The Outcomes and Process Improvement Project: Batterers’ Intervention Program Evaluation Comparing English-Language and Spanish-Language Offenders

This study was a longitudinal, naturalistic comparison of treatment completion and reoffense rates for two groups of offenders convicted of domestic violence (DV): Seventy-five men attending Spanish-language classes and 75 men attending English-language classes. Participant-specific background and psychosocial information, as well as alcohol and drug use, were assessed for influencing program success and DV reoffense. Overall, men who completed DV classes were less likely to reoffend than those who did not. Men in the Spanish-language group had better outcomes than men in the English-language group. In addition, substance use, timing of probation violations, employment, court re-referrals to DV classes, and previous DV convictions all had an impact on rate of class completion and/or reoffense. Psychosocial variables did not appear to influence outcomes.