The Provincial Family Violence Treatment Program provides services related to assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up for domestic violence offenders who are mandated for treatment, usually by specialized domestic violence courts. The five communities currently funded under the AMHB to provide treatment services for mandated offenders are Calgary, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton.
The AMHB leads the Program and works in collaboration with AADAC and five regional health authorities who are responsible for the operational management of family violence treatment services in each respective community. AADAC and these community and ministerial partners have collaborated with the AMHB in the development of provincial guidelines and standards, including common approaches to risk assessment and management, treatment guidelines, and processes that help support victim safety.
A previous study on treatment effectiveness and the HomeFront pilot project demonstrated the importance of a coordinated community response and that mandated offenders who completed treatment had lower new charge rates than those offenders who dropped out. The Program is just one component of the overall Alberta strategy designed to break the cycle of family violence.