A batterer intervention program (BIP) is judged on one record more than any other: did this participant attend every required session across a 26- or 52-week curriculum, and did the court and probation hear about it on time? Weekly rolling groups, several facilitators, make-up sessions, and fee balances make that record hard to keep on paper. Gaps tend to surface at the worst moment, when a court asks for proof.
This guide is for BIP directors and coordinators considering batterer intervention program software. It covers what to track, the questions to ask vendors, and how to test a product against your own curriculum.
What a BIP record has to show
- Enrollment: referral source, court, case details, the required number of sessions, and the start date.
- Session-by-session attendance for every week of the curriculum, with who facilitated and any notes.
- Absences and make-ups, recorded so a reviewer can see which session was missed and when it was made up.
- Communications sent to the court or probation: enrollment letters, progress reports, non-compliance notices, completion letters.
- Fees: what was charged, paid, and still owed.
Your state's standards decide the curriculum length, absence limits, and what must be reported. Software should hold those facts cleanly. It should not decide them for you.
Questions to ask BIP software vendors
Can it schedule a full recurring curriculum?
Ask the vendor to set up a weekly group that runs 26 or 52 weeks, with holidays skipped, and to enroll a participant partway through. Rolling enrollment is normal in BIP. The software should handle it without a new group for each start date.
How is attendance captured and protected?
Look for three-state attendance (attended, absent, not yet marked), bulk marking of a whole roster, and self check-in at a kiosk that captures a signature with a timestamp. A signed, timestamped check-in holds up much better than a paper sheet when attendance is disputed. Session notes should attach to the specific session.
How are make-up sessions handled?
Ask the vendor to record an absence and then schedule a make-up, and to show how both appear in the attendance report. Staff should still review the original absence and record their decision. The software keeps the trail.
Can it generate court letters without Word?
Template-based documents that merge participant and case details (name, court, case number, sessions attended) save hours each week. Ask for a history of every document generated so you can answer "what did we send and when?"
Does it support more than one location?
Many BIP providers run groups in several cities. Check that locations, facilitators, and kiosks can be set up per site while reporting rolls up across the organization.
How are fees collected?
Fee schedules, balances, and online card payments through a participant portal cut down on cash handling and front-desk calls. Ask which payment methods staff can take and which participants can use themselves.
What about alerts and reminders?
Most programs want automatic reminders and no-show alerts. Ask how they are set up, what triggers them, and who receives them. COPS includes automated alerts and reminders, and absences and unmarked sessions also surface in attendance reports for staff to act on.
A quick scorecard
| Need | What "meets" looks like |
|---|---|
| Curriculum scheduling | Recurring weekly groups, holidays, rolling enrollment |
| Attendance evidence | Three-state, bulk roster, kiosk signature with timestamp, session notes |
| Make-ups | Absence and make-up both visible in reports |
| Court communication | Merge-tag templates, PDF output, document history |
| Multi-site | Per-location settings, combined reporting and exports |
| Fees | Fee schedules, balances, portal card payments, receipts |
Testing with your own curriculum
- Build your actual weekly group schedule for one location.
- Enroll three de-identified test participants with different start dates.
- Mark four weeks of attendance, including one absence, one make-up, and one kiosk check-in.
- Generate an enrollment letter, a progress report, and a completion letter from templates.
- Run the attendance report and export it. Would it satisfy your referring court?
Where COPS fits
COPS (Court Ordered Program Supervisor) is case management software for court-ordered programs, including batterer intervention. Agencies schedule 26- and 52-week curricula as recurring weekly classes, record three-state attendance with kiosk signature check-in, keep session notes per class, generate court letters, progress reports, and completion certificates from merge-tag templates, and collect fees through online payments. All of this works across multiple locations, with attendance exports to CSV, Excel, or PDF. COPS runs on AWS with encryption at rest and in transit and a full staff audit log.
Read more on the batterer intervention program software page. If you also run general anger management classes, see the anger management software page, or explore the COPS platform.