The Domestic Violence program partners with community-based organizations to ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence through a seamless system of services.

The Domestic Violence program operates as the central clearinghouse for state and federal funding initiatives for the prevention and intervention of domestic violence. The program's primary responsibilities are the administration and oversight of federal and state funding designated to assist Florida's certified domestic violence centers that provide domestic violence services, as well as providing technical support through the development of policy and practice to support domestic violence victims. In addition, the program certifies, monitors, and funds the centers as authorized in s. 39.903, Florida Statutes. The program also promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to advocacy and the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking crimes. Partners in this effort include the Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Office of the Attorney General, the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association and local State Attorney's offices, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, local law enforcement agencies, and community-based victim and legal service agencies.

Florida's 41 domestic violence centers provide crisis intervention and support services to adult victims of domestic violence and their children free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7-days a week.  Services provided by certified domestic violence centers are listed below.

• 24-hour crisis and information hotline
• Safety planning
• Counseling and case management
• Emergency shelter
• Child assessments
• Information and referrals
• Community education  

Many centers also provide legal and court advocacy, transportation, relocation assistance, economic empowerment classes, transitional housing, child care, outreach services, rape crisis intervention, and prevention programs in local schools.

The program serves adult victims of domestic violence and their children.

In Fiscal Year 2020-21, 41 certified domestic violence centers answered 72,321 hotline calls and provided clients with the services listed below.

Services		Clients Served
Emergency Shelter		10,287
Safety Plans Completed		150,799
Outreach Services		33,619
Information and Referral		336,973
Counseling and Advocacy Hours		191,451
Source: Department of Children and Families.

The Domestic Violence program is funded as part of the Family Safety Program budget entity.

Domestic Violence Program Service Provision. In November 2021, the Department contracted with Women in Distress of Broward County, a certified domestic violence service provider, to deliver comprehensive management of services for the department's domestic violence program, including training and technical assistance to certified domestic violence centers and other stakeholders to improve intervention and prevention strategies in addressing domestic violence, legal services through designated projects, and implementation of 24-hour crisis hotline call center operation of the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline.  

Child Protection Investigation (CPI) Project. The CPI Project represents a collaborative effort between the Department of Children and Families, the Office of the Attorney General, local certified domestic violence centers, community-based care agencies, and other child welfare professionals that provide an optimal coordinated community response to families experiencing the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse by co-locating domestic violence advocates within CPI Units. These co-located advocates provide consultation to child welfare professionals and support to survivors. The CPI Project is statewide, and there are currently a total of 40 certified domestic violence centers that participate. The goal of the statewide project is to bridge the gap between child welfare and domestic violence service providers to enhance family safety, create permanency for children, reduce removals of children from non-offending parents, and hold batterers accountable. In Fiscal Year 2020-21, the CPI Project provided referrals for 22,351 children whose families were involved in the child welfare system.

Other Reports
Domestic Violence: Improved Data Needed to Identify the Prevalence of Brain Injuries among Victims, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-20-534, June 2020.
Sexual Violence Data: Actions Needed to Improve Clarity and Address Differences Across Federal Data Collection Efforts, U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-16-546, July 2016.
The Auditor General reports on department operations are located on its website. 

Websites of Interest
Florida State Courts, Domestic Violence Program
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Family Violence Prevention and Services Program
U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime

Performance Information
Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan. Planning and Performance Measures report the department's performance on external and internal measures for its various programs. The measures allow the user to view performance at both a statewide and geographic region level.

Chapter 39 Part XII and s. 414.157, Florida Statutes.

Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-500-1119

Website