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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ADA?
2. How does a man get into ADA?
3. How does a woman get into ADA? (The RENEW Program)
4. Why does this information sheet refer to batterers as men?
5. How much does it cost to go to ADA?
6. Is this program confidential?
7. How long is the ADA program?
8. What is the design of the ADA program?
9. Does ADA offer individual counseling for batterers?
10. Can I refer someone to ADA for assessment only?
11. Does ADA offer services to women who assault their male partners?
12. Are all the men in ADA court ordered?
13. Who is an appropriate referral to ADA?
14. Why does ADA conduct drug and alcohol assessments?
15. Does ADA serve gay batterers/abusers?
16. Why do men drop out of ADA?
17. What is ADA’s success rate?
18. What other services does the ADA Program offer?
19. Interested in additional information about ADA?
20. Why did we stop taking Insurance for Service Participants in the ADA Program?

What is ADA?

ADA stands for Alternatives to Domestic Aggression. ADA is a program that specializes in working with men and women to stop their use of abuse. The purpose of ADA is to end domestic violence and abuse in our community. ADA is a program of Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County. We offer services on a non-denominational basis, so we work with people of all, or no, religious affiliations.

How does a man get into ADA?

By calling 734.971.9781 Ext. 430 for an application packet, completing the application and returning it to ADA in the self addressed stamped envelope included in the application packet.

Click Here For Information On Joining The ADA Program: Application Packet Materials
We also offer this application on line. He then would attend the next Orientation session. Orientations are held approximately every other Tuesday so there is never a waiting period. Orientation meetings are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After attending an Orientation, he is assigned to a group and is scheduled for an assessment. We offer services to men who batter or use abuse and who reside in any geographic area.

How does a Woman get into ADA? (The RENEW Program)

By calling 734.971.9781 Ext. 468 to schedule an intake with Lisa Larance, RENEW Coordinator.

Click Here For more information on RENEW

Click Here For the Flyer for the RENEW Flyer

Why does this information sheet refer to batterers as men?

In 95-98% of all cases of domestic violence, the batterer is a man.

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How much does it cost to go to ADA? 

Tuition is based upon income. ADA is program of Catholic Social Services, a United Way agency. Below, you can see the sliding tuition scale. Assessment appointment fees are assessed on a slightly different scale.

Group Tuition Sliding Scale
Effective June 2005
 

Income Level	Tuition Amount
$0.00-$10,000	$25.00
$10,001-$15,000	$30.00
$15,001-$20,000	$35.00
$20,001-$30,000	$45.00
$30,001-$40,000	$55.00
$40,001-$50,000	$65.00
$50,001- Above	$75.00

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Is this program confidential?

Yes. Like all social service professionals we maintain the confidentiality of service participants. Like other professionals, there are circumstances when we are ethically bound to convey confidential information about service participants. Examples of this include when it is believed that children are being abused/neglected, or when we believe the service participant is an imminent threat to someone.

How long is the ADA program?

The ADA program is 52 sessions long, minimum. Sessions take place weekly, unless there is a holiday or other interruption. We offer groups in the mornings and the evenings. Groups meet for 2 hours. Referrals can be made to the ADA Program for any duration.

What is the design of the ADA program?

The ADA Program has been designed with the following groups that are outlined below.

Orientation - The Orientation is a thurough overview of the program. Participants are introduced ADA Program by visiting a group, meeting and talking with other participants and reviewing the policies and goals of the ADA Program. This Orientation gives an overview of issues including confidentiality, tuition cost, attendance requirements and participants are encouraged to ask questions about what to expect in the ADA Program.

• Groups Meet ~ Approximately every other Tuesday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.


Discovery - Participants answer the question "Do I have a reason to be in this program? " Participants see their own behavior in others and learn from directly engaging with Mentors who are in the Tactics and Options levels of the program been. Once they conclude they do have a reason to be in this program, they move into the Foundations Group.
 

• Groups Meet ~ Monday Mornings: 9:00 a.m.-11:00. Tuesday Evenings: 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.


Foundations - We focus on the 3 Foundation elements of the program;

1. The Power and Control Wheel
2. The Choice Model
3. The Accountability Plan

• Groups Meet ~ Monday Evenings: 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesday Mornings: 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.


Tactics - Men learn to identify, label, and acknowledge their battering behaviors.
 

• Groups Meet ~ Monday Evenings: 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Tuesday Evenings: 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Tuesday Mornings: 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Options - Participants practice accountable interpersonal skills, which they will use at all times instead of selectively using them.

• Groups Meet ~ Monday Evenings: 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.,  and Tuesday Afternoons: 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

 
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Does ADA offer individual counseling for batterers?

