MEDIA ALERT
October 28, 2021
For Immediate Release
CONTACT
Scott Mason
Director of Stewardship and Marketing
Office: 816-605-7113
Scottm@RoseBrooks.org
Local Domestic Violence Advocate Receives Award for Her Work With a Tool Preventing Domestic Violence Homicides
Working with law enforcement, Rose Brooks Center provides an immediate connection to services
Kansas City, Mo, October 28, 2021 – In Kansas City, survivors of domestic violence who are assessed as likely to be killed by their partner, are immediately connected to a domestic violence shelter’s hotline. This is possible because of an evidence-based lethality assessment tool used by the Kansas City Police Department when responding to domestic violence calls. Because of this immediate response and connection to resources, lives are saved.
Rose Brooks Center, a local domestic violence agency, has been partnering with Kansas City police for decades, but the Lethality Assessment Program, referred to as LAP, was launched locally in 2009 between Rose Brooks, Synergy Services, and KCPD. And today, The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence — the organization that created LAP — will honor Rose Brooks Center’s Lethality Assessment Coordinator Cayla Waller, with The David M. Sargent Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) Award. [Read more about LAP, and the award and why it was created below]. Those selected to receive the LAP award are being recognized for their exemplary dedication to the coordination and implementation of LAP.
“Cayla has been working closely with The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) staff to continue to improve our city’s LAP program,” explains Tanya Draper-Douthit, Rose Brooks Center’s Chief Operating Officer. “Just as MNADV recognizes Cayla’s life-saving dedication, we, along with those we serve, are grateful for her dedication to improve our agency’s internal LAP processes and procedures – ultimately saving lives.”
One survivor surveyed by Rose Brooks Center after being connected to services explains its impact. “It connected me to someone who could help me leave and stay safe. Connecting to resources and learning about domestic violence will follow me forever. An Ex Parte does not give you knowledge, but services do. It’s life changing.”
The awards are being presented virtually today from 3:00 to 4:00pm (CT), with most winners located around Maryland. Recipients have gone above and beyond to develop LAP best practices within their agencies, enhance LAP partnerships within their communities, and/or improve coordination of services for High-Danger intimate partner violence victims with whom the LAP has been conducted. Their actions result in more options and safer communities for victims.
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About Rose Brooks Center
Rose Brooks Center offers domestic violence services and programming in the Kansas City Metro area and beyond. While hundreds of individuals and pets find safety in emergency shelter, thousands more are served outside of shelter through groundbreaking community programs. Rose Brooks Center served 14,465 victims of abuse and violence in 2020. This included 8,399 individuals calling their crisis hotline, and 2,732 calls to Rose Brooks Center from police on the scene of highly lethal domestic violence situations, as part of a Lethality Assessment Program. www.rosebrooks.org. Rose Brooks Center’s Hotline number is 816-861-6100.
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About the Award:
The David M. Sargent Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) Award was created in recognition of David M. Sargent for his contributions and his role as the founding father of the LAP, a nationally recognized innovative program that has been honored with national awards and is recognized as a promising practice by the federal government. As such, this award recognizes professionals who are doing exceptional work in homicide reduction through the vehicle of the LAP. Professionals who receive this award have been chosen for their exemplary dedication to the coordination and implementation of the LAP.
Awards will be presented at the MNADV 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration being held on Thursday, October 28 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (ET), 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm (CT). For more information and to register for the free Zoom event, click here:
https://www.mnadv.org/event/annual-meeting/.
What is LAP?
The Lethality Assessment Protocol is a set of questions based on research from Johns Hopkins University that first responders ask victims when they respond to a domestic violence call. Some of the questions include: “Has your partner ever choked you?” and “Has your partner ever threatened you with a weapon?” If the victim answers questions a certain way, they are considered at high risk for death. If they screen into this category, the first responder immediately places a phone call to a domestic violence agency.
The Lethality Assessment Program is an evidence-based intimate partner homicide prevention model honored as a “promising practice” by the U.S. Department of Justice, and has been studied and validated.
