The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Data Collection System In early 1996, Virginians Against Domestic Violence (VADV), Virginians Aligned Against Sexual Assault (VAASA), the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) met to discuss the issue of data collection among domestic violence programs and sexual assault centers. These four agencies collectively agreed that their data collection systems provided only the barest minimum of information about numbers of victims and services provided and had a number of problems which limited the ability of this data to provide truly useful information about violence against women in Virginia. The four agencies agreed to apply for V-STOP funding to initiate an integrated statewide data collection system for domestic violence programs and sexual assault centers. They agreed that VADV would be the lead agency for the project, would apply for the grant, and would provide staff support. All four agencies agreed to enter into cooperative agreements for the development of the project, called VAdata. The Department of Criminal Justice Services awarded funding, and the VAdata project began in April 1996. Domestic Violence Programs and Sexual Assault Centers across Virginia participated in the development and piloting of each phase of VAdata, and in April 1999 agencies across the state began using the system on a pilot basis. By October of 1999, VAdata was the official data collection tool used by the majority of domestic violence programs and sexual assault centers. A multidisciplinary Advisory Committee guides the coalitions on issues related to the future of VAdata and is responsible for the development and publication of statewide reports. The first statewide report highlighting some of the important findings of the first six months of data was published in October, 2000. In 2001, VAASA will form an additional committee to develop protocols related to research requests and VAdata. Click here to return to VAdata Home Page