Improving Domestic Violence Responses in Rhode Island
Training and Education
Recommendation 1 | Ensure standardized DV curriculum for law enforcement; E-911
staff; Department for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF); the courts; Rhode Island
Department of Corrections (RIDOC) frontline staff; behavioral health (BH) providers;
designated medical professionals; and substance use disorder (SUD) providers.
DV curriculum and training practices include the following characteristics:
Require training for all new staff at these agencies within 90 days of hire and require supplementary
training every 2 years.
✓ Create and deliver training in collaboration with a designated DV service provider.
✓ Include curriculum for culturally specific populations, including individuals who are immigrants and
refugees, who do not speak English, who are LGBTQ+, who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, who are older
adults, or who have a disability.
✓ Include curriculum about dynamics of violence, interacting with victims and survivors, interacting with
individuals who have committed violence, and trauma and polyvictimization as they impact youth and
adults.
✓ For law enforcement and E-911 staff, ensure curriculum includes assessing lethality factors, potential co-
occurring BH difficulties, and safety planning.
✓ For court and victim advocacy staff, ensure curriculum includes dynamics of litigation abuse.
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