HAPA is a group intervention treatment program for Hispanic men involved in domestic and family violence. The men meet weekly for group sessions at the Alliance Church in Hood River, which donates the space to us. It takes 24 weeks to successfully complete the program, and the men are charged $25.00 each for each session. Its goals are simply to provide the men with the capacity to respect their domestic partners and families and accept responsibility for their actions, thus ending the cycle of violence in their lives.
Hispanic families in the region are the most direct beneficiaries of this project. HAPA has been providing an alternative to incarceration and a way for Hispanic men to deal effectively with domestic violence, anger and frustration since 1994. As Presiding Judge Paul G. Crowley says, "Before the creation of HAPA, our community sorely lacked a means of appropriately addressing domestic violence in Hispanic households." Traditional approaches to domestic violence did not begin to address the root problem, and particularly with the dependence of migrant, farmworker women on their partners, did not protect either women or children from further violence. In comparison, according to the State Criminal Justice Computer Records system, of the 21 men who successfully completed the HAPA program since 1996, none have re-offended.
The wider community and taxpayers are indirect, but very real beneficiaries of HAPA, also. As both District Attorney John Sewell and defense attorney Todd Wilson point out, the cost to the county in time, resources, and actual dollars would be many times the cost of HAPA, if it did not exist.
As stated above, the intervention treatment program takes 24 weeks to complete. Most men come to the program either as a result of a District Attorney's diversion, or as a condition of probation. We conduct an intake interview and assessment of each man individually, usually within one week of being notified of the assignment. The sessions are structured such that a new person may come into the group at any time, and they do so throughout the year. Approximately ten men enter the group each year.
HAPA was adapted and modified for Hispanic/Latino men from a successful treatment program for Anglos developed by Paul Woolery, M.A. Since its inception, Mr. Woolery has served as the clinical supervisor for this project, meeting frequently with the facilitators to review cases and procedures. It is a highly professional program, receiving strong support from the courts, local victims' advocates, the prosecution, and the defense bar. HAPA is certified by the Department of Social and Health Services for regulated practice according to the Domestic Violence Perpetrator Program Standards of the State of Washington.
Successful completion requires full participation; attendance at all of the 24 sessions, with no more than 2 absences whether excused or not; satisfactory completion of a "letter of responsibility," and a subjective evaluation. It is difficult to quantify the benefits of a program of this sort. However, local law enforcement officials indicate that many thousands of dollars in prosecution, defense, and court costs are saved annually through the availability of HAPA. Even more important, and more difficult to quantify, is the avoidance of medical and welfare costs and the value of families preserved and lives changed through a program in which those who complete do not re-offend.
Compared to many intervention and treatment programs, we operate HAPA on a very tight budget. Nonetheless, like other small group treatments, it is costly per person treated our group. As part of the therapy, we collect an evaluation and assessment fee of $50.00 per person, and charge $25.00 for each two hour session. That is the maximum our Board believes to be compatible with the limited and seasonal incomes of our clients. Yet the resulting total of $650.00 per person for the 24 weeks of treatment covers slightly less than one-half of our annual costs. Prior to July of 1998, a multi-year domestic violence grant from the Kellogg Foundation subsidized our shortfall.
In 1999, HAPA is supported by generous grants from the Northwest Health Foundation, the Lions Club Foundation of Hood River County, Hood River County United Way of Oregon, and United Way of Klickitat/Skamania Counties in Washington.