................................................................... 26 3. Law Schools and Continuing Legal Education ......................................................................................... 28 Within 5 years, 25% of accredited law schools in the United States must have at least one elective course addressing violence across the lifespan ...................................................................................... 28 4. Seminaries and other Faith Based Educational Institutions ................................................................... 31 Within 5 years, at least 25% of accredited seminaries in the United States must have at least one elective course addressing violence across the lifespan ......................................................................... 31 5. Establish National Accreditation Standards Across Disciplines .............................................................. 31 Within 5 years, there must be a national accreditation process so that employers can make better informed decisions in hiring social workers, criminal justice professionals, medical and mental health professionals, pastoral care and other workers who may work with children or adults who have endured trauma ...................................................................................................................................... 31 6. Develop Mentorship Program ................................................................................................................ 32 Working with the Academy on Violence & Abuse (AVA) and other groups that have implemented a mentoring program, NPEIV should develop a wider scale mentoring program whereby students attending accredited CAAST institutions can be mentored by leading professionals in a more formal 2 manner. This program should be up and running, and fully funded, within three years. Within 5 years, the program should be providing mentoring to at least 500 future professionals annually. ................. 32 B. Improving Training in the Field ................................................................................................ 33 Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 33 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 36 1. Professional Standards ............................................................................................................................ 36 Within 1 year, NPEIV should establish nationally recognized minimal and ongoing training standards and, within 5 years, all professionals addressing violence across the lifespan must meet these standards. ............................................................................................................................................... 36 2. Experiential training methods ................................................................................................................. 38 Within 5 years the majority of training for professionals in the field must place an emphasis on experiential, laboratory training as opposed to lectures or less interactive models. ............................. 38 3. Expand number of training facilities ....................................................................................................... 39 Within 5 years, develop at least one laboratory, experiential learning facility in every state that includes mock houses, forensic interview rooms, courtrooms, medical and mental health facilities that can be used for intensive, realistic experiential training. ....................................................................... 39 4. Utilize online resources to disseminate information and training ......................................................... 40 Within 5 years, establish nationally recognized training portals to provide 24/7 instruction on basic skills for myriad disciplines responding to violence across the lifespan ................................................. 40 5. Account for unique challenges in rural settings ..................................................................................... 42 In every training initiative, instructors and organizations must take into account the unique needs of rural professionals .................................................................................................................................. 42 6. Inclusivity and Specificity ........................................................................................................................ 42 In every training initiative, instructors and organizations need to provide both “population inclusive” and “population specific” education dynamics of diverse groups .......................................................... 42 II. Improving Medical Health, Mental Health and Spiritual Care Responses to Instances of Violence ......................................................................................................................... 44 A. Improving medical and mental health care .......................................................................... 44 Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 44 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 45 1. Screen for ACES ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Within 5 years, every medical and mental health professional in the United States should be routinely screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences and responding with excellence ..................................... 45 2. “No Hit Zones” ........................................................................................................................................ 45 Within 10 years, every hospital, clinic or other medical facility in the United States must implement a “No Hit Zone” and every employee of these institutions must be trained in responding to actual or threatened instances of violence. ........................................................................................................... 45 3. Treat child abuse imagery as public health issue.................................................................................... 47 3 Medical professionals should regard violent pornography and media depicting child abuse and torture as public health issues facing children and work with families in addressing these issues ...................