Community Safety Interventions with ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ/Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Domestic Violence, Danger Assessment, Tribal Law
This ongoing, multiphase project began in the Appalachian Justice Research Lab with the development of an in-depth report examining community context, legal and healthcare infrastructure, and best practices for responding to domestic violence.
The report informed the second phase of the project: the development of a domestic violence risk assessment tool. Drawing on existing assessment materials and an extensive literature review, the research team developed a novel, three-phase toolkit focused on the individual causing harm. The tool is designed to identify immediate safety concerns for survivors, inform release conditions, and explore future intervention pathways while accounting for structural stressors that may shape risk and safety. Through an iterative collaboration between university and community researchers, the tool has reached its final version and is nearing community implementation.
The current phase of the project involves the evaluation of this novel tool, with attention to psychometric properties, predictive validity, and community perspectives on cultural relevance, feasibility, and implementation.
The project team is led by Michelle Brown (Sociology), Professor Donna Coker (University of Miami Law), Freida Saylor (Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority), Michelle Frerich (CIHA), Maggie Jackson (CIHA), and Judge Sunshine Parker (The Cherokee Court).