SECTION 75:25-3-1. Batterers intervention program

(a)   Each certified batterer intervention program shall have the policy, procedures, staffing, training, operational methods and facilities to meet the following requirements:

(1)   Batterers intervention programs are educational programs based on a model of power and control designed to encourage batterers to end violent and coercive behaviors in their relationships by challenging their belief systems and holding them accountable for their behavior.

(2)   Program focus shall be victim safety and batterer accountability. The service shall be based on non-victim blaming strategies.

(3)   Batterers intervention shall not be confused with anger control or management, substance abuse treatment and/or mental health treatment.

(4)   Services shall be provided in a facility with offices available for private individual and group sessions.

(5)   Services shall be provided to self-referred, court-referred, or Department of Human Services referred batterers. Group services shall be the primary modality.

(6)   Groups shall not provide substance abuse treatment and batterers intervention in the same program; batterers who have substance abuse issues need to be referred for separate substance abuse services.

(7)   The majority of group session time should be focused on the subject abuse itself, and not on peripheral problems, past victimization experienced by the batterer, self-actualization, sensitivity training, or any other theme not directly related to abuse.

(8)   Facilitators shall challenge minimization, denial and blame. These are tactics used by the batterer to justify the use of violence.

(9)   Batterers shall be held accountable for their behavior; BIP facilitators shall report new offenses to the court.

(b)   The goal of the batterer's intervention program is to end the batterer's abusive behavior. This shall be achieved by confronting and dispelling the individual batterer's justifications for the use of violence within the relationship. Particular attention shall be paid to the belief systems that promote the use of intimidation, violence and coercion against intimate partners and children. Theories or methods which attribute to the victim any responsibility for the batterer's behavior or diminish the batterer's responsibility for the violence are inappropriate. Education shall be provided to the batterer utilizing written curriculum specifically developed for batterers intervention that comprehensively addresses, at a minimum:

(1)   abuse and violence as a form of control, and an explanation of the need to give up all forms of controlling and coercive behavior;

(2)   a detailed explanation of the range of abusive power and control behaviors, including coercive behavior, chronic verbal abuse, economic abuse, sexual abuse/mistreatment, psychological/mental abuse, physical abuse, abuse of animals, and use of the children as weapons;

(3)   support for and perpetuation of abuse are based on traditional gender roles and privilege.

(4)   non-abusive communication techniques;

(5)   effective coping strategies;

(6)   the impact of battering on children and the incompatibility of violence and abuse with responsible parenting;

(7)   the batterer must be able to identify all abusive conduct, the pattern of that conduct, and the culture which legitimizes or excuses both individual acts and the larger pattern of battering. This may include but not be limited to accepting personal as well as financial responsibility for child support, court costs, restitution, and BIP related costs;

(8)   developing healthy relationships; including techniques for achieving non-abusive, non-controlling attitudes and behavior.

(9)   non-abusive behavior planning for the prevention of violent, controlling and abusive behavior;

(10)   effects of domestic violence on victims from a victim perspective, and

(11)   the potential consequences of domestic violence to the batterer.

(c)   Inappropriate Methods of Intervention. The following methods have been determined to be inadequate and/or inappropriate, and shall not be the focus of intervention:

(1)   therapy, whether psycho-dynamic, individual or group;

(2)   communication enhancement, anger management or stress management techniques that blame anger as the root cause of domestic violence;

(3)   systems theory approaches that treat domestic violence as a result of mutual actions of the victim and batterer, thereby attributing some responsibility to the victim;

(4)   addiction counseling models that identify domestic violence as an addiction;

(5)   gradual containment and de-escalation of domestic violence;

(6)   theories that identify poor impulse control as the primary cause of domestic violence;

(7)   methods that identify psychopathology on either parties' part as a primary cause of domestic violence; and

(d)   Services shall be provided during hours which make them available for clients whose work hours are between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

(e)   The program shall maintain admission criteria for batterers intervention services.

(f)   The program shall provide individual assessment sessions and group sessions.

(g)   Service policy shall not permit the substitution of individual sessions/counseling appointments for group participation except in a situation where only one batterer of a gender has been accepted into the program.

(h)   Group sizes shall be limited to not less than two (2) and not more than sixteen (16) clients.

(i)   Exit criteria shall be contingent on the satisfactory meeting of specific criteria by the participant, and not merely upon the end of a specified period of time or a specified number of sessions.

(j)   Joint participation shall not be allowed of the victim as part of batterers intervention.

(k)   Male and female batterers shall not be served in the same group or session.

(l)   The program shall maintain an annually renewed service agreement with appropriate referral sources such as, but not limited to:

(1)   substance abuse;

(2)   mental health services; and

(3)   local OAG-certified domestic violence victim services.

(m)   In the case of court referred clients, the program shall develop a written policy for coordinating with and reporting to the court, judge, probation officer, child welfare worker and/or district attorney.

(n)   In the case of non-court referred clients, the program shall develop a written policy for reporting client information, including but not limited to, assessment results, participation in services, reason for exit and concerns related to the safety of the victims or children.

(o)   If other services for the batterer are necessary, appropriate referrals shall be made for such issues, including but not limited to mental health and/or substance abuse issues.

(p)   Certified batterer intervention programs shall not be less than 52 weeks in duration. The 52 weekly group sessions shall be no less than ninety (90) minutes in length. Completion of a batterer's intervention program requires at a minimum 52 weekly attended sessions as well as a favorable evaluation from the program.

(q)   The batterer's intervention program shall not allow three (3) absences in succession or a total of seven (7) absences in a period of fifty-two (52) weeks. The batterer shall be terminated from the program as per 21 O.S. § 644 and the court or other referring party shall be notified of the termination. Exceptions are:

(1)   Hospitalization or medical restriction from attending program session(s) (verified by proper medical documentation).

(2)   Military Duty (verified by proper military documentation).

(r)   If the batterer is terminated for any reason as set forth herein, the batterer shall be required to obtain a new assessment and commence a new fifty-two (52) week program. No credit for prior program attendance shall be allowed. Termination from a program terminates any and all credits accumulated by said batterer.

(s)   Compliance with 75:25-3-1 shall be determined by a review of program policy and procedures; client records; service agreements, and other program documentation.

[Source: Added at 27 Ok Reg 1723, eff 7-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1923, eff 7-11-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1770, eff 8-11-12; Amended at 33 Ok Reg 1219, eff 9-11-16; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 871, eff 9-14-18]