Title: Chapter 9: Intervention and Prevention for Children and Youth
Series: Toolkit to End Violence Against Women
Author: Violence Against Women Office
Published: October 2001
Subject: Intervention and Prevention for Children and Youth
27 pages
59,400 bytes

---------------------------

Chapter 9: Intervention and Prevention for Children and Youth

What Communities Can Do To Make a Difference

o Build communitywide collaborations. Develop collaborative
partnerships among schools, health and mental health centers, courts,
social service agencies, and community-based advocacy groups to provide
leadership for early intervention and prevention initiatives.

o Develop a broader array of culturally competent early intervention
programs for children exposed to community, youth, and family violence.
Address bullying and physical and sexual assault, and teach youth social
skills that enable them to develop healthy, nonviolent relationships.

o Integrate these programs into sites that serve children and young
families. Include day care centers, Head Start programs, schools, Boys &
Girls Clubs, neighborhood family resource centers, home visitation
programs, health clinics, faith-based institutions, and agencies serving
immigrant and migrant populations.

o Identify and remove disincentives to participation in intervention
programs. Work with at-risk parents to identify and remove current
disincentives and barriers to help-seeking and participation in services for
either abused children or parents.

o Increase the ability of child protective services, courts, and domestic
violence agencies to work collaboratively. Develop and implement
policies that enhance victim safety and offender accountability for cases in
which domestic violence and child maltreatment coexist.

o Design and expand programs specifically for children exposed to
domestic violence. Develop tools to assess the impact of violence. Tailor
solutions to counter the short- and long-term negative impact of this
exposure on children and to support parents' safety and stability.


o Develop more programs for children and youth during afterschool hours.
Include recreational, athletic, mentoring, and other programs that provide
positive alternatives to unsupervised time and opportunities to learn the
skills needed to form nonviolent and healthy interpersonal relationships.

o Define school policies related to all forms of violence. Develop school
policies or codes of conduct prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual and
physical assault, and dating violence.

o Design and implement core training for all school personnel. Include
information on the impact of violence on children and how to respond
appropriately to disclosures of abuse. Provide training to school social
workers, nurses, guidance and other counselors, security guards, coaches,
bus drivers, and janitorial and cafeteria staff.

o Make the safety and well-being of adult and child victims a priority for
fatherhood programs. Emphasize the use of nonviolent parenting
techniques for participants who will have ongoing contact with their
children or the mothers.

--------------------------------

Intervention and Prevention for Children and Youth

Violence against women affects millions of children each year and often
combines with other forms of violence, such as child abuse and youth
violence, to devastate lives, destroy families, and compromise community
cohesiveness. A broader array of prevention and early intervention
programs targeting boys, girls, and young families should be developed.
Schools, health and mental health clinics, childcare homes and centers,
Head Start programs, neighborhood family resource centers, home
visitation programs, faith-based institutions, and other youth-serving
agencies all have important roles to play.

The well-documented intersection between domestic violence and child
abuse indicates an urgent need to increase collaboration among child
welfare agencies, courts, domestic violence programs, and other service
providers. Communities are urged to develop easily accessible
interventions, especially those that focus on strengthening or, whenever
possible, restoring the bond between the battered parent and her children.
Placing nonabusing parents at the center of decisionmaking with respect to
their children and empowering these parents to make choices that enhance
their own and their children's safety will help restore healthy, nurturing
environments in which children can thrive.

Overlap of Violence Against Women, Child Abuse, and Youth Violence

Child abuse and youth violence remain serious social problems in the
United States and, according to some research, have strong connections to
domestic violence. Slightly more than one-half of female victims of
intimate violence live in households with children under age 12.[1] An
increasing number of studies document the concurrent incidence of
domestic violence and child abuse within families. Most of this research
indicates that 30 to 60 percent of families experiencing child maltreatment
also experience domestic violence.[2] In a national survey of more than
6,000 families, researchers found that 50 percent of the men who
frequently assaulted their wives also frequently assaulted their children.[3]
Studies also suggest the presence of domestic violence in approximately
40 percent of lethal child abuse cases.[4] In fact, in 1995 the U.S.
Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect suggested that domestic
violence might be the single major precursor to child abuse and neglect
fatalities in this country.[5]

An estimated 34 percent of rapes occur in the victim's home where
children are likely to see or hear the assault on their mothers or
caregivers.[6] When mothers are sexually assaulted or stalked, their
children are also likely to be affected. However, to what degree and with
what consequences to children has not been addressed by either
researchers or practitioners.

Many children may not be direct victims of abuse but rather are exposed to
violence in their homes. Data from a 1995 Gallup Poll of family violence
suggest that 1.5 million to 3.3 million children witness or experience
parental domestic violence each year.[7] Another leading family violence
researcher estimates that as many as 10 million children are exposed to
parental violence each year.[8]

Domestic violence, child abuse, and youth violence often occur within the
same families and have serious consequences for the safety of family
members, as well as members of the larger community. First, where one
form of violence exists, others are often present. Second, the impact on
children who witness or experience parental domestic violence may be
similar to the consequences of being abused by a parent, and both
experiences may significantly contribute to youth violence. The linkages
have important implications for intervention and prevention efforts.

