DCDC II is focused on developing, implementing, and studying an integrated decision-support process for environmental decision making based on social science principles. Through an integrated approach to research and education, DCDC will train a new generation of scientists who can work successfully at the boundaries of science and policy, and produce innovative solutions to society’s pressing environmental challenges. To accomplish these goals, DCDC II will build a dynamic bridge between ASU and local policy communities and seek global solutions for urban climate adaptation. This plan articulates DCDC’s vision and mission, describes key tasks and outlines a process of evaluation based on both standard and innovative metrics.

In the fall of 1995, the City of Phoenix Police Department convened a special group of people known to be deeply involved with the social and personal aspects of domestic violence. This group, which came to be called the Phoenix Police Department's Joint Task Force on Domestic Violence, consisted of police and criminal justice personnel, social service and health care providers, and a number of interested community members. Task Force members soon began earnest discussions on how best to reduce the incidence of domestic violence-a crime that is, sadly, the number one call for police service in the City of Phoenix.