What Is Georgia’s Family Violence Intervention Program?

Georgia’s Family Violence Intervention Program is a court-ordered group education program that nearly every person sentenced for a family violence offense in the state must complete. It runs a minimum of 24 weekly classes of 90 minutes each, costs the participant roughly $25 to $60 per session, and is typically imposed as a condition of probation, which means dropping out can send you to jail. Programs are certified by the Georgia Department of Community Supervision under standards set by the Georgia Commission on Family Violence.¹

When a Judge Will Order You Into FVIP

Participation is not something judges weigh on the merits of each case. Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-16, a court sentencing a defendant for a family violence offense, revoking probation for one, or issuing a family violence protective order shall order the defendant into a certified FVIP. The only way out is a judge who specifically finds on the record that participation is not appropriate.²

The same rule binds the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. If someone violates parole on a family violence conviction, the Board must require FVIP unless it documents a reason not to.²

Protective orders deserve their own note. Even if a criminal case is dismissed or ends in acquittal, a civil family violence protective order against you is itself enough to trigger FVIP under the same statute.²

What the Program Looks Like Week to Week

FVIP is a group program, not individual counseling. You attend one 90-minute class per week for a minimum of 24 weeks. The rules do not let you double up to finish faster: no more than one class per week counts, so six months is the floor and any missed session pushes the finish date out.¹

The sessions use cognitive-behavioral techniques to challenge thinking patterns that contribute to violent behavior, through structured discussions and exercises on the impact of a participant’s actions.

Every program has to be certified by the Department of Community Supervision, and every person who leads a class has to be individually certified as a facilitator. Trainees complete an approved training program before they are allowed to co-lead, and all facilitators carry continuing education requirements.¹ O.C.G.A. 19-13-14 gives the Department authority to deny, suspend, or revoke a program’s certification for failing to meet those standards.³ You will need to attend one of the programs on the Department’s certified list; a general anger-management class or private therapy does not satisfy the order.

At enrollment, you sign a contract agreeing to immediately stop all violence and abuse toward the victim and others, and to respect any effort by the victim to leave the relationship.⁴

What It Will Cost You

You pay for the program. O.C.G.A. 19-13-16 puts the cost on the participant unless the court declares you indigent, in which case the program charges on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.² The sliding scale lowers the per-session rate; it does not waive the fee entirely.

The Georgia Commission on Family Violence reports that classes average $25 to $30 per session, and the maximum any certified program is allowed to charge is $60 per class.⁵ Across the 24-session minimum, that puts a typical total between $600 and $1,440.

What Happens If You Don’t Finish

Because FVIP is almost always a condition of probation, failing to complete it triggers a probation violation proceeding under O.C.G.A. 42-8-34.1. What the court can do to you depends on how the FVIP requirement was written into your sentencing order.

If FVIP participation was imposed as a general condition of probation and you violated it without committing a new felony, the court first has to consider alternatives to incarceration: community service, a probation detention center, special alternative incarceration, or similar options. If those alternatives are not suitable, the court can revoke probation and order up to two years in confinement or the remaining balance of your probation, whichever is shorter.⁶

If FVIP participation was written in as a special condition of probation, the ceiling disappears. For a special condition violation, the court can revoke probation and require you to serve the full remaining balance of your original sentence in custody.⁶ Look at your sentencing order and know which one applies to you before you miss a class.

How the Victim Fits In

Victims are kept outside the FVIP process. Programs cannot allow a victim to attend or participate in classes, and they cannot require any participation from the victim.⁴ Any contact a program has with the victim runs through a paid, subcontracted victim liaison rather than through FVIP staff, unless staff have a legal duty to warn of immediate danger.

When a participant finishes the program, the FVIP must notify the referring court, the Department of Community Supervision (if involved), and the victim through the liaison within four calendar days. A termination for violence or threats of violence triggers immediate notification; terminations for other reasons must be reported within two calendar days.¹ If you walk away, the people with authority over your sentence know within days.

What Counts as “Family Violence” in the First Place

The reason FVIP catches people off guard is that Georgia defines family violence more broadly than most expect. Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-1, it covers any felony between qualifying household members, plus a specific list of misdemeanors: battery, simple battery, simple assault, assault, stalking, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint, and criminal trespass.⁷

Who counts as a household member is just as important. The statute reaches past and present spouses, parents and children (including step and foster relationships), people who share a child, and anyone who lives or previously lived in the same household.⁷ The same shove between strangers is simple battery; between roommates or ex-spouses it is family violence, and FVIP comes with it. Reasonable corporal punishment by a parent toward a child is carved out of the definition and does not trigger the program.

1
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Chapter 105-3 – Family Violence Intervention Program
2
Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-16 – Mandatory Participation, Cost for Participation
3
Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-14 – Standards and Requirements for Certification
4
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Subject 125-4-9 – Family Violence Intervention Program
5
Georgia Commission on Family Violence. What Are Family Violence Intervention Programs?
6
Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-34.1 – Revocation of Probated or Suspended Sentence, Alternative Sentencing, Burden of Proof, Length of Probation Supervision
7
Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-1 – Family Violence Defined