Effects of Physical and Sexual Violence on Children and Families

Although most maltreated children do not engage in delinquent behavior,
if a child is abused or neglected, the likelihood of arrest increases by 53
percent as a juvenile, by 38 percent as an adult, and by 38 percent for
being involved in a violent crime.[9] A significant risk factor for
becoming a child abuser, domestic violence perpetrator, and violent
juvenile offender is having been abused and/or witnessing violence at
home.[10] Close to 70 percent of girls involved in the juvenile justice
system have histories of physical abuse.[11] Also, surveys of girls in the
juvenile justice system and in shelters indicate rates of sexual abuse and
assault of more than 70 percent. These girls often respond by running
away from home, which too frequently leads to engaging in
prostitution.[12] Girls now constitute 25 percent of juvenile arrests in the
United States, an increase of 31 percent over the past decade.[13]

Exposure to parental domestic violence, although not to be considered
automatically a form of child abuse, may be associated with a series of
childhood problems, primarily behavioral and emotional. Child witnesses
of domestic violence on average exhibit more aggressive and antisocial
behaviors, fearful and inhibited behaviors, anxiety, depression,
trauma-related symptoms, temperament problems, and lowered social
competence than children who do not witness such violence.[14] Research
also indicates that exposure to domestic violence can affect cognitive
functioning.[15] The harm that individual children experience as a result
of exposure to domestic violence varies depending on many factors,
including the level of violence in the family, the child's exposure to it, the
child's ability to cope, and the protective factors in the child's
environment. Problems associated with exposure to domestic violence
vary with the age and gender of the child, the length of time since the last
exposure to violence, and the child's connections to the nonabusive parent
and other significant individuals and social supports in his or her life.[16]

The impact of a child's exposure to domestic violence and child abuse can
continue through adolescence if safety and other interventions are not
provided. Many adolescents who have grown up in violent homes are at
risk for recreating the abusive relationships they have observed.[17] They
are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from
home, and commit other delinquent behavior; engage in teenage
prostitution; and commit sexual assault crimes.[18] Research has found
that violent adolescents suffered serious physical abuse by a parent and
witnessed the use of weapons in their homes significantly more often than
nonviolent adolescents. These variables, both independently and
combined, have been significantly associated with adolescents' use of
violence.[19]

Witnessing violence as a child is also associated with adult reports of
depression, trauma-related symptoms and low self-esteem among women,
and trauma-related symptoms among men.[20] Research has found that
men who as children witnessed their parents' domestic violence are twice
as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.[21]
Domestic violence and child abuse put the next generation at greater risk
of becoming abusers and violent juveniles, as well as contribute to other
antisocial behavior that continues to affect our communities.

Exposure to physical or sexual abuse or domestic violence as a child is not
the only risk factor for juvenile violence. Living in a crime-infested
community; frequent exposure to drugs, guns, and crime; having parents
that use harsh or erratic discipline; and being isolated from the
community, family, or school are all circumstances that put children at
higher risk.[22]

Although little is known about protective factors that mitigate the effects
on children who witness domestic violence, research has identified
protective factors for child abuse and youth violence. These factors
include economic opportunity, mentors and role models who provide a
strong sense of moral development, organized community programs for
youth and families, involvement in a faith community, a school
environment that promotes prevention, and nurturing adult family
members who provide consistent, structured supervision.[23] Research
suggests that a successful family and youth violence prevention program
targets children's shared risk factors of poverty, social isolation, and the
witnessing of violence in the home or on the street. Prevention should also
focus on strengthening protective factors, reaching parents with young
children, providing services over several years, and conducting rigorous
longitudinal evaluations of these measures.

Expand Prevention Efforts

Violence prevention simply means stopping children's experience with and
exposure to violence before it happens. It requires the following actions:

o Reaching at-risk families early and helping new parents develop the
skills to become capable and nurturing caregivers.

o Providing support and respite care for families under stress.

o Implementing antibullying programs and dating violence prevention
programs to reinforce social norms that support healthy relationships and
nonviolent conflict resolution.

o Keeping violent images away from children.

o Ensuring that communities have the resources and capacity to support
these efforts.

Prevention efforts related to violence against women and child abuse are
relatively new. Child abuse prevention programs have included public
education aimed at changing the social norms that minimize or provide
excuses for child abuse and mobilizing individuals to take actions that
protect children. More recent prevention efforts have provided support to
new parents through community-based family support programs.

Parenting programs can offer new parents, particularly teen parents, the
confidence, support, and resources needed to promote their children's
healthy development and provide a vital link for parents to their
community. These programs, particularly when expanded to address
violence against women issues, are important for families that face
multiple stressors, such as poverty, social isolation, depression, high levels
of marital conflict, and deficient housing. Parent- and family-based
programs that have had long-term positive effects combine training in
parenting skills with other educational and therapeutic components.[24]

Parents, teachers, and other adults must take seriously the prevalence and
severity of violence among teens, including harassment, bullying, and
assault, as well as violence and sexual coercion in teen dating and intimate
relationships. Creating a violence-free school climate is an important step
in preventing harassment and violence based on gender, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, and disability.[25] A schoolwide approach can build an
environment in which teachers and children feel respected and valued and
where physical and verbal violence against women and girls are not
tolerated.

Enhance Early Intervention Efforts

Effective early intervention requires improving our current response
system to provide both formal and informal supports to parents and
children. Interventions should be seamless, flexible, and collaborative
across professional disciplines; long term; age appropriate; and
linguistically and culturally competent. Sites for these early intervention
initiatives can include schools, childcare programs, health clinics serving
teens, afterschool programs, community-based and grassroots groups, and
juvenile courts. Policies and procedures must be developed to ensure the
safety of children in these settings and the appropriate response to
disclosures of violence and abuse.

Successful early childhood violence intervention programs have common
characteristics. First, they attempt to ameliorate a variety of factors
associated with youth violence. Second, they focus on families with young
children. Third, they are long-term efforts--more than a few months, often
as long as several years.[26] Appropriately designed early intervention can
prevent young children from becoming perpetrators as they grow up,
thereby reducing child abuse, domestic violence, and youth violence in
following generations.

