

BISC-MI has provided conferences for many years with internationally recognized faculty

1994
BISC was formed in July of 1994 when the staff of First Step’s Violence Intervention Project (Canton, MI) met with the staff of Catholic Social Service of Washtenaw County’s Alternatives to Domestic Aggression Program (Ann Arbor, MI) to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. BISC’s membership grew rapidly, primarily with people who work with batterer intervention services and battered women’s services organizations.

1996
May 1996 BISC (Batterer Intervention Services Coalition) held the FIRST Michigan Statewide Conference on batterer intervention and state standards. The conference was held at Higgins Lake, McMullen Conference Center. As a result, BISC-MI (Batterer Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan) was initiated in November 1996, pulling together the efforts of all six regions of Michigan. Angela Essick-Dykes and David Garvin were also elected Co-Chairs of BISC-MI, Sue Doyle elected Treasurer, Kat Laprise elected Secretary.

1997
April 1997 we hosted our SECOND annual Statewide Conference at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan.
May 1997 Governor John Engler formed the “Governor’s Task Force on Batterer Intervention Services Standards.” Governor Engler named as Co-chairs Shannon Brower, who was the Chair of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, and David Garvin, who at that time was a Co-Chair of BISC-MI.
BISC-MI’s membership continued to grow rapidly. Membership included people and agencies who work in batterer intervention services, battered women’s services organizations, and those involved in a coordinated community response to domestic violence.

1998
April 1998 we hosted our THIRD annual Statewide Conference at the McGuire’s Resort in Cadillac, Michigan Featuring: Donald Dutton, Ph.D. and Creel Froman, Ph.D.

1999
March 1999 we hosted our FOURTH annual Statewide Conference at the McGuire’s Resort in Cadillac, Michigan Featuring: Paul Kivel and Ann Ganley, Ph.D.

2000
March 2000 we hosted our FIFTH annual Statewide Conference at the Valley Plaza Resort in Midland, Michigan Featuring: Jacquelyn Campbell Ph.D., RN, FAAN.

2001
March 2001 we hosted our SIXTH annual Statewide Conference at the Kewadin Convention Center in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Featuring: Ellen Pence, Ph.D.

2002
March 2002 we hosted our SEVENTH annual Statewide Conference at the Holiday Inn in Dearborn, Michigan. The featured speakers included Ed Gondolf, Dr. Oliver J. Williams, Executive Director of The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, Denise Brown, and Michigan’s Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus.

2003
March 2003 we hosted our EIGHTH annual Statewide Conference at the Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Michigan Featuring Jackson Katz.
Elections were held and the following were named as officers: David J.H. Garvin as Chair Elect, Peaty Hershberger as Treasurer and Michael Snyder-Barker as Communications Coordinator.
Also, Deb Crandall was placed into the office of Past Chair and Stephan Scoggins was moved into the office of Chair.

2003
November 2003: Fifth Annual Fall Training “Domestic Violence and Anger Management: Knowing the Difference Can Save Lives” Web Based Handouts by David J. H. Garvin.

2004
May 2004 we hosted our NINTH annual Statewide Conference at Best Western Midway Hotel in Lansing, Michigan Featuring: Lundy Bancroft.
BISC-MI’s Ninth Annual Conference “Batterers as Fathers and Sons: Featuring Lundy Bancroft”. May 12 through 14, 2004.
Click here for Lundy Bancrofts PowerPoint presentation
Click here for the Beverly Black PowerPoint presentation
Click here for the Arlene Weisz PowerPoint presentation
Click here for the Poco Kernsmith and Roger Kernsmith PowerPoint presentation
At the business meeting of the 9th Annual conference the membership was asked to review a position paper on the need for a major restructuring of BISC-MI.
Click here for the web version of the position paper.
Click here for a pdf. copy of the handout.
There was unanimous support in favor of the request to keep the current officers:
David J.H. Garvin as Chair,
Peaty Hershberger as Treasurer and
Michael Snyder-Barker as Communications Coordinator
as well as the current representatives in place while we proceed with the necessary changes.

2004
November 2004:
BISC-MI’s Sixth Annual Fall Training
“Safety and Custody Issues In Domestic Violence: Understanding the Law is Key To Our Work With Batterers”


2005
November 2005
BISC-MI Celebrated its 10th Anniversary by hosting an international conference on Batterer Intervention.
Click here for information on the TENTH Annual BISC-MI Conference.
This conference was entitled, FROM ROOTS TO WINGS: The Future of Batterer Intervention.
This was an international conference and was attended by 545 people from around the world.


