MOCJ Programs

Abusive Partner Intervention Program

Accountability-based intervention for New Yorkers facing charges related to domestic violence.

The Abusive Partner Intervention Program (APIP) is a transformative domestic violence pilot program designed to address domestic and intimate partner violence (IPV) through education, empowerment for behavior change, and accountability.

Partner PROGRAMS & ORGANIZATIONS

Services Provided & Focus Domains

Court Advocacy
Trauma‑
informed counseling
Intensive 1:1 Case Management
Group Workshops
Travel
Stipends
Stabilization Services
Referrals to Wraparound Services
Impact & Highlights
Referrals per year
Launched

What is APIP?

APIP is a court-mandated and community-based education initiative supporting victims of domestic violence. MOCJ contracts with service providers to deliver educational programming across the five boroughs, aiming to decrease recidivism and support survivors by changing abusive behaviors.

Program Snapshot

  • Programming Tracks: 16-week or 26-week sessions, determined by court mandates.
  • Curricula:
    • Dignity and Respect, designed for for male-identifying participants
    • Turning Points, designed for female-identifying participants

Note: Both curricula are offered during the 16-week and 26-week tracks.

Program Details

APIP courses are offered free of charge to male, female, and gender-expansive participants that have an open domestic violence case in Criminal Court or Supreme Court, in any of the five boroughs, and have been offered the program as a plea deal or mandated by a judge. In some cases, they can be referred via other sources, such as probation or service providers.


APIP participants, including those with high or low risk scores, are enrolled in either a 16- or 26-week curriculum, as determined by a judge. The curriculum focuses on four levels of accountability and change in a person’s life:

  • Accountability for self,
  • Accountability for intimate partner relationships,
  • Accountability for family, and
  • Accountability for community.

All enrolled participants receive APIP court advocacy services, group programming, one-on-one case management, and additional support services as needed to help prevent recidivism.

The comprehensive curriculum, developed in collaboration with the Center for Justice Innovation (CJI), is conducted by experienced group facilitators who work with participants to identify violent or harmful behavior. Facilitators examine how trauma may have contributed to participants’ actions, and offer support with cognitive and behavioral strategies.

By the end of each course, participants build new skills to develop healthy and non-violent relationships. APIP is offered to clients on weekdays and weekends, and during day and evening times via virtual and in-person workshops.

Additionally, there are voluntary APIP programs made available through the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV). You can learn more about those options by visiting the ENDGBV website.

Who It’s For

  • Individuals mandated by judges or probation
  • Serves people with non-violent and violent domestic violence-related misdemeanor, felony, or violation charges
  • Located citywide

Eligibility and Referral Guide

Eligibility

An individual may be eligible if they meet all of the following criteria:

  • 18 years or older; AND
  • Currently or previously charged with a domestic violence-related misdemeanor, felony, or violation matter in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, or Staten Island, and one of the following applies:
    • The case is open, and the individual is mandated and referred by a judge, OR
    • The individual is mandated through probation, OR
    • The individual is referred (voluntarily) pre-plea, post-plea or post-sentence by a judge or an attorney; AND
  • Assessed as appropriate for community-based-intervention; AND
  • Willing to engage in program services and comply with program conditions; AND
  • No New York Criminal Penal Law (CPL) charge exclusions.

*Jurisdictional Notes: If the individual resides in a different borough from where their case is in court or is out of state, they will be referred to the APIP provider in the borough where their court case is handled.

Referrals

While APIP is primarily a court-mandated program and the majority of referrals come from a judge or an attorney, referral sources can include the following:

  • Judges
  • Attorneys, including a defense attorney or prosecutor
  • Probation Officers
  • DOC Counselors and Correctional Health staff
  • Family, community members, and service providers
  • Self-referred individuals
  • Programs such as Respect First and Respect and Responsibility (Funded by ENDGBV)

Partner Organizations

MOCJ’s Community Innovations Team manages citywide APIP programming. Services are delivered through community-based providers in each borough. Here’s a list of APIP providers contracted for 2025-2027, following a competitive solicitation and RFP completed by MOCJ in 2024. Providers can be contacted directly for referrals using the following information:

  1. Manhattan: The Fortune Society
  2. Brooklyn: Empower Assistance Care (EAC) Network
  3. The Bronx: The Osborne Association
  4. Queens: The Fortune Society
  5. Staten Island: Empower Assistance Care (EAC) Network

In Northern Manhattan (primarily Harlem) and the Bronx, we offer survivor-centered crisis response and stabilization services through We All Really Matter (WARM), a provider subcontracted under Osborne.

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