Many adults who work with children and youth do not receive training and
education on the signs of teen dating violence or on the impact of physical
and sexual violence against women on their children. School
psychologists, counselors, teachers, social workers, nurses, and child
protection workers can be trained to respond to disclosures of physical and
sexual assaults, teen dating violence, and exposure to domestic violence
and provide appropriate referrals to services, protections, and supports.

Studies of pregnant teens show consistently higher rates of victimization
in intimate relationships.[27] Also, girls who have a history of abuse,
including sexual abuse, incest, and physical abuse, are at greater risk of
becoming pregnant. Pregnancy can occur directly from a sexual assault or
indirectly when the girl engages in risky behavior as a result of abuse.[28]
Practitioners who serve pregnant teens or teens who have been victimized
should use various approaches to support the teens' educational and
vocational achievement and the health of their infants.[29]

The movement to develop interventions for children who witness domestic
violence is in its infancy. Although many communities do not have
services for child witnesses, a few communities offer services for child
residents of battered women's shelters. However, most children whose
mothers are battered never reside in emergency shelters.[30] Other than
shelter-based services, few other specific interventions exist except in the
context of child protective services.[31] Research shows that the younger
the child, the more effective the intervention.[32]

There is a growing interest in enabling more fathers to share responsibility
for the well-being of their children, specifically those fathers who live
outside the home. This reflects society's interest in enabling more fathers
to share responsibility for the well-being of their children. Fatherhood
programs may reinforce the importance of safety for both children and the
children's mothers through their contact with fathers, particularly young
fathers. By integrating an understanding of the issues related to violence
against women into fatherhood program curriculums and services
(including procedures to hold program participants accountable for any
violent and abusive behavior against either their children or their children's
mother), responsible fatherhood programs can become important allies in
community efforts to end violence against women and children.

Similarly, as batterer intervention programs teach abusive men to take
responsibility for their violence and its effects, they can also challenge
fathers to understand the harm their violence does to their children and use
their attachment to their children as an incentive to change abusive
behavior.

Coordinate Response to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence

As indicated above, both child maltreatment and domestic violence often
occur in the same family.[33] Some battered women abuse and/or neglect
their children or have additional problems, such as alcohol or drug
addictions, that affect their ability to care for their children. In these cases,
the risks to children must be carefully assessed, and appropriate protection
and services should be provided to both the children and their mothers. In
other situations, a battered mother may refuse help or, after help is offered,
decide to stay in a relationship that poses serious risks to both her and her
children. Again, after a careful risk assessment, children may need to be
removed from the family, although domestic violence services should
continue to be offered to both the mothers and the children.

Battered women seeking to protect their children from physical assaults or
threats of a batterer and other harms that might result from leaving or
reporting a batterer need independent advocacy and support services to
develop strategies that will reduce or eliminate the particular risks they
and their children face. Safety planning services should be available for
women who are leaving, returning to, or staying in these relationships.
Only then can child protective service agencies and the courts determine
whether these plans will protect children adequately.[34]

In many communities and states, current systems designed to protect
children often are laden with disincentives and unintended consequences
to battered women who want to access services for their children. For
example, a battered woman might take her child to a hospital to get the
child treatment for injuries caused by the woman's batterer. The hospital
worker is required by law to report that abuse to child protective services;
therefore, this woman, who voluntarily sought services for her child, now
involuntarily enters the child protective services system. Although the
larger child welfare system can offer the woman alternatives to her current
situation, she may fear losing her child. She might also face charges based
on her failure to protect the child, as well as increased danger from her
abuser for seeking help and calling attention to his violence. How can we
ensure that this woman's help-seeking serves her and her children?

Despite the fact that a high percentage of families within the child
protective services caseload experience domestic violence, neither child
protective service agencies nor the courts have traditionally recognized or
responded to the needs of victims and their families. In addition to facing a
complex set of policy and practice dilemmas with these cases, they have
had few, if any, resources. As a result, too many battered mothers are left
to fend for themselves against the perpetrator when their children are first
removed from their custody and, in some instances, permanently removed
from their parental care and control. Other mothers attempting to
reestablish or retain custody receive little or no services for help in dealing
with alcohol or drug abuse or other problems that place their children at
risk for maltreatment or neglect.

Recently, child protection agencies, battered women's service providers,
and courts have begun to recognize the often problematic nature of
traditional responses. The development of collaborative new policies and
programs is under way.[35] Battered women and their children will be
served best by interventions that are more plentiful, more helpful, more
varied, and offered earlier than those currently available. The range of
options developed must be informed by strategies battered women use to
protect their children and should focus on enhancing the safety and agency
of the battered parent as a key to enhancing the safety and well-being of
her children.

Effective services and supports in many cases negate the need for coercive
actions on the part of government institutions unless such action is needed
to protect the children. Outlined below are specific actions that youth
service providers; community-based sexual assault and domestic violence
programs; medical, nursing, social work, and other professional training
programs; national and state health professional associations; teachers;
school administrators; law enforcement and criminal justice professionals;
health and mental health practitioners; batterer intervention programs;
local leaders; parent-teacher associations; and student groups can take to
end violence against women.

Build an Expanded Network of Intervention and Prevention Responses 

1. Develop and expand early intervention and prevention programs for
parents.

o Expand the availability of programs that support parents (particularly
young parents) in building healthy relationships with each other and their
children; resolving conflicts respectfully and nonviolently; accessing
social, legal, health, and mental health services and economic supports as
necessary; and ensuring the ongoing safety and well-being of their
children.

o Ensure that such programs attach no stigma to program participation, are
linguistically and culturally competent, and offer immediate protection and
support to children or parents in danger.

o Develop programs at sites that serve young families, such as health
clinics, day care centers, Head Start program locations, schools,
community centers, home visitation programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and
agencies serving immigrant and migrant populations.

