Family Violence and Border Populations Project

Mission

The Family Violence and Border Populations Project will serve as a source of innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing family violence. These approaches are informed through current research and evidence-based practices. The project will train social workers and others to provide culturally-competent services in the area of family violence, with an emphasis on border populations.

Description

This is a multi-state, multi-country project that focused on expanding the body of knowledge regarding domestic violence, including its causes and potential solutions, and in training social workers to provide culturally competent domestic violence services. Sites in the US include Las Cruces, NM, the County of Dona Ana, and El Paso, TX. This project also has a partner in Ciudad Juarez, MX.

Goals and Objectives

1. Use research to identify and implement innovative and interdisciplinary approaches for addressing family violence in the Dona Ana/El Paso/Juarez border area.
2. Train social workers and others to be competent in addressing the unique challenges faced in addressing family violence in the border area.
3. Support local domestic violence and family violence agencies and others working to address family violence.

Programs

• Domestic Violence and Hispanic Families Training Grant
  
  This project trains Social Work students to provide culturally-competent services in the field of family violence. The project focuses on providing intensive training and stipends to students placed in family violence field placements in Las Cruces, NM and El Paso, TX. Students are required to take a course on violence in the family and receive additional training on family violence during their field placement. Students are placed either at La Casa, Inc in Las Cruces, NM or the Center Against Family Violence in El Paso, TX.
  
  This project is funded by a grant through the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The Training Project is currently in its last year and will end September 2008.
  
  
• Southwest Rural Family Violence Project
  
  The full title of the project is the Southwest Rural Family Violence Data Development, Prevention, and Outreach Project. This project uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map family violence incidents in Dona Ana County, NM. These are then used to target domestic violence prevention and outreach services to communities with higher than average levels of domestic violence. This project also has 3 Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) stipend students placed in community centers located in colonias in Dona Ana County. This is a collaborative project between the NMSU School of Social Work, NMSU Geography Department, Dona Ana County, and La Casa, Inc.
• Technical Assistance to Centro de Proteccion de Mujer a Mujer (Ciudad Juarez, MX)
  
  This technical assistance project focuses on raising awareness of the shelter in the US and on identifying income-generating opportunities for this shelter located in Ciudad Juarez, MX. Many student field trips are held to increase students' understanding of the challenges faced by those providing grassroots family violence services in foreign countries.
  

Research Projects

• Social Network Mapping, Resilience, and Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence
  
  The purpose of this study is to identify protective factors that may reduce some of the adverse health effects of intimate partner violence (IPV). The research is designed to uncover the resilience/protective factors existing in families' social networks that may enhance their ability to recover from intimate partner violence. The results of this study will contribute to the understanding of the relationship of social support and resilience in this vulnerable population and the coping mechanisms that will buffer risk factors in these families. The study is conducted in the southern part of New Mexico and the western part of Texas in two domestic violence shelters. This project is funded through the Southwest Partnership Center as part of a collaboration with the NMSU School of Nursing.
  

Program Accomplishments

(From Oct 2005 to Dec 2007)

• Number of students who have taken the Violence in the Family class: 80
• Number of students who have received stipends: 25
• Number of presentations at national or regional conferences: 5
• Number of past stipend students currently employed in family violence or family advocacy settings: 5
• Funding received to date (since Sep 2004): 805,000

Collaborating Partners

• La Casa, Inc
• Center Against Family Violence
• Dona Ana County Health and Human Services

Faculty, Staff, and Students

• Faculty
  Dr. Martha Roditti, Principal Investigator
  Dr. Michael DeMers, GIS Consultant
  Dr. Pamela Schultz, Co-PI, Resiliency and Social Support Project
  
  
• Staff
  Madeline Gillette,LISW, Project Coordinator
  Susan Rodriguez, Community Outreach Coordinator, Field Instructor
  
  
• Stipend Students 2007-2008
  La Casa, Inc (Las Cruces, NM):
  Wendy Hernandez
  Brooke Stanley-Tou
  Gloria Celene Silva
  Krystle Williams
  
  Center Against Family Violence (El Paso, TX):
  Ida Alfaro
  Pablo Vasquez
  Girard Sanchez
  Evelyn Vides
  Amanda Casarez-Smith
  Michelle Moseley
  
  
• Stipend Students 2006-2007
  La Casa:
  Andre McCabe
  Stacey Gaugler
  Patty Murray
  Geneva Caro
  Rita Messer
  
  CAFV:
  Jennifer Mond
  Janine Vasquez
  Monique Martinez
  
  
• Stipend Students 2005-2006
  La Casa:
  Jennifer Thibeault
  Cindy Coones
  
  CAFV:
  Maria Elena Tovar
  Kelli Gallagher
  Willie Zambrano
  Rocio Gonzalez
  
  

Contact Information

Madeline Gillette, LISW
Project Coordinator
NMSU School of Social Work
PO Box 30001, MSC 3SW
Las Cruces, NM 88003

Phone: 575-646-6010
Fax: 575-646-4116

• © 2005 Regents of New Mexico State University
• Updated: August 17, 2005