Accounting for Intimate Partner Violence in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: Staff and Agency Readiness for Screening and Referral

Intimate partner violence (IPV) represents a serious threat to initiating and sustaining recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), but early research has demonstrated that addiction counselors may not systematically screen and refer victims and perpetrators of IPV for services, that addiction treatment programs may not provide systematic policies about IPV screening, and that practitioners and agencies may not formally engage IPV agencies in the community. The current study utilizes formative evaluation data from 294 addiction professionals in four states to quantify practitioner IPV screening practices, agency support of IPV screening, and agency engagement with community-based IPV providers. Results suggest that individual practitioners engage in relatively high levels of IPV screening behavior, but neither agencies nor practitioners are engaging IPV providers in sufficient numbers to make robust referrals for IPV services. The authors conclude with policy and practice recommendations for impr...