Announcing the National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking

As of July 1, 2020 Futures Without Violence (FUTURES) now operates the National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Health Care. HRSA is an agency at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. DHHS), providing healthcare to people who are geographically isolated, and/or economically or medically vulnerable.

The National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking works with health centers and systems to support those at risk of experiencing or surviving intimate partner violence (IPV) or human trafficking (HT) and to bolster prevention efforts. FUTURES joins a cohort of twenty other NTTAPs, which provide training and technical assistance (T/TA) to address the operational, clinical, access, and technology needs of health centers. 

The National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking offers health centers training on trauma-informed services, building partnerships, policy development, and the integration of processes designed to promote prevention and increase the identification and referral to supportive services for individuals at risk for, experiencing, or surviving IPV and HT. The evaluation partner is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, under the direction of Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD.   

The Family Violence Prevention & Services Program, Administration on Children & Families, U.S. DHHS has funded FUTURES to operate the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence since 1996. For the last 5 years, FUTURES has closely collaborated with the Family Violence Prevention & Services Program, the HRSA Office on Women’s Health, and HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care to develop models for community health centers working in partnership with community-based domestic violence programs. This was initiated in 2015 with the Improving Health Outcomes through Violence Prevention national pilot project, which engaged 10 community health centers partnering with community-based domestic violence programs. The model was then scaled up to engage state/territory domestic violence coalitions, primary care associations, and departments of health/public health with Project Catalyst, now in its third and final phase. The National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking will now expand upon this work by offering T/TA to health centers, primary care associations, and other HRSA-funded partners nationally.

To learn more:

• Visit www.IPVHealthPartners.org, an online toolkit for building partnerships between community health centers and domestic violence programs to support survivor health.
• View “Shelter in Place, Violence, and the Healthcare Response,” a webinar recording sponsored by HRSA & FVPSA (U.S. DHHS) on May 20, 2020, featuring FUTURES approaches and tools.
• Read “The Hidden Pandemic Behind COVID-19,” HRSA E-news article.

For more information and to request technical assistance, please email ipvhealthpartners@futureswithoutviolence.org.