Yes. We do offer individual counseling. However, this is generally in addition to group intervention, not instead of. Group intervention has proven to be the most effective modality for those who use abuse or violence on their family. Many couples seek marital/couple counseling because they think the problem is one of communication. This is not the case. The perpetrator as a means of controlling his partner will utilize domestic violence tactics. Marital counseling, in cases where there is domestic violence, puts the woman at risk for further abuse. People who abuse need to be in group intervention programs with other abusers. Couples counseling is NEVER an appropriate way to deal with domestic violence. Therapists who offer couples counseling when domestic violence has occurred or is occurring do not understand the dynamics of domestic violence, and are practicing unethical and unsafe services.

In a violent relationship, the survivor/victim is not able to fully participate because of the potential danger. CLICK HERE for a Survivor's Handbook (Adobe PDF File) that lists some reasons why couples counseling is dangerous (starting on page 25 of the document).

Can I refer someone to ADA for assessment only?

Yes. We can report our conclusions and/or status of a referral to anyone for whom a service participant has signed an information release authorization.

Does ADA offer services to women who assault their male partners?

Yes! We specialize in offering these services to men AND women.

Are all the participants in ADA court ordered?

No, about 85% of the participants in ADA are court ordered. The rest are what we call "circumstance ordered", "socially mandated", or "consequence ordered." We say this because many men, in particular, come to ADA as a way to save their marriage, keep their partners from leaving, pressure their partners to return if they have already left, manipulate the court regarding child custody or visitation, or to avoid other unwanted circumstances. ADA’s goal is NOT to "save" or "end" relationships - it IS to end his violence and/or abuse.

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Who is an appropriate referral to ADA?

The following list of questions is taken from the ADA brochure.

"If you are concerned about being abusive with your partner, ask yourself these questions and consider them as the warning signs of a problem."

• Was there violence in your family?
• During conflict do you often threaten someone, break things, punch walls, slam doors, ignore her, or leave?
• Do you have mood swings, where one moment you feel loving and affectionate, and the next moment angry and threatening?
• Have you ever used physical violence (shoved, grabbed, hit, slapped, strangled, etc.) on your partner, or any past partners?
• Do you tend to blame others for your behavior, especially your partner?
• Are you a jealous person?
• Do you try to control how your partner thinks, dresses, who she sees, how she spends her time, how she spends her money?
• Do you try to discourage her from seeing her friends or family?
• Do you get angry or resentful when she is successful in a job or hobby?
• Do your conversations quickly escalate into threats of separation or divorce?
• Do you ever threaten to hurt her, yourself, or others, if she talks about leaving you?
• Do you do or say things that are designed to make her feel "crazy" or "stupid"?
• Do you blame alcohol, drugs, stress, or other life events for your behavior?
• Do you feel guilty after your aggressive behavior and strive for her forgiveness?
• Do you think that you could never live without her, yet other times want her out of your life?
• Do you use sex, money, or other favors as a way to "make up" after conflict?
• Is your partner afraid of you sometimes?
• Have you ever said "don’t make me angry"?
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Why does ADA conduct drug and alcohol assessments?

Research indicates that approximately 55% of batterers/abusers have a history of problems with alcohol or other drugs. ADA staff must be aware of this history in order to provide the most effective services. Please note that alcohol or other drug intoxication or problems NEVER cause domestic violence. To offer treatment only for alcohol or other drug problems will neglect the dynamics of domestic violence and the battering or abusive behavior will continue.

For an extensive list of resources on the relationship between drugs/alcohol and domestic violence click here.

Does ADA serve gay batterers/abusers?

Yes. Gay batterers/abusers can be seen on an individual basis or in the ADA batterer intervention groups.

Why do participants drop out of ADA?

Many choose to drop out of ADA when they learn that they will be held accountable for their abusive behavior. The ONLY reason people drop out of ADA is because they have made the decision to continue their abusive behavior, although their excuses will vary.

Here is a list of some of the common excuses men frequently use when they choose to drop out of the program:

• "My tuition is too high."
• "They don’t have reasonable hours."
• "Those facilitators are too strict."
• "I don’t want to do it if I have to be in a group."
• "The facilitators don’t understand our situation."
• "I’m not as bad as the rest of the men in the group."
• "The facilitators blame men for everything!."
• "The attendance policy is unreasonable."
• "I’m better now."
• "The facilitators think I have an alcohol or drug problem and I don’t."
• "The facilitators only concentrate on the bad, not the good."
• "This is a relationship problem, I don’t have a problem."
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What is ADA’s success rate?

