Governor’s Council on Domestic Abuse
Govs Council on DA Standards & Treatment Workgroup
November 21, 2025
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
PUBLIC NOTICE
Meeting will only be held virtually
Zoom Meeting
https://dcfwi.zoom.us/j/84024669603?pwd=NO89ZP7oUFFCxtyRP2WXbuNNAhaloa.1
Webinar ID: 840 2466 9603
Passcode: 892772
Or call: 1-312-626-6799
Primary Objective: Complete the core decisions needed to draft updated standards
immediately following the session (owners + deadlines set same day).
9:00–9:30 | Opening, Orientation, and Meeting Norms
Purpose: Set the context, confirm objectives and process, and adopt virtual participation
norms.
Urgency: Recent statewide data and service capacity concerns underscore the need for
consistent, survivor-centered, evidence-informed standards; timely completion enables
implementation planning for 2026.
Inputs (pre-read):
• Standards revision agenda (latest)
• Values Review for Wisconsin Batterer Intervention (V2)
• Values & Standards Matrix (V2)
• Standards Comparison by State (V2)
• End Abuse Wisconsin 2024 Homicide Report
Facilitation notes:
• Process (consensus with simple-majority fallback; timeboxed segments; parking
lot for off-topic items).
• Virtual professionalism (display name format, raise hand, concise comments,
page/section references when speaking).
• Role clarity (committee makes final calls; stakeholder input in designated
windows; advocacy partners present as key CCR stakeholders).
9:30–10:45 | Session 1 — Core Values & Scope of the Standards
Purpose: Finalize the values and concise definitions that anchor all standard language;
confirm who/what the standards apply to.
Context & considerations:
• Bring forward Wisconsin’s historic values (2007) and align with current best
practices (survivor/child safety, accountability for harm, equity/anti-oppression, dignity
and respect, trauma-informed, evidence-informed practice, coordinated community
response).
• Ensure values have operational implications (e.g., confidentiality boundaries,
safety-first practice requirements, equity checks).
• Clarify scope (program types/populations) to minimize ambiguity in application
and oversight.
Guiding questions:
• Which values are core (must appear in every standard) vs. supporting?
• Are the value definitions clear, brief (≤120 words), and usable by
programs/oversight?
• What explicit implications must drafting carry forward (e.g., survivor
confidentiality guardrails, prohibition of practices that risk survivor safety, required
equity review)?
• Scope: What is in/out (e.g., education-only classes, adjunct groups, specialty
tracks)?
Decision prompts:
• Approve final core values.
Outputs:
• Final value list + definitions; scope statement; implications list.
Motion:
Motion to adopt [list] as core values with definitions, approve the scope statement as
read, and carry into drafting.
10:45–11:00 | Break
11:00–12:00 | Session 2 — Accountability: Principles, Boundaries, and Measurement
Purpose: Make accountability actionable and safe: what it is, what it isn’t, and how it’s
demonstrated.
Context & considerations:
• Accountability means measurable behavior change and amends—not mere
attendance/compliance.
• Boundaries that protect survivor/child safety (e.g., no conjoint sessions; no
victim-blaming content; no practices that compromise confidentiality).
• Clear amenability criteria with referral pathways (e.g., when concurrent SUD/MH
treatment is needed).
• Minimal, meaningful indicators so programs can demonstrate change without
perverse incentives.
Guiding questions:
• Does the principle sentence make safety, amends, and behavior change central?
• Which practices are explicitly prohibited to prevent harm?
• What are the criteria and required steps when someone is not amenable right
now?
• Which 3–4 indicators will programs track to show accountability?
Decision prompts:
• Approve principle sentence.
• Approve amenability criteria and referral protocol.
• Approve prohibited practices list.
• Approve accountability indicators.
Outputs:
• Principle sentence; amenability/referral policy; prohibited practices; indicators.
Motion:
Motion to adopt the accountability principle as read, the amenability criteria and
referral protocol, the prohibited practices, and the accountability indicators.
12:00–12:30 | Lunch
12:30–1:30 | Session 3 — Programmatic & Curriculum Standards
Purpose: Define required vs. optional program elements and curriculum topics; set
dosage/sequencing; set guardrails for assessment use; decide on adaptations for
participants who are parents of minor children; define advocacy interfaces.
Context & considerations:
• Minimum curriculum spine reflecting values (coercive control; emotional
regulation; nonviolent communication; financial/tech abuse; impacts on
children/parenting accountability; culture & equity; safety interfaces).
• Participants who are parents of minor children: determine if/where specific
adaptations are required (content emphasis, sequencing, parallel referrals) without
excusing harm.
• Advocacy integration: clarify how programs coordinate with survivor advocacy
(warm handoffs, information boundaries, participant messaging about advocacy,
optionality/voluntariness for survivors).
• Risk/needs assessment used to inform support planning and differentiated
responses, not as a standalone punitive lever.
Guiding questions:
• What is the minimum required curriculum spine statewide?
• Which elements are optional/adaptable by program context?
• Parents of minor children: What adaptations (if any) are required (e.g., specific
modules, sequencing, adjunct parenting-focused content) while keeping accountability
central?
• Advocacy coordination: What are the minimum interfaces with advocacy (e.g.,
survivor resource info provided at intake; warm handoff protocol when survivor
consents; language clarifying program’s role vs. advocacy’s role)?
• Dosage and sequencing: minimums and where individualized plans may adjust.
• Assessment: purpose, timing (intake + periodic), use/limits (safety, equity
guardrails).
Decision prompts:
• Approve required vs. optional curriculum elements.
• Approve adaptations for participants who are parents of minor children
(adopt/decline; specify scope and where they appear).
