ESCAPE
About the Lethality Assessment Program
The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) LAP 2.0 has been approved by OVW Technical Assistance Program to provide training and technical assistance (TA) to communities across the country in promoting and enhancing strategies to reduce intimate partner homicide through the Lethality Assessment Program—Maryland Model (LAP 2.0).
MNADV provides a train-the-trainer instruction and TA on how to implement LAP 2.0 to community-based domestic violence service programs (DVSPs), Law Enforcement, and their partnering agencies.
The LAP, created by MNADV in 2005, is an innovative program that is designed to prevent intimate partner homicides and serious abuse. As a part of the LAP, officers use an evidence-based, 11-question instrument called the Lethality Screen to assess a victim’s risk of being killed by an intimate partner. When a victim is identified as “High-Danger” according to their answers on the Screen or the circumstances of the call for service, the officer calls the DVSP hotline immediately from the scene and offers the victim the chance to speak with an advocate about their safety and the DVSP’s services. The LAP 2.0 enables first responders and advocates to work as equal partners in a more coordinated, communicative, and collaborative way to engage victims who otherwise may not access the life-saving services of the DVSP.
The LAP is one of the models of evidence-based intimate partner homicide prevention to be honored as a “promising practice” by the U.S. Department of Justice. It has also been validated as a “supported intervention” according to the Centers for Disease Control’s Continuum of Evidence-Based
Application Requirements
In summary, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Teams of at least one (1) law enforcement agency and at least one (1) community-based DVSP1 serving the same jurisdiction;
- Applicant law enforcement agencies and DVSPs must have language access policies and procedures in place that comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Safe Streets Act of 1968.
- Applicant DVSPs must have policies and procedures in place that provide access for individuals with disabilities per the Americans With Disabilities Acts of 1990 and 1991
- Applicant law enforcement agencies and DVSPs must meet the minimum required criteria for implementing the LAP set forth in the Implementation Readiness Checklist.
- Applicant law enforcement agencies and DVSPs must agree to the conditions set forth in the Letter of Commitment and
- The highest-ranking officials of each law enforcement agency, DVSP, and third-party signatory (if applicable) must sign the accompanying attachments with original signatures
Selecting a Coordinator (Statewide or Team)
All documents will be available Spring of 2023
- In order to fill out the application paperwork, the team of at least one (1) law enforcement agency and at least one (1) community based DVSP from the same jurisdiction must first select a LAP Coordinator. The coordinator must be someone who has the skill set and capacity to coordinate stakeholders and communicate promptly and effectively with MNADV. Some of the responsibilities that the coordinator must be able to perform include: Serving as MNADV’s primary point of contact for participating law enforcement agencies and DVSP(s) throughout the application, preparation, training, and implementation phases of LAP 2.0.
- Ensuring that deadlines for application submission, training, implementation and data collection are met;
- Participating in all pre-training, training, and post-training activities and communications.
- Coordinating all train-the-trainer logistics.
- Organizing regular LAP meetings with representatives from participating law enforcement agencies and DVSP(s) to enhance coordination, problem-solve LAP-related issues, and monitor the quality of implementation.
- Monitoring the need for and organizing re-training of LAP (e.g., due to changes in leadership or turnover of front-line personnel) and/or supplemental training to enhance LAP implementation (e.g., predominant aggressor training); and
- Maintaining contact with MNADV for TA, as needed.
