Polaris-DV (Domestic Violence)
Improve the outcomes and long-term recovery of domestic violence victims
Polaris-DV is a Web-based outcomes assessment system for public sector agencies that serve families impacted by domestic violence. The system is an efficient and effective means for domestic violence screening, referral and service planning, and supports the coordinated response of all agencies involved in cases of abuse, including law enforcement, treatment providers, Family Justice Centers, counties/states, and domestic violence and mental health agencies.
Polaris-DV addresses a costly service gap for domestic violence victims. Less than 10 percent of providers routinely screen for IPV, which has significant physical, mental and economic consequences. Undiagnosed abuse can lead to increased health care utilization and hospitalizations—abused women can use up to 33 percent more health care services than non-abused women.
Product Highlights
✔ Scientifically Sound- Developed with funding support from the National Institutes of Health
✔ Supports Interagency Collaboration- Helps to streamline interagency communication; solution includes training on ways to strengthen coordination between Domestic Violence and Child Welfare agencies
✔ Minimal Respondent Burden- The assessment can be completed in 15 minutes or less in a secure and safe environment; it can be administered via the Web, paper/fax, mail or by phone/Interactive Voice Response.
✔ Real-time, Consumer-friendly Report gives caseworkers a “drill down” summary of strengths and mental health symptomology, and flags whether the client is in immediate danger; reports can be used by providers to discuss treatment needs with the client.
✔ Strength-based to Support Recovery from Trauma- Focuses on the development of resilience, helps caseworkers build clinical “roadmaps” to encourage positive behaviors and reduction of trauma, and supports early engagement in treatment
✔ Compatible with a variety of public sector settings to provide clinical decision support, and is easily integrated into already existing procedures
✔ Match Clients to Services and Monitor Progress- Helps providers better identify the care their clients need, and monitor their progress with update assessments
✔ HIPAA-Compliant & Secure- More than 140,000 patient assessments have been administered without a single breach of security; Polaris-DV is a safe and secure way for victims of abuse to exercise their voices and express their treatment needs.
✔ Benchmark progress to similar public sector programs
✔ Training- Core software training takes less than one hour to complete; specialized clinical training is also available.
Family Violence Community Partnerships
✔ Simplifies interagency collaboration by providing an effective system to automatically share clinical reports, develop coordinated care plans and otherwise communicate about treatment progress
✔ Offers guidance for domestic violence and child welfare agencies on how they can partner to better address domestic violence, and on ways to build a strong collaborative partnership
✔ In pilot programs, staff shared positive feedback on Polaris-DV’s ability to support collaboration and domestic violence partnerships.
The Value of Polaris-DV
Domestic violence is pervasive and often unaddressed. It impacts the entire family and its damaging effects to the physical and mental health of the abused are long lasting, including chronic diseases and generational abuse. Many victims do not ask for help out of shame or fear. Domestic violence is often seen as a “woman’s problem” instead of a family and societal issue that can also include men. Polaris-DV was designed to overcome these barriers to screening, treatment and referral for domestic violence.
✔ Enthusiastic Client Acceptance- Among clients who used the system, 96 percent had “little or no” problems completing the assessments; nearly 99 percent were “glad to do it/didn’t mind completing it” to get better services.
✔ Flexible and Easy to Use- Choose the assessment and reporting components that make the most sense for your practice and will provide the data you require to make decisions about referrals, medication and mental health treatment.
✔ Aggregate and Case-Level Data for Treatment Evaluation- Quickly determine whether the services you provide are having an impact, and use the data for evidence-supported policy decisions; combine Polaris case-level data with cost data to identify the most cost-effective services relative to outcome.
Polaris-DV Clinical Content
✔ Assesses mental health needs often co-morbid with domestic violence, including depression anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder
✔ Assesses progress in recovering from abuse, including changes in the long-term abuse schema that indicate risk for future violent relationships
✔ Assesses compensating adult strengths, such as resiliency and goal directiveness
✔ Assesses readiness to change, self-harm and the likelihood of immediate harm
✔ Contains indicators for emotion regulation, trauma impact and strength of relationships and support systems
Contact us at moreinfo@polarishealth.com to find out more about the benefits your agency will see by using Polaris-DV.
We are committed to helping you succeed in improving the outcomes and long-term recovery of the domestic violence victims you serve.
