Ten Lessons Learned in Alaska: Home Visitation and Intimate Partner Violence

ABSTRACT Home visitation programs to prevent child maltreatment and improve child outcomes have proliferated throughout the United States. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly correlated with child maltreatment and disproportionately affects home-visited families. An evaluation of home visitation programs in Alaska identified deficits in working with families experiencing IPV. A special IPV initiative provided training and technical assistance to these programs over a 2-year period. Several themes emerged, including the need for skill-based training and assessment tools designed for home visitation, the benefits of building partnerships between home visitors and IPV advocates, and the need for protocols that explicitly address IPV.