2. Expand and enhance quality, affordable, and accessible programs for
children and youth, including those after school, on weekends, and on
school vacations.

o Fully involve child development and child welfare experts, sexual
assault and domestic violence advocates, parents, and researchers in the
design, implementation, and evaluation of programs.

o Ensure that such programs attach no stigma to program participation, are
linguistically and culturally competent, are developmentally and age
appropriate, and offer immediate protection and support to children or
parents in danger.

o Provide opportunities for children and youth to learn and practice
nonviolent conflict resolution, explore and form healthy attitudes toward
relationships, and develop positive, appropriate interpersonal relationships.

o Help program participants talk about the issues of relationship violence,
sexual assault, stalking, and bullying; train youth to appropriately support
and constructively confront their peers on issues related to violence.

o Develop specialized mentoring initiatives for children and youth who
have experienced or witnessed sexual and physical violence, and integrate
promising components into existing mentoring programs.

o Involve youth and parents in creating and disseminating written and
multimedia materials on safety and healthy relationships.

o Develop programs at sites that serve children and youth, such as schools,
health clinics, day care centers, Head Start program locations, community
centers, home visitation programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and agencies
serving immigrant and migrant populations. Encourage schools to be used
as sites for such programs even during nonschool hours. Use religious,
spiritual, or faith-based activities targeting youth for such programming.
Encourage parental participation in programs whenever appropriate.

o Develop policies and mechanisms to carefully screen staff and
volunteers working with children and youth, including potential mentors,
for evidence of prior acts of abuse or sexual assault.

3. Prepare all professionals working with children, youth, and families to
respond appropriately to children's disclosures of abuse against themselves
or a parent, and refer them to intervention and prevention services.

o Target professionals working at all sites that serve children, youth, and
young families, including schools, health clinics, day care centers, Head
Start program locations, neighborhood family resource centers, home
visitation programs, faith-based institutions, Boys & Girls Clubs, and
agencies serving immigrant and migrant populations.

o Provide training on different forms of violence and their impact on
children and adults, securing immediate protection and referrals for family
members at risk of harm and working collaboratively with other
professionals.

o Develop and provide training on the impact of violence on
children--including violence against women--to all health care providers
working with children and youth. Include the protective factors and
interventions that help ameliorate the impact of that violence.

o Develop and enhance linguistically and culturally competent screening
and assessment tools, and implement policies and procedures to support
their consistent and effective use throughout health care settings serving
children and youth.

4. Design and expand programs specifically for children exposed to
domestic violence and other traumatic situations.

o Increase the availability and accessibility of affordable intervention
services for children who have been abused or have witnessed domestic
violence.

o Develop and ensure the consistent use of tools to assess individually the
impact of violence on the children involved. Tailor services to counter the
short- and long-term negative impact of exposure to domestic violence.

o Develop parallel services for the children's abused parents that support
their safety and stability.

5. Establish more programs that identify, respond to, and prevent violence
against teen mothers.

o Train staff working with teen parents in schools, health and social
service agencies, and community-based organizations to routinely screen
and assess for physical and sexual abuse.

o Provide training to teen mothers and fathers that supports the
development of nonviolent relationships and parenting skills and provides
information on community resources to support them as parents.

o Provide a full range of affordable social and mental health services to
keep teen parents in school and reduce the isolation of teen mothers and
their children.

o Include information on sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and
coercion in safe-sex education programs at all family planning and
sexually transmitted disease clinics, including programs that teach
abstinence.

o Target violence prevention messages to male teens as part of teen
pregnancy prevention initiatives.

o Include information on the benefits of delaying sexual intimacy for male
and female teens.

6. Increase the availability of safe visitation centers and exchange sites for
children and mothers at ongoing risk of sexual or domestic violence or
stalking.

o Form a communitywide collaborative to design, implement, and evaluate
safe and accessible visitation options that maximize safety for abused
children and adults.

o Publicize the availability of safe visitation centers and exchange sites
through community-based sexual assault and domestic violence programs,
parent organizations, the courts, and other community groups.

7. Identify and address disincentives for abused parents and parents of
abused children to participate in intervention and prevention services.

o Work with at-risk parents to identify current disincentives and barriers to
help-seeking and program participation.

o Identify ways to more actively support participation in services for
abused children and parents. Consider separating such services from child
protective services system involvement unless there is imminent risk of
harm. Consider providing earlier intervention services to avoid the
necessity of child protective services.

o Coordinate civil and criminal court information on cases involving
domestic violence, child support, custody, and visitation.

8. Work with fatherhood programs to fully integrate a commitment to the
safety and well-being of all family members into educational, counseling,
and advocacy services.

o Emphasize the use of nonviolent parenting techniques for participants
who will have ongoing contact with either their children or their children's
mothers.

o Develop responses for program participants who engage in abusive
behavior against either their children or their children's mothers to ensure
victim safety and perpetrator accountability.

o Integrate linguistically and culturally competent information on
nonviolent parenting techniques and responsible fatherhood into program
curriculums.

o Build collaborative relationships among batterer intervention programs,
fatherhood programs, community-based domestic violence programs, and
other children and youth programs, including programs for children
exposed to domestic violence.

Enhance School System Response

9. Develop policies, applicable to all employees and students, that define a
school's response to violence and policies or codes of conduct prohibiting
sexual harassment, assault, and dating violence.

o Ensure that policies are consistent with existing laws. Provide training
for teachers, administrators, and other school personnel on policies and
their implementation.

o Widely disseminate information on these policies throughout the school
system, including distribution to school administrators, teachers, and other
personnel; students; and parents.

10. Design and implement core training for all school personnel on
effective prevention strategies, the impact of violence against women and
other forms of violence, and how to respond appropriately to disclosures
of abuse.

o Provide this training throughout the school system, and include
principals, school superintendents, school boards, teachers, school social
workers, guidance counselors, school nurses, school resource officers,
administrative and office personnel, security personnel, coaches, bus
drivers, and janitorial and cafeteria staff.