• Approve advocacy coordination protocol (minimum practices, survivor-choice
statement, confidentiality boundaries, warm handoff steps).
• Set dosage/sequencing minimums.
• Approve risk/needs assessment standard (purpose, timing, use/limits).
• Approve an evidence-informed review frequency (e.g., biennial update list).
Outputs:
• Elements list; parenting-related adaptation guidance; advocacy coordination
protocol; dosage/sequencing; assessment standard; evidence review frequency.
Motion:
Motion to adopt the required curriculum elements, the parenting adaptations [as
listed/declined], the advocacy coordination protocol (including survivor-choice language
and warm handoff steps), the dosage/sequencing minimums, the assessment standard,
and the evidence review frequency.
1:30–2:30 | Session 4 — Staffing, Training, Supervision, and Facilitator Well-Being
Purpose: Update qualifications, competencies, CE, supervision, and well-being
provisions.
Context & considerations:
• Balance degree/experience pathways with competency-based equivalents.
• Prioritize relational and technical competencies (cultural humility, trauma informed
facilitation, motivational interviewing, legal/ethical basics, documentation).
• CE that reliably reinforces survivor/child safety and equity.
• Supervision standards that sustain quality and reduce vicarious trauma.
Guiding questions:
• Minimum qualifications and recognized equivalency pathways?
• Core competency list all programs must meet.
• CE hours and content mix (annual; equity/safety minimums)?
• Supervision frequency/model (individual + group; supervisor qualifications)?
• Well-being provisions (debriefs, critical incident protocols, boundaries).
Decision prompts:
• Approve minimum qualifications and equivalency pathways.
• Approve core competencies list.
• Approve CE requirements (hours, content categories, frequency).
• Approve supervision standard (frequency/model).
• Approve well-being provisions.
Outputs:
• Qualifications; competencies; CE; supervision; well-being language.
Motion:
Motion to adopt staffing qualifications and competencies, CE requirements, supervision
standards, and well-being provisions as presented.
2:30–2:45 | Break
2:45–3:45 | Session 5 — Coordination (incl. Advocacy), Ethics, Equity & Access, and
Transparency
Purpose: Modernize CCR expectations (with explicit advocacy coordination); codify
ethics; set access and transparency requirements.
Context & considerations:
• Domestic violence advocacy programs are essential CCR partners; define
required touchpoints and information-sharing boundaries that center survivor safety
and choice.
• Ethics baseline (do-no-harm, survivor-centered, confidentiality, dual-relationship
limits, grievance/appeal).
• Access practices (language access, disability accommodations, fee transparency,
transportation/virtual options).
• Minimum data set (including equity metrics) with a feasible reporting frequency
and privacy protections.
• Survivor voice in design/evaluation with safeguards.
Guiding questions:
• Which CCR partners are required, and what are the limits on data sharing (no
coerced disclosures; survivor consent/choice emphasized)?
• What are the minimum advocacy interfaces programs must implement (e.g.,
survivor resource information, neutral messaging, warm handoffs, feedback loop on
systemic barriers—not case details)?
• What ethical must-haves belong in every program policy?
• What access practices are non-negotiable statewide?
• Which data indicators are essential and how often are they reported?
• How is survivor input gathered safely and used for improvement?
Decision prompts:
• Approve CCR standard with advocacy as a required partner and clear
information-sharing boundaries.
• Approve minimum advocacy interfaces (survivor-choice statement, warm
handoff protocol, acceptable communications, no joint sessions, no program-to-survivor
outreach without consent).
• Approve ethics outline and required policies.
• Approve equity & access requirements.
• Approve data/transparency minimum set and frequency.
• Approve survivor-voice requirement (safe, voluntary, de-identified).
Outputs:
• CCR language naming advocacy as a required partner; advocacy coordination
protocol; ethics policies; access requirements; data set & frequency; survivor-voice
requirement.
Motion:
Motion to adopt the CCR expectations naming advocacy as a required partner with
stated information boundaries, the minimum advocacy interfaces, the ethics
requirements and policies, equity/access practices, the data/transparency minimum set
and frequency, and survivor-voice requirements.
3:45–4:00 | Wrap-Up, Assignments, and Timeline
Purpose: Confirm decisions, assign drafting owners, and set deadlines.
Decision prompts:
• Approve owners and dates for each section.
• Approve review/approval timeline and editor.
Outputs:
• Read-back of decisions.
• Assign named drafters per section; confirm deadlines.
• Approve review/approval timeline (internal → targeted external input → final
vote).
• Identify editor for integrated draft; log “parking lot” items with owners.
Motion:
Motion to assign drafting owners and deadlines as stated, adopt the review timeline,
and designate an editor for the integrated draft.
Participation & Virtual Professionalism (applies all day)
• Join 5–10 minutes early; use First Last — Org/Role display name.
• Keep video on when speaking, mute when not speaking.
• Use Raise Hand for the queue; chat for links/clarifications or to request to speak.
• Speak to the agenda decision and cite document/page when referencing
materials.
• Advocacy-related comments should focus on systems coordination and survivor
choice, no identifying information.
Notes & disclaimers:
Materials are provided for information and discussion only and reflect what was
reasonably available through normal research at the time of preparation. Inclusion of
any out-of-state jurisdiction or approach is not an endorsement. Nothing herein
constitutes legal, clinical, or policy advice outside the Committee’s formal process.
Please limit redistribution outside this process.
The Department of Children and Families is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. If you have a disability and need to access services, receive information in an alternate format, or need information translated to another language, please call the Domestic Abuse Program at (920) 785-7842. If you are unable to attend this meeting remotely, please call (920) 785-7842 at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or speech disabled can use the free Wisconsin Relay Service (WRS) – 711 to contact the department.
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