New York Domestic Violence Coordination Framework
Comprehensive DV partnership and integration guidance for agencies across New York State.
New York: Interagency Coordination and Ecosystem Overview
Regional Structure and Context
New York’s domestic violence service ecosystem is shaped by dense urban systems in the New York City metropolitan area and more dispersed, mixed rural-suburban contexts in upstate regions. Agencies coordinating across the state typically work within county, multi-county, or city-based networks, while also aligning with statewide coalitions and funder requirements.
For operational planning, partners commonly distinguish three overlapping coordination zones:
- NYC Metro: The five boroughs, Long Island, and lower Hudson Valley counties with high system density and extensive multi-agency infrastructure.
- Downstate (beyond NYC): Suburban and exurban counties with growing regional consortia and mixed-capacity agencies.
- Upstate: Smaller cities, towns, and rural areas with leaner provider networks, broader service catchment areas, and more cross-role staffing expectations.
NYC Metro Ecosystem
The NYC metro area operates within a mature, high-volume ecosystem that includes municipal agencies, large multi-service nonprofits, hospital systems, legal services providers, specialized culturally specific organizations, and housing partners. Coordination typically relies on formal networks, citywide initiatives, and shared protocols across multiple disciplines.
Key operational features in NYC metro coordination models include:
- Centralized referral pathways through coordinated entry points, 311, and structured interagency referral agreements.
- Co-located and embedded services, such as legal and social work staff stationed in courthouses, hospitals, and community-based centers.
- Issue-specific task forces (e.g., language access, economic stability, technology abuse) that create shared tools and practice guidelines.
- Formalized program partnerships between DV organizations, housing providers, and employment or benefits programs.
Upstate and Downstate Differences
Outside the NYC metro core, downstate and upstate agencies often work within more limited resource environments, but with longer-standing local relationships and cross-sector collaboration. Coordination frameworks should account for the following regional differences:
- Service density: Fewer specialized programs may serve broader geographic areas, requiring flexible eligibility, mobile services, and virtual coordination.
- Transportation and access: Travel distances, limited public transit, and weather constraints can affect appointment models, outreach strategies, and warm handoff procedures.
- Workforce capacity: Staff may hold multiple program roles, which affects data entry practices, supervision structures, and training expectations.
- Cross-system reliance: Courts, law enforcement, health systems, and social services offices may serve as primary contact points and information hubs.
In practice, many upstate and non-NYC downstate agencies develop regional consortia or county-based teams that share training, protocols, and referral tools suitable for mixed urban-rural service areas.
Large Multi-Agency Coalitions
New York hosts multiple large coalitions and collaborative structures at city, regional, and statewide levels. These coalitions typically include direct service providers, legal and health partners, government agencies, funders, and research institutions.
Common functions of large multi-agency coalitions include:
- Policy and systems coordination: Reviewing proposed policy changes, funding shifts, or system redesigns and developing coordinated responses.
- Standards and practice alignment: Creating shared definitions, screening practices, referral criteria, and documentation expectations.
- Training and capacity-building: Organizing shared training calendars, standardized curricula, and coordinated technical assistance.
- Data and evaluation collaboration: Developing common indicators, outcome measures, and shared reporting frameworks.
Coalition Participation Models
Agencies in New York commonly encounter the following coalition participation models:
- Open membership coalitions: Broad networks that invite all interested organizations to participate, with tiered participation expectations (e.g., mailing list, working groups, leadership roles).
- Invitation or MOU-based collaboratives: Targeted partnerships with signed memoranda of understanding detailing roles, data practices, and decision-making processes.
- Project-specific consortia: Time-limited alliances created for particular grants, pilot programs, or demonstration projects.
When joining or forming large coalitions, partners often define participation tiers, decision-making procedures, and data-sharing parameters at the outset to ensure clear expectations across varied regions and agency sizes.
Data Integration Expectations
Data integration in New York is shaped by overlapping requirements from government funders, city and state agencies, and private funders. Agencies are often expected to participate in one or more shared data systems or standardized reporting formats, particularly in the NYC metro area.
Common integration expectations include:
- Use of shared platforms for housing, legal, or social services tracking, with defined workflows for referrals and program enrollment.
- Standardized data elements such as demographic fields, service episode definitions, and program-level outcome indicators.
- Routine data quality checks including validation rules, periodic audits, and reconciliation across multiple databases.
- Cross-agency reporting cycles aligned to city, state, or federal funder timelines.
Data-Sharing Frameworks
Multi-agency collaborations in New York typically employ structured data-sharing frameworks that may include:
- Multi-party data use agreements defining permissible data flows, permitted uses, aggregation standards, and governance mechanisms.
- Role-based access approaches that differentiate between front-line users, supervisors, data managers, and evaluators.
- De-identified or aggregated data exchanges for research, evaluation, and systems-planning purposes.
- Secure transfer protocols for periodic data uploads, exports, and cross-system reconciliation.
Agencies aligning with these frameworks frequently coordinate with their IT, compliance, and data teams to ensure that participation in shared systems is operationally feasible across both NYC metro and non-metro sites.
Alignment Across NYC Metro, Downstate, and Upstate
Statewide initiatives often require alignment across very different operational environments. Coordinators designing multi-region projects in New York commonly consider:
- Flexible implementation models that set shared standards but allow region-specific processes (e.g., different intake pathways or scheduling practices).
- Tiered participation structures recognizing that some agencies can support deeper data integration or leadership roles, while others participate primarily through referrals and shared tools.
- Regional representation in governance ensuring that NYC metro, downstate, and upstate perspectives are formally included in steering groups and advisory committees.
- Resource balancing strategies that account for concentrated capacity in the NYC metro area and more limited infrastructure upstate.
Statewide Coordination and External Resources
Statewide bodies, funders, and technical assistance providers frequently convene cross-region workgroups, learning collaboratives, and pilot projects. These structures support shared standards while allowing for region-specific adaptations. Additional coordination resources, toolkits, and examples of multi-region models are available through the broader ecosystem hosted at DV.Support.