Co-Occurring Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment: Local Policies/Practices and Relationships to Child Placement, Family Services and Residence, Final Report

• NCJ Number: 213503
• Author(s): Kelly Kelleher; William Gardner; Jeff Coben; Rick Barth; Jeff Edleson; Andrea Hazen
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2002-WG-BX-0014
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This study, entitled the Family Violence Services Study (FVSS), collected State and local data on the structures and activities of cooperation between child welfare services and domestic violence services in cases where both women and children in a family are abused by the same person.

Abstract

The study documented high rates of co-occurring violence against women and children in the same family, the persistence of some types of domestic violence and child maltreatment, wide variation in service delivery to such families, wide variation in county-level policies and practices in managing such families, and a significant need to improve the services delivered to these families. The jurisdictions studied were generally unaware of the policies and practices for such cases recommended by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in what is sometimes referred to as the "Greenbook." Family courts should receive the training and technical assistance needed to lead in establishing organizational, training, and service structures that will enable the separate entities that serve adult and child victims of co-occurring family violence to become effective partners. The FVSS used the same sample as the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to survey child welfare services and domestic violence service agencies. The NSCAW