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| Coalition to End Domestic Violence | |
|---|---|
| Name | Coalition to End Domestic Violence |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Key people | Maria Hernandez (Executive Director) |
| Area served | United States |
| Focus | Victim services, policy advocacy, prevention |
Coalition to End Domestic Violence is a United States nonprofit organization focused on addressing intimate partner violence, family violence, and related forms of abuse through direct services, public policy advocacy, research, and public education. Founded in the early 1990s, the Coalition has worked with shelters, legal aid providers, and public health agencies to coordinate responses to domestic violence and to influence federal and state legislation. The organization has engaged with survivors, healthcare systems, law enforcement, and educational institutions to expand access to protection orders, trauma-informed care, and prevention programming.
The Coalition to End Domestic Violence was established in 1990 amid a period of expanding nonprofit advocacy seen in the aftermath of the Violence Against Women Act debate and the policy shifts during the George H. W. Bush administration. Early collaborations included networks linked to National Network to End Domestic Violence, Safe Horizon, Casa de Esperanza, and regional groups active in states such as California, New York (state), and Texas. In its first decade the Coalition partnered with researchers at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and University of California, Berkeley to produce prevalence estimates and program evaluations that informed congressional hearings chaired by members of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the United States House Committee on the Judiciary. The organization expanded in the 2000s to incorporate training modeled after interventions used by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and American Public Health Association guidance on violence prevention. Major milestones included participation in policy campaigns during the terms of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and involvement with state-level legislative coalitions in places such as Massachusetts and Washington (state).
The Coalition’s stated mission frames its work around survivor safety, offender accountability, and systemic prevention. Objectives emphasize improved access to shelter and civil remedies such as protection orders used in jurisdictions across Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Strategic goals include capacity building for frontline providers like Legal Services Corporation grantees and advocacy for funding streams through agencies including the Office on Violence Against Women and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Coalition lists measurable objectives aligned with indicators used by the United States Census Bureau and public health surveillance systems run by agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Programs include emergency shelter support administered in partnership with local providers such as YWCA USA, community-based outreach modeled after Family Justice Centers, and legal advocacy coordinated with National Domestic Violence Hotline affiliates. Services extend to clinical training for practitioners from American Medical Association and American Psychological Association networks, and to prevention curricula adapted from models tested at Brown University, Columbia University, and University of Michigan. The Coalition operates a technical assistance center offering grants management training mirroring standards from the National Council of Nonprofits and reporting frameworks used by the Corporation for National and Community Service. It also hosts conferences featuring speakers with ties to institutions like Rutgers University School of Law, Georgetown University, and Columbia Law School.
The Coalition engages in federal and state advocacy, filing amicus briefs alongside organizations such as ACLU and National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in cases concerning restraining orders and privacy protections. It lobbies Congress on reauthorization of statutes related to victim services and collaborates with policymakers from both parties in the United States Congress to advance funding for victim assistance programs. The organization developed model legislation on workplace protections adopted in municipalities including Chicago and Seattle. It has submitted comments to agencies such as the Department of Justice and participated in rulemaking processes tied to grants administered by the Office on Violence Against Women.
The Coalition’s funding portfolio combines federal grants, private foundation support from entities such as the Ford Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, corporate contributions from firms comparable to those supporting victim services, and individual donations. Governance is overseen by a board with members drawn from legal advocacy groups, academic centers like Georgetown University Law Center and University of California, Los Angeles, and survivor-led organizations. Financial reporting aligns with standards promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and nonprofit oversight practices advanced by the National Council on Nonprofits.
Strategic partners have included national organizations such as National Domestic Violence Hotline, National Network to End Domestic Violence, Futures Without Violence, and public agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. International collaboration has occurred with entities such as the World Health Organization and UN Women on cross-border trafficking and family violence research. The Coalition regularly consults with academic research centers at University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and University of California, San Diego and coordinates service delivery with local nonprofit coalitions in urban centers like Los Angeles, Houston, and Philadelphia.
Impact claims include increased shelter capacity in partner networks, contributions to legislative changes regarding protection orders, and published evaluations in journals affiliated with publishers like Oxford University Press and Elsevier. Independent audits and external evaluations by research teams at institutions including George Washington University have chronicled program outcomes while noting challenges in measuring long-term recidivism and survivor economic stability. Criticism has focused on funding allocation priorities, debates familiar from nonprofit sector critiques voiced by commentators in outlets such as The New York Times and policy analysts from think tanks like the Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation. Additional scrutiny has addressed tensions between survivor-led approaches and professionalized service delivery models, a debate echoed in academic forums hosted by Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford University.