11. Implement intervention and prevention programs that address bullying
and physical and sexual assault, and teach youth social skills that enable
students to develop healthy, nonviolent relationships.

o Provide age-appropriate information on the prevalence of acquaintance
rape and other forms of community and family violence, including the
warning signs that may signal risks to a student's safety, situations and
circumstances that foster nonconsensual sexual conduct, the kinds of
behaviors that constitute stalking, and appropriate response strategies.

o Provide information to students about how to ask for help from parents
(or when necessary, teachers and other adults) and how to respond
appropriately to physical, emotional, or sexual violence among their peers.

o Include information on the role of bystanders, including age-appropriate
strategies students can use to assist victims of physical, sexual, or
emotional abuse or bullying and safely challenge perpetrator behavior, as
well as how to report incidents.

o Destigmatize mental health services, and offer a wide variety of services
with parental notification and consent, such as support groups, peer
mediation and counseling, 12-step models, and individual counseling.

12. Develop a comprehensive school safety plan that incorporates
strategies to prevent violence against women and girls and includes
personal safety planning for staff and students.

o Include students and parents, mental health providers, police and
juvenile justice authorities, and local sexual assault and domestic violence
advocacy groups in the development and implementation of the safety
plan.

o Widely disseminate information on the plan to students, parents, all
school personnel, and community leaders.

o Develop a school plan to address students who sexually assault and/or
batter that responsibly balances the requirement to educate all students
with the need to ensure that school is a safe place.

Build Communitywide Collaborations

13. Create and provide ongoing support to collaborative partnerships
among schools, mental health centers, and the courts to provide families
with education, services, and protection for children exposed to violence
and adolescents who are victims or perpetrators of or at risk for family and
dating violence.

o Develop opportunities for coordination between youth violence
prevention programs and programs addressing violence against women.

14. Fully engage residents in the development and implementation of
prevention campaigns that include specific strategies, activities, materials,
and messages responsive to the needs of the community.

o Involve young parents, community leaders, formal and informal
supports,[36] and other community members in the planning,
development, and implementation of prevention strategies to establish
credibility, inspire community ownership and commitment, and facilitate
broad community participation.

o Incorporate information provided by survivors of sexual assault, dating
and domestic violence, or stalking into program development and
implementation.

o Provide practical tools for men and boys to prepare them to be
responsible bystanders committed to intervening appropriately and safely
in incidents of sexual and physical assault involving children and youth. In
appeals to men and boys, acknowledge that they themselves may have
been victims of child sexual assault.

o Develop strategies to hold the media accountable for playing both
positive and negative roles in children's exposure to violence. Involve
local news media in community efforts to stop violence within families
and the community.

Coordinate Child Protection Agencies, Courts, and Domestic Violence
Program Response

15. When investigating allegations of child maltreatment at child
protection agencies, screen for domestic violence, and respond
appropriately when domestic violence is disclosed.

o Assess and consider the impact of the parents' abuse, as well as issues
such as substance abuse, homelessness, and unemployment, on the
children and on the parents' ability to care for them.

o Assist the battered parents in making safety and self-sufficiency plans
for themselves and their children.

o Incorporate the needs and suggestions of the nonoffending parent in case
plans as appropriate, and provide comprehensive advocacy services.

o Provide services designed to allow the children to remain at home with
the nonoffending parent whenever it is safe to do so. Coordinate with
police and courts to ensure their safety, including prosecuting the batterer,
helping to find alternative housing, and ensuring the confidentiality of
address.

o Develop a separate case plan for the abusive parent or adult to hold that
person accountable for his violence and its effects, and work with police
and courts to enforce that accountability.

o Encourage "reasonable efforts," which can effectively provide family
preservation services (keeping a nonabusing parent with her children) such
as housing, economic assistance, and job training to abused mothers.

o Recommend good cause exceptions to the Adoption and Safe Families
Act[37] timelines when it would likely result in the nonabusing parent and
children remaining safely together, with child safety and permanency
being primary concerns.

o Consider eliminating "failure to protect" as a reason for removing
children, unless support has been provided to the mother in her efforts to
protect or she has made no effort.

16. When overlapping domestic violence and child maltreatment cases
come before the court, implement a coordinated court and community
response that creates safety for abused or neglected children and their
abused parents, enhances the stability and well-being of the children, and
holds the perpetrator of the violence accountable.

o Provide battered parents with comprehensive advocacy to assist them in
negotiating the child protection and dependency court systems and
securing the necessary services.

o Provide case advocates to children in these cases, and ensure that
advocates receive ongoing training on domestic violence issues and
children's legal rights.

o Develop separate service plans for each parent or adult, and hold parties
accountable for compliance with their individual plan.

o Name the abusive party (family or nonfamily member) in the petition,
and document in the petition any domestic violence that has caused harm
to the child.

o Ensure that any petitions alleging "failure to protect" on the part of the
battered parent identify the perpetrator from whom she failed to protect,
and document the parent's efforts to protect as well as her failures to
protect.

