About Projects

What is the Ohio Family Violence Prevention Project?

Dr. Kenneth Steinman

With the support of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio and funding by the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, the Ohio Family Violence Prevention Project (OFVPP) began in January 2007. The project’s goals are:

  • to increase awareness of the scope and consequences of family violence in Ohio;
  • to identify realistic and promising policies and programs for prevention; and
  • to build support for implementing recommended policies and programs.

Towards this end, we produce a range of materials related to family violence in Ohio.  We also meet regularly with practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers to discuss our findings and insure our work is both rigorous and relevant.

The first phase of the project (2007-2008) culminated in the publication of the White Paper on Improving Family Violence Prevention in Ohio and three subsequent reports. To generate this work, the project directors convened a working group of leading academic researchers, agency personnel and practitioners. The group met quarterly in Columbus to insure that our descriptions of family violence, prevention and the related recommendations were both realistic and based on the most current, best available evidence.

The second phase of the project (2009-present) has focused on identifying, organizing, analyzing and disseminating data related to child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and elder maltreatment in Ohio.  We prioritize data sets that are regularly collected and are available at the county-level for all 88 counties.  We organize and analyze these data and regularly disseminate findings to practitioners, policy makers and researchers around the state.

Who is involved?

Kenneth Steinman, PhD, MPH has directed OFVPP since its inception.  He is Clinical Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health Promotion at The Ohio State University College of Public Health.  Along with a graduate research assistant, Dr. Steinman works closely with HPIO staff to disseminate findings and develop a family violence data collection system for the state. 

This work is overseen by a working group of academic researchers and state agency officials, including:

  • Chrystal Alexander, Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Department of Public Safety
  • Georgia Anetzberger, PhD, ACSW, LISW, Independent consultant
  • Suparna Bhaskaran, Healthcare Policy & Education, Ohio Department of Insurance
  • Amy Bonomi, PhD, Dept of Human Development & Family Science, Ohio State University
  • Carol Carstens, PhD, DMD Research, Ohio Department of Mental Health
  • Carol Dayton, ACSW, LISW, Ohio Coalition of Adult Protective Services
  • James Gearheart, Bureau of Health Plan Policy, Office of Ohio Health Plans, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services
  • Roland Hornbostel, JD, Ohio Department of Aging
  • Monica Mahoney, Ohio Commission on Fatherhood
  • Ursel McElroy, MA, Ohio Attorney General
  • Jim Mercy, PhD, National Center for Injury Prevention & Control
  • Nancy Neylon, MA, LSW, Ohio Domestic Violence Network
  • Frank Putnam, MD, Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 
  • Lonnie Rudasill, Bureau of Criminal Identification, Ohio Attorney General
  • Tim Sahr, MPH, MDiv, MA, ThM, Government Resource Center, Ohio State University
  • Phil Scribano, DO, MSCE, Center for Child and Family Advocacy, Nationwide Children's Hospital
  • Debra Seltzer, MPA, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention Program, Ohio Department of Health,
  • Kristin Smith Shrimplin, MNO, Family Violence Prevention Project, YWCA Cincinnati
  • Amy Swanson, Voices for Ohio Children
  • Theresa Wukusick, Executive Director, HealthPath Foundation of Ohio

What are OFVPP’s future plans?

 

Now that we have identified and organized numerous data sets, we plan to provide updates for the entire state and the major metropolitan counties (i.e., Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Montgomery, Summit).  Every three years (next in 2012) we plan to provide updates for all 88 counties.

 

We also remain eager and available to work with practitioners, policy makers and researchers to use to guide policy and support effective and efficient efforts to prevent family violence.  This includes providing educational presentations at local and state meetings as well as serving on relevant task forces and coalitions.