FAP is an excellent resource for families experiencing child abuse and domestic abuse. FAP provides prevention efforts, early identification and intervention, support for victims, and treatment for offenders. FAP is responsible for ensuring victim safety and access to support and advocacy services as well as ensuring that offenders receive appropriate intervention and treatment services. FAP programs and services are available to service members, their spouses/intimate partners, and children. Contact information for local FAP programs can be found using MilitaryINSTALLATIONS. FAP staff work with military command, military law enforcement personnel, medical staff, family center personnel and chaplains, as well as civilian organizations and agencies, to provide a coordinated response to family maltreatment involving service members.

Every installation that supports families has a FAP program to provide the following services:

Prevention - FAP provides, sponsors, and coordinates a broad range of activities designed to prevent abuse and promote positive family relationships.  Prevention initiatives are often co-coordinated or sponsored with family centers, chaplains, and medical clinics as well as through partnerships with local civilian agencies.  Prevention initiatives range from public awareness and education efforts to couples' counseling and classes addressing topics such as effective communication, stress management and parenting.   

Identification - Through education materials, public awareness initiatives, and training programs, FAP educates command personnel and military families to recognize signs of possible child abuse and domestic abuse; acknowledge the importance of early intervention; and understand basic DoD policies regarding identifying, reporting, assessing, and intervening in cases of suspected abuse.

Assessment - FAP conducts clinical assessments of the individual and family dynamics in cases of suspected child and domestic abuse to determine the most appropriate treatment recommendations.  Given that the co-occurrence of child abuse and domestic abuse is fairly high, FAP assesses families for both forms of abuse.  In addition, FAP ensures that the appropriate law enforcement and child protective service agencies are notified.  FAP also attends the multidisciplinary committee meeting, which is charged with reviewing the facts in suspected reports to determine whether abuse meets criteria for inclusion in the Service and DoD Central Registries. 

Support for victims - Safety planning is of primary importance for victims and is often followed by support services including crisis intervention, referrals to shelters, victim advocacy services, and support groups.

Treatment for abusers - The primary goal of treatment is to help the abuser recognize that his or her behavior is unacceptable and to develop alternatives.  FAP utilizes treatment modalities that are supported by current research on child abuse and domestic abuse intervention.  Treatment recommendations are based on the results of the clinical assessment of the individual and family, and are tailored to their unique needs.  Intervention modalities may include psychosocial educational classes, such as parenting or anger management; individual counseling; couples counseling; family counseling; or group counseling.