17. Promote policies that enhance the ability of child protective services,
the criminal and civil justice system, and domestic violence agencies to
work together to improve safety and accountability in cases where
domestic violence and child maltreatment coexist.

o Expand domestic violence councils or create new task forces at the state
and community levels to begin the dialog on how these three systems can
agree on common goals and work toward them together, including how
best to provide advocacy for battered women in each of the three systems.

o Develop policies and protocols and/or memorandums of agreement to
outline the means of coordination and collaboration.

o Design and institute cross training for personnel within the three
systems, including all counsel representing victims, perpetrators, and
children.

o Collaboratively develop information-sharing protocols that preserve the
confidentiality and privileged communication critical to providing
advocacy services and that properly balance the need for information on
the alleged child maltreatment and the need of a battered parent to keep
information confidential as part of safety planning efforts.

o Develop specialized expertise within the three systems that enhances
workers' ability to respond adequately to cases that require additional time
or expertise.

o Include batterer intervention programs in cross training and
multidisciplinary case planning to provide monitoring and social service
interventions for abusive men, as well as appropriate followup on arrests
and prosecutions.

o Increase the juvenile or family court's ability to communicate and
coordinate with other civil and criminal courts about concurrent cases
involving family members.

o Screen all proposed caretakers and child advocates for child
maltreatment, criminal history, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

Resources

Alliance for Children and Families
Communications Department
11700 West Lake Park Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53224
Phone: 414-359-1040 or 1-800-221-3726
Fax: 414-359-1074
Web site: www.alliance1.org

Membership in the Alliance for Children and Families includes nonprofit
child- and family-serving organizations across the country. The Alliance
aims to strengthen members' capacity to serve and advocate for children,
families, and communities by providing public policy and advocacy
efforts, research and resource development, library services, media
information, and community programs.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
230 North 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-567-7000
Fax: 215-567-0394
Web site: www.bbbsa.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the nation's largest and oldest youth
mentoring program. Volunteers provide one-on-one mentoring to children
who primarily are from single-parent households in more than 500
communities throughout the United States.

Center on Children and the Law
American Bar Association
740 15th Street NW.
Washington, DC 20005-1022
Phone: 202-662-1720
Fax: 202-662-755
E-mail: ctrchildren@abanet.org
Web site: www.abanet.org/child

The American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law
focuses on improving children's lives through advances in law, justice,
knowledge, practice, and public policy. ABA publications that deal with
issues of child abuse and neglect include ABA Child Law Practice, ABA
Child CourtWorks, and Children's Legal Rights Journal. The Web site
features ABA publications and materials, child welfare law tips, bulletin
boards and an e-mail center, and other resources.

Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence
2700 NW. 36th Street, Suite 114
Miami, FL 33142
Phone: 305-638-5619
E-mail: jjgrants@jud11.flcourts.org

The Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence is a
pilot project developed to review justice system procedures for women and
children who have been abused. The program offers voluntary free
counseling to women and their children in cases in which the court has
intervened and removed youth from the home.

Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute
7120 Herman Jared Drive
Forth Worth, TX 76180
Phone: 817-569-8882
Fax: 817-485-0600
Web site: www.fvsai.org

The Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI) publishes the
Quarterly International Family Violence and Sexual Assault Bulletin, a
resource for grants, workshops, and prevention and intervention programs.
FVSAI also hosts conferences on child abuse and neglect throughout the
year.

Family Violence Prevention Fund
383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 304
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133
Phone: 415-252-8900
Fax: 415-252-8991
Web site: www.fvpf.org

The Family Violence Prevention Fund works to end domestic violence and
help women and children whose lives are affected by abuse. The Web site
offers free online catalogs, articles and information on abuse and violence,
press releases and story archives, information on public policy efforts, and
other resource materials.

Keep Schools Safe: A Collection of Resources To Help Make Schools
Safer 
Web site: www.keepschoolssafe.org

A project of the National Association of Attorneys General and the
National School Boards Association, this Web site provides information
and resources for concerned parents, teachers and school administrators,
and law enforcement officers.

National Children's Advocacy Center
106 Lincoln Street
Huntsville, AL 35801
Phone: 256-533-5437
Fax: 256-534-9616
Web site: www.ncac-hsv.org

The National Children's Advocacy Center provides prevention,
intervention, and treatment services to physically and sexually abused
children and their families and training on intervention and techniques for
conducting a successful investigative interview.

National Children's Alliance (formerly the National Network of Children's
Advocacy Centers)
1612 K Street NW., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-452-6001 or 1-800-239-9950
Web site: www.nncac.org

The National Children's Alliance (NCA) provides training, technical
assistance, and networking opportunities to help communities plan,
establish, and improve children's advocacy centers. NCA's approach to
combating child abuse is to work with the children and their families in a
child-focused environment.

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
300 C Street SW.
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: 1-800-FYI-3366
Web site: www.calib.com/nccanch

The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
(NCCANI) offers resources on the prevention, identification, and
treatment of child abuse and neglect and related child welfare issues.
NCCANI provides free statistics, databases, fact sheets and other
publications, information on funding opportunities, and related resources
on child abuse and neglect.

National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence
1155 Connecticut Avenue NW., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-429-6695 or 1-800-222-2000
Web site: www.nccafv.org

The National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence offers
information and resources on issues related to abuse of children, spouses,
and the elderly. The Web site includes relevant statistics and lists of
warning signs to help readers recognize when someone they know is being
abused.

Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
P.O. Box 8970
Reno, NV 89507
Phone: 1-800-527-3223
Fax: 775-784-6160
Web site: www.dvlawsearch.com/res_center

The Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody
provides access to information and assistance to professionals in the field
of domestic violence and child protection and custody. The Web site
includes an online video library that contains material on dating and
domestic violence, child abuse, and related topics.

Violence Against Women Online Resources
Web site: www.vaw.umn.edu

This Web site provides up-to-date information on interventions to stop
violence against women for professionals in the fields of law, criminal
justice, advocacy, and social service.

Endnotes

1. Bureau of Justice Statistics (1998). Violence by Intimates: Analysis of
Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and
Girlfriends. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 167237

2. Edleson, J.L. (1999). "Children's Witnessing of Adult Domestic
Violence." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14(8): pp. 839-870.

