A public health model requires an ability to define the disease or condition, identify concepts of causation and etiology, and designate populations at risk. While application of this model to a social condition poses some challenges, a trilevel surveillance framework, using an unambiguous definition of domestic violence, could prove useful in tracking rates of domestic violence and guiding service and program efforts. Client surveillance can be applied in cases coming to the attention of service or law enforcement agents or agencies. At this level, data collection can cover helpseeking rates, victim and perpetrator profiles, and risk factors. Sample survey surveillance can be used to identify prevalence in a given population; examine physical or psychological outcomes of domestic violence; and collect demographic, relational, and social data useful in formulating risk factors. Finally, surveillance at the community level relies on client and survey records to develop both aggregate and comparative prevalence rates and for targeting high-risk communities for prevention and treatment services. Included are 18 footnotes.