North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services/Coalition Against Sexual Assault in North Dakota
State Coordinator
Kelly Moe Litke
418 E Rosser Avenue, Suite #320
Bismarck, ND 58501
Phone: (701) 255-6240, ext. 16
Fax: (701) 255-1904
Web: www.ndcaws.org
E-mail: kmoelitke@ndcaws.org
Overview of State Program
The North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services (NDCAWS) was formed in 1972 from an informal network of five programs across the state that provided shelter and advocacy to battered women. Twenty years later, NDCAWS merged with the Coalition Against Sexual Assault in North Dakota (CASAND). NDCAWS/CASAND uses legislation, policy, and systems changes to promote victim safety and offender accountability. Staff from the 20 programs that make up its membership serve on a variety of committees and forums designed to take action.
The North Dakota Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) program is a statewide collaborative effort among NDCAWS/CASAND and six local community domestic violence programs and Coordinated Community Response (CCR) task forces. Community-based programs and CCRs provide direct services that ensure the safety of women, children, and families affected by domestic and sexual violence. Primary prevention has become an equally important priority with the addition of the DELTA program.
In 2006, the six CCR task forces began implementing primary prevention strategies unique to their communities. Rural task forces, formed specifically for the DELTA program, built relationships with community partners and collected data on the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors (KABBs) of their priority populations. The urban task forces, having already collected data, concentrated their efforts on implementing curricula and strategies focused on the KABBs of their target populations. Successes across the state include the strengthening of partners and allies for prevention work, expanding data collection capabilities, and increased ability to dialogue and conceptualize primary prevention concepts within their organizations and CCRs.
State Future Directions
The coalition has formed a strategic partnership with DELTA, Rape Prevention and Education (RPE), and Enhancing and Making Programs Work to End Rape (EMPOWER) programs to plan, implement, and evaluate primary prevention for intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA). A joint state team has been formed to collaborate with NDCAWS/CASAND and the North Dakota Health Department to create a state prevention plan based on the Getting to Outcomes and Empowerment Evaluation framework. Local projects will focus on combining IPV and SA efforts through their DELTA and RPE programs.
NDCAWS/CASAND will build upon the foundation that has been created over the last four years by applying a more strategic and integrated approach to providing leadership and technical assistance for primary prevention and Community Coordinated Response. The coalition will continue to partner with the six communities initially funded by DELTA and will collaborate with the North Dakota RPE grant program to increase its capacity to implement and sustain primary prevention efforts.
Local Projects
| 1. | CCR: |
Grand Forks Domestic Violence Task Force and Coordinated Community Response |
| Fiscal Agent: | Community Violence Intervention Center- Grand Forks | |
| Priority Population: | Children, youth, college | |
| 2. | CCR: | Cass County Family Violence and Sexual Assault Committee |
| Fiscal Agent: | Rape and Abuse Crisis Center- Fargo | |
| Priority Population: | Children, youth, young adults | |
| 3. | CCR: | PULSE: People United for Living in Safe Environments |
| Fiscal Agent: | Abused Adult Resource Center- Bismarck | |
| Priority Population: | Community at-large, youth | |
| 4. | CCR: | Stark County Task Force on Domestic Violence |
| Fiscal Agent: | Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center- Dickinson | |
| Priority Population: | Youth | |
| 5. | CCR: | Coordinated Community Response Task Force of Traill County |
| Fiscal Agent: | Rape and Abuse Crisis Center- Fargo | |
| Priority Population: | Children, youth, and young adults | |
| 6. | CCR: | Mountrail County Coordinated Community Response Task Force |
| Fiscal Agent: | Domestic Violence Program, NW, North Dakota- Stanley | |
| Priority Population: | Children, youth |
Page last modified: May 06, 2008