3. Straus, Murray A., Gelles, Richard J., and Smith, Christine (1990).
Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to
Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

4. The Oregon Department of Human Resources reports, for example, that
domestic violence occurred in 41 percent of the families in which children
had been critically injured or killed. Source: Oregon Children's Services
Division (1993). Task Force Report on Child Fatalities and Critical
Injuries Due to Abuse and Neglect. Salem, OR: Oregon Department of
Human Resources. Data on 67 child fatalities in families previously
identified by the Massachusetts Department of Social Services found that
43 percent had occurred in families in which the mother also identified
herself as a victim of domestic violence. Source: Felix, A.C., III, and
McCarthy, K.F. (1994). An Analysis of Child Fatalities, 1992. Boston,
MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Social Services.

5. U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect (1995). A Nation's
Shame: Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States: Fifth Report.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families. p. 253.

6. Pynoos, R.S., and Nader, K. (1988). "Children Who Witness the Sexual
Assaults of Their Mothers." Journal of the American Academy of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry 27(5): pp. 567-572.

7. Gallup, G.H., Jr., Moor, D.W., and Schussel, R. (1997). Disciplining
Children in America. Princeton, NJ: The Gallup Organization.

8. Straus, Murray A. (1992). "Children as Witnesses to Marital Violence:
A Risk Factor for Lifelong Problems Among a Nationally Representative
Sample of American Men and Women." Report of the Twenty-Third Ross
Roundtable. Columbus, OH: Ross Laboratories. 

9. Widom, C.S. (1992). The Cycle of Violence. Washington, DC: National
Institute of Justice. NCJ 136607

10. Daro, D., and Cohn Donnelly, A. (2000). Child Abuse Prevention:
Accomplishments and Challenges. Paper presented at the meeting of the
Collaborative Violence Prevention Initiative, San Francisco, CA. 

Edleson, J.L. (2000). Primary Prevention and Adult Domestic Violence.
Paper presented at the meeting of the Collaborative Violence Prevention
Initiative, San Francisco, CA. 

Tolan, P. (2000). Youth Violence Prevention. Paper presented at the
meeting of the Collaborative Violence Prevention Initiative, San
Francisco, CA.

11. Owen, B., and Bloom, B. (1997). "Profiling the Needs of Young
Female Offenders." Report to the Executive Staff of the California Youth
Authority. Sacramento, CA: California Youth Authority.

12. Chamberlain, P., and Reid, J. (1994). "Differences in Risk Factors and
Adjustment for Male and Female Delinquents in Treatment and Foster
Care." Journal of Child and Family Studies 3(1): pp. 23-39.

13. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1998). Guiding
Principles for Promising Female Programming: An Inventory of Best
Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. pp. 3-4. NCJ
173415

14. Fantuzzo, J.W., DePaula, L.M., Lambert, L., Martino, T., Anderson,
G., and Sutton, S. (1991). "Effects of Interpersonal Violence on the
Psychological Adjustment and Competencies of Young Children." Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 59(2): pp. 258-265.

Adamson, L.A., and Thompson, R.A. (1998). "Coping With Interparental
Verbal Conflict by Children Exposed to Spouse Abuse and Children From
Nonviolent Homes." Journal of Family Violence 13(3): pp. 213-232.

Hughes, H.M., Parkinson, D., and Vargo, M. (1989). "Witnessing Spouse
Abuse and Experiencing Physical Abuse: A 'Double Whammy'?" Journal
of Family Violence 4(2): pp. 197-209.

Maker, A.H., Kemmelmeier, M., and Peterson, C. (1998). "Long-Term
Psychological Consequences in Women of Witnessing Parental Physical
Conflict and Experiencing Abuse in Childhood." Journal of Interpersonal
Violence 13(5): pp. 574-589.

Sternberg, K.J., Lamb, M.E., Greenbaum, C., Cicchetti, D., Dawud, S.,
Cortes, R.M., Krispin, O., and Lorey, F. (1993). "Effects of Domestic
Violence on Children's Behavior Problems and Depression."
Developmental Psychology 29(1): pp. 44-52.

15. Rossman, B.B. (1998). "Descartes's Error and Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder: Cognition and Emotion in Children Who Are Exposed to
Parental Violence." In G.W. Holden, R. Geffner, and E.N. Jouriles (Eds.),
Children Exposed to Marital Violence. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association. pp. 223-256.

16. Groves, B.M. (1999). "Mental Health Services for Children Who
Witness Domestic Violence." The Future of Children: Domestic Violence
and Children. 9(3): pp. 122-132.

17. Sudermann, M., Jaffe, P.G., and Hastings, E. (1995). "Violence
Prevention Programs in Secondary (High) Schools." In E. Peled, P.G.
Jaffe, and J.L. Edleson (Eds.), Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community
Responses to Children of Battered Women. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.

18. Wolfe, D.A., Wekerle, C., Reitzel, D., and Gough, R. (1995).
"Strategies To Address Violence in the Lives of High Risk Youth." In E.
Peled, P.G. Jaffe, and J.L. Edleson (Eds.), Ending the Cycle of Violence:
Community Responses to Children of Battered Women. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

19. Spaccarelli, S., Sandler, I.N., and Roosa, M. (1994). "History of
Spouse Violence Against Mother: Correlated Risks and Unique Effects in
Child Mental Health." Journal of Family Violence 9(1): pp. 79-98.

20. Silvern, L., Karyl, J., Waelde, L., Hodges, W.F., Starek, J., Heidt, E.,
and Min, Kyung (1995). "Retrospective Reports of Parental Partner
Abuse: Relationships to Depression, Trauma Symptoms and Self-Esteem
Among College Students." Journal of Family Violence 10(2): pp. 177-202. 

See M. Pagelow, "Children in Violent Families: Direct and Indirect
Victims," and G. Goodman and M. Rosenburg, "The Child Witness to
Family Violence: Clinical and Legal Considerations," for detailed
discussions of the impacts children in violent families may suffer.