2006
Traumatology
November 2006 we hosted our ELEVENTH Annual BISC-MI Conference
Featuring
Dr. Peter Jaffe PhD, C. Psych.
Dr. David Lisak, Ph.D.
Rus Ervin Funk

2007
A Call To Men
2007 Spring Training: A Call To Men April 20, 2007
Featuring: Ted Bunch


2012
Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) Contact with Survivors: Ethics, Risks, Complications and Strategies
April 13th, 2012 Lansing, Michigan
Click Here for additional Information
Topic: Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) Contact with Survivors: Ethics, Risks, Complications and Strategies Summary: Survivor contact for a BIP is deceptively complicated. Michigan standards stipulate the: “BIP should have a policy and procedure for informing victims about the program. The BIP must caution the victim that the batterer intervention service does not guarantee the victim’s safety, nor that the batterer will change. In addition, the BIP must provide information and referrals to the victim. Victims always have the right to refuse contact with the BIP”. The ethics, risks, complications and possible strategies of HOW this is conducted will be discussed and illustrated throughout the day.

2011
Stone Soup
November 4th, 2011
Okemos, Michigan
Conference website

2011
Reverberations of Domestic Violence
National Conference
April 13, 14, and 15, 2011
The 16th Annual BISC-MI Conference
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Conference website
Conference materials
Conference pictures


2010
The Lethality Equation: Personality Issues among Domestic and Sexual Assailants
Date: Friday, April 23, 2010
Featuring popular speaker and former FBI Profiler Craig N. Ackley
CONFERENCE LOCATION: Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus
28123 Orchard Lake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48834-3738
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

2009
Coordinated Community Responses to Domestic Violence, Are They Effective?
The 14th Annual BISC-MI Fall Conference
click here for more info
Conference
Offering a faculty of 40 experts from around the country
November 4, 5, 6, 2009
A partnership of Batterer Intervention Services Coalition of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women

2009
Getting Out, or Coming Home
Safe Return Initiative: A Michigan Symposium on Prisoner Re-Entry and Domestic Violence
Wednesday August 19, 2009 Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Detroit Michigan
BISC-MI partnered this event along with
The Michigan Department of Corrections,
The Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board,
and The Institute on Domestic Violence in The African American Community

2008
Shifting The Paradigm: Strategies for Addressing Batterers as Fathers
BISC-MI’s 13th Annual Conference September 17, 18, 19, 2008
Beautiful Northern Michigan at Shanty Creek Resorts
Bellaire, Michigan
Over 320 registrants from 25 States and the United Kingdom were in attendance

2017
Miles To Go
Domestic Violence Perpetration at the Core: Simultaneously Advancing Accountability and Healing
The BISC-MI 22nd Annual Conference
November 1-3, 2017
at Motor City Casino and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan
Conference website

2017
Stone Soup 2017


2015
Stone Soup Gathering 2015

2014
Countering the Backlash: A Practitioners Conversation on Unraveling Evidence Based Practice
November 21, 2014
Jackson, Michigan
Location: Lifeway’s, 1200 NW Ave, Jackson, MI 49202
BIPSCC Credits: 6
Training Agenda Countering the Backlash November 2014
Training webpage

2021
Addressing Sexualized Violence and Respectful Sexuality with Those Who Choose to Abuse
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm-3:00 pm EST, 12:00 pm-2:00 pm CT, 11:00 am-1:00 pm MT, 10:00 am-12:00 pm PT
Cost: Free

2020
The Annual Conference was cancelled due to COVID19
Do Battering Intervention Programs Work?
What the research says and doesn’t say
Participants limited to the first 500 on the call
July 14, 2020
Eric Mankowski, Ph.D. & Chris Huffine, Psy.D.,
Hosted by the Tri-County Batterer Intervention Provider Network (TCBIPN) in partnership with BISC-MI.

2019
Kaleidoscope: Focusing the Prism of Battering Intervention Programs
2019 International Conference
Dates: November 20-22, 2019

2018
Engaging Faith for Safety & Accountability
The BISC-MI 23rd Annual Conference
November 14-16, 2018
at Radisson Hotel Lansing at The Capitol in Lansing, Michigan
Conference website

2021
From Theory to Practice: Focusing on Sexualized Abuse, Sexual Respect, and Sexual Health in Battering Intervention Programs
25th Annual BISC-MI Conference
Dates: November 17, 18, 19, 2021

2022
26th Annual BISC-MI Conference
Innovative Practices in Battering Intervention Programs: How Can We Do Better?
Dates: October 25, 26, 27, 2022

2023
27th Annual BISC-MI Conference
The Complexity of Change: Inspiring Transformational Change in Our Participants, Programs, Selves, and Communities
Dates: November 7, 8, 9, 2023