Goal of Certified Programs
Certified Batterer Intervention Programs (BIPs) strive to end domestic violence by providing educational groups for batterers and resource information to partners and victims as part of a coordinated community response.

  Educational Approach
Batterer intervention curricula examine all forms of abuse behavior toward intimate partners, how abuse affects partners and children, and the cultural and social influence that contribute to domestic violence. Programs encourage batterers to develop cooperative and non-abusive forms of communication and to take individual responsibility for change.

  Program Duration
Department of Public Health guidelines require each batterer to attend an intervention program for a minimum of (80) Eighty hours. SSTAR holds (2) Two-hour groups once a week for (40) Fourty consecutive weeks.

  Grounds for Termination
Batterers can be terminated from a program if they re-offend, violate a restraining order, do not accept responsibility for their abusive behavior, or refuse to comply with the rules and regulations of the programs, incl;uding payment of assessed program fees.

  Contact with Victims
SSTAR attempts to contact each victim and partner in order to refer them to victim's services, explain the purpose and limitation of the program, assess the dangerousness of the batterer, and ascertain the safety of the victim. Thereafter, programs remain contact with the victim and partner to monitor the batterer's behavior and to answer their questions about his progress in the program.

  Regular Reporting to Courts
SSTAR submits reports to the courts regarding the batterer's admission to the program, level of participation while in the program, compliance with program rules and regulations, and termination/completion information.