Ultimately, ADA is as successful as each individual is committed to changing their life. We offer specialized intervention services to men and women. If they choose to use our services, they can change their behavior, attitudes and thinking. If they are committed to avoiding change, they will be successful in avoiding change.

For an extensive list of resources on effectiveness and outcomes click here.

Another similar question is;

WHAT IS THE RECIDIVISM RATE FOR BATTERERS?

Measuring recidivism can be difficult, since there are many types of violence which are not easily tracked.   Physical violence is the most measurable type of domestic violence because if often results in arrests and the event can then be quantified.  However, other types of abuse, control and violence which may not be illegal are not easily quantified or tracked. Participants who come to ADA are only here for two hours per week. Knowing what their activities are outside of group and knowing how they are being abusive after leaving ADA is difficult to gauge unless they are rearrested. Someone could be verbally abusive and controlling without being arrested.

CLICK HERE for an abstract of a specific recidivism study from Edward Gondolf.

What other services does the ADA Program offer?

Ongoing: The ADA Program provides training and educational presentations to organizations, classes or individuals who are interested in learning more about the dynamics of domestic violence and men who batter.

NoMas: The ADA Program offers a specific group for Spanish speaking men only.

Click Here For the Flyer the NoMas Group

2000: The ADA Program began offering intervention services within the Washtenaw County Jail through a program called “CHOICES”. The ADA Jail Intervention Preparation Program is a 12 session education series designed to prepare men, who are in the Jail facility, to either enter into a long term batterer intervention program upon release from custody, or to enter into the ADA long term batterer intervention program within the jail facility. The “CHOICES” program is funded as a part of the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative Grant Program U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs Violence Against Women Grants Office awarded $10,000,000 to Washtenaw County in 1999 for a 5 year period.

2001: Later in the year ADA began to develop and offer batterer intervention services geared to the adolescent population. This development of programming was initiated by a request from the Washtenaw County Juvenile Detention Center.

Interested in additional information about ADA? 

Please feel free to call if you would like to find out more about the ADA Program.

David J.H. Garvin, Program Director	734.971.9781 Ext. 329
Jeffrie M. Cape	734.971.9781 Ext. 431
Susan L. Henry	734.971.9781 Ext. 352
Trenita Womack	734.971.9781 Ext. 349
Application/Admission information	734.971.9781 Ext. 430
Cancellation number for ADA groups	734.971.9781 Ext. 457

Why did we stop taking Insurance for Service Participants in the ADA Program

History:

When we began the ADA Program in 1986 our philosophy and practice were evolving. This philosophy initially grew out of our clinical practice and training. Clinical practice is wholly different from batterer intervention work as we know it today. Today we do not call what we do "treatment" or "counseling" we call it intervention. Intervention is about education, consequences, confrontation, acknowledgment, identification, etc.

Philosophy:

We believe that battering is about the conscious, intentional and premeditated act to control and dominate another person. Battering is instrumental behavior. This is not a diagnosable "ailment" any more than bank robbery or speeding in an automobile is. Further if indeed an individual has a diagnosable illness/condition they would require proper treatment for that. Battering is not an illness or a condition.

Diagnosis:

In order to bill an insurance company for services there must be a diagnosis for the "patient" there is no diagnosis for an individual who chooses to dominate and control an intimate partner. If, for example, we were to diagnose an individual as having an Intermittent Explosive Disorder there would be a number of problems.

1. To begin with, according to the DSM-IV this disorder is "apparently rare";
2. Given our philosophy (that battering is a choice which the batterer makes) we would not be offering treatment for this diagnosis, thereby committing insurance fraud, i.e. The treatment you offer must be for the disorder you are diagnosing;
3. An Intermittent Explosive Disorder is classified as an Impulse Disorder-Battering is not caused by an impulse disorder!
Law:

Most insurance company policies state that they will not cover court ordered treatment. Often times the provider and the company collude to look the other way and not document the court ordered aspect of the treatment.

Consequences:

We believe that consequences* (not punishment) are a cornerstone of what is necessary to stop battering. It just does not make sense that a consequence for committing a violent crime could be covered by the benefits of employment/insurance.

Cost:

The cost of maintaining a psychiatrist, keeping up with the immense demands of record keeping necessary for insurance billing compared with the revenue generated from the insurance reimbursement was prohibitive. Further our sliding scale ability made it feasible for service participants to pay approximately the same tuition as their co-pay. The trend in the insurance industry is towards treatment of an extremely "shorter duration" than we believe necessary for individuals who batter.

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*Consequences should educate as a response to the behavior and the severity of the consequence should match the severity of the behavior. We believe that punishment is about self-interest and collusion and therefore is inappropriate in a batterer intervention service.

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