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Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Overview
The New Jersey Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Board (the “Board”) was established by law in 2003. The purpose of the Board is to review the facts and circumstances surrounding domestic violence-related fatalities and near fatalities in New Jersey in order to identify their causes and to develop methods of prevention.  The Board Membership is multi-disciplinary and membership consists of ex-officio members and 8 public members with expertise in domestic violence that are appointed by the Governor.

The responsibilities of the Board include the following:

  • Review and investigate fatalities and near fatalities for trends and patterns;
  • Evaluate the responses of government and nongovernment service delivery systems to fatalities and near fatalities and offer recommendations for improvement of these responses;
  • Identify and characterize high-risk groups in order to develop public policy;
  • Collect statistical data, in a consistent and uniform manner, on the occurrence of fatalities and near fatalities; and
  • Improve collaboration between State and local agencies and organizations to develop initiatives to prevent domestic violence.

Legislation: 52:27D-43.17b

NJ Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board Reports  

Safety and Accountability Assessments Overview
In January 2014, legislation directed the Division on Women (DOW) to conduct an institutional analysis on the state’s systematic response to domestic violence. Often institutions craft separate and independent responses to domestic violence, which may or may not coordinate with other agencies policies or procedures. Specifically, the assessment focus on how systems investigate, prosecute, and provide services.

Safety and accountability assessments utilize multi-disciplinary teams to analyze administrative rules, policies, protocols, trainings, resources and more to map out domestic violence responses and pinpoint gaps among systems.  Teams carry out planning activities and data collection through interviews, observations, and text reviews. Once they have analyzed the data, they offer recommendations for more coordinated and uniform responses.

Legislation: C.52:27D-43.36