21. Straus, Gelles, and Smith (1990). op. cit. (see note 3).

22. Blumstein, Alfred (1994). Youth Violence: 1994 Task Force Reports.
American Society of Criminology to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
Available online at www.asc41.com/taskreports/ youthviolence.txt.

23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1998). "Definition of
Violence." Partnerships for Preventing Violence. Available online at
www.hsph.harvard.edu/php/VPP/partnerships.

24. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Pending publication).
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

25. See Keep Schools Safe: A Collection of Resources to Help Make
Schools Safer Web site. A project of the National Association of
Attorneys General and the National School Boards Association.
www.keepschoolssafe.org

26. Blumstein (1994), op. cit. (see note 22). 

27. Guard, Anara (1997). Violence and Teen Pregnancy: A Resource
Guide for Maternal and Child Health Practitioners. Newton, MA:
Children's Safety Network, Education Development Center, Inc. pp. 2-3.

28. Ibid. p. 5.

29. Boyer, D. (1999). "Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Forgotten Issue in
Adolescent Pregnancy and Welfare Reform." In R.A. Brandwein (Ed.),
Battered Women, Children, and Welfare Reform: The Ties That Bind.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. pp. 131-143.

30. Schechter, S., and Edleson, J.L. (2000). Domestic Violence and
Children: Creating a Public Response. New York, NY: Open Society
Institute's Center on Crime, Communities & Culture.

31. AWAKE Program, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. In a
16-month followup with 46 mothers served by program advocates, 85
percent of the women reported they were free from violence, and in only
one family had children been placed in foster care. Spears, L. (1999).
"Building Bridges Between Domestic Violence Organizations and Child
Protective Services."  p. 20, note 17. Septenber. Available from Child
Welfare League of America, 202-638-2952.

32. Blumstein (1994), op. cit. (see note 22).

33. See also National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
Information (1999). In Harm's Way: Domestic Violence and Child
Maltreatment. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse
and Neglect Information. p. 1.

Appel, A.E., and Holden, G.W. (1998). "The Co-Occurrence of Spouse
and Physical Child Abuse: A Review and Appraisal." Journal of Family
Psychology 12(4): pp. 578-599.

Edleson, J.L. (1999). "The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and
Woman Battering." Violence Against Women 5(2): pp. 134-154.

Findlater, J.E., and Kelly, S. (1999). "Child Protective Services and
Domestic Violence." The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and
Children 9(3): pp. 84-96. 

Lederman, C., Malik, N., and Aaron, S. (2000). "The Nexus Between
Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence: A View From the Court."
Journal of the Center for Children and the Court 2: pp. 129-135.

34. Ibid. and Lecklitner, G., Malik, N., Aaron, S., and Lederman, C.
(1999). "Promoting Safety for Abused Children and Battered Mothers:
Miami-Dade County's Model Dependency Court Intervention Program."
Child Maltreatment 4(2): pp. 175-182.

35. Ibid. and National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
(1998). Emerging Programs for Battered Mothers and Their Children.
Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. 

Schechter, S., and Edleson, J. (1999). Effective Intervention in Domestic
Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and
Practice. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges.

Findlater, J.E., and Kelly, S. (1999). "Child Protective Services and
Domestic Violence." The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and
Children 9(3): pp. 84-96.

36. "Formal supports" are community-based service providers,
governmental service programs, etc. "Informal supports" are neighborhood
groups, faith communities, sports clubs, social clubs, etc. 

37. Adoption and Safe Families Act, Pub. L. No. 105-89 (1997), which
amends and reauthorizes Pub. L. No. 96-272, the Adoption Assistance and
Child Welfare Act of 1980 and the Family Preservation and Family
Support Program, Pub. L. No. 96-272 It requires states to move children
from foster care into permanent homes more rapidly than did Pub. L. No.
96-272, by speeding court response and, when necessary, by terminating
parental rights more quickly and encouraging adoptions. From Schechter,
S., and Edleson, J. p. 127.

References

American Bar Association, House of Delegates (July 2000). Policy on
Safe Visitation.

American Bar Association, House of Delegates (July 2000). Policy on
Opt-Out Provisions in Court Mandated Mediation Programs.

Behrman, R.E. (Ed.) (1999). The Future of Children: Domestic Violence
and Children (Winter) 9(3).


Groves, B.M. (1999). "Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness
Domestic Violence." The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and
Children (Winter) 9(3): pp. 122-132.

Guard, Anara (1997). Violence and Teen Pregnancy: A Resource Guide
for Maternal and Child Health Practitioners. Newton, MA: Children's
Safety Network, Education Development Center, Inc.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1998). Emerging
Programs for Battered Mothers and Their Children. Reno, NV: National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

Keep Schools Safe: A Collection of Resources to Help Make Schools
Safer Web site. A project of the National Association of Attorneys General
and the National School Boards Association. www.keepschoolssafe.org

Lederman, C., and Brown, E. (In press). Entangled in the Shadows: Girls
in the Juvenile Justice System. Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Law Review.

Lederman, C., Malik, N., and Aaron, S. (2000). "The Nexus Between
Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence: A View From the Court."
Journal of the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts 2: pp.
129-135.

Liz Claiborne, Inc. (1998). A Parent's Handbook: How To Talk to Your
Children About Developing Healthy Relationships. New York: Liz
Claiborne, Inc.

Office for Victims of Crime (1999). Breaking the Cycle of Violence:
Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Child
Victims and Witnesses. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ
176983

Schechter, S., and Edleson, J. (2000). Domestic Violence and Children:
Creating a Public Response. New York, NY: Open Society Institute,
Center on Crime, Communities & Culture.

------. (1999). Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child
Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice. Reno, NV:
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.