This paper summarizes the second phase of ETA, the Evaluation of Technology-based Advocacy Services project.
The study concludes that digital hotlines are a highly effective and relatively low-cost intervention that can improve health and safety and reduce violence and financial instability. In this mixed-methods longitudinal study in two Texas programs, digital hotlines were found to be effective at addressing survivor needs and implemented with high levels of fidelity to a trauma informed, survivor-centered, and accessible service model. Further, the role of hotlines as an access point to additional services means that service benefits can be expanded via additional resource access. Hotlines, in both phone and digital (chat and text) formats, are critical first points for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault (SA), and human trafficking (HT) to access information and support, mitigate violence impacts, and improve safety. Despite recent increasing use of chat and text for hotlines in community-based agencies serving survivors of violence, there has been little research on the outcomes and participant experiences of digital hotline modalities. In order to address this gap, researchers first conducted a formative evaluation of a digital hotline in Austin, Texas, with a 2018 Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)/National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant (2018-ZD-CX-0004). The project, Evaluation of Technology-assisted Advocacy (ETA) was a mixed-methods, practitioner/researcher partnership that 1) described service participant and staff experience; 2) descriptively examined digital (chat/text) hotline services; and 3) articulated the model of digital hotline services, goals, activities, expected outcomes, and clear indicators of model fidelity. In this next phase, the research team built on phase one findings by conducting a rigorous process and outcome evaluation of digital hotline services for survivors of IPV, SA, and HT at two Texas agencies providing hotline services. Future study is needed to understand the comparative benefits of hotlines and to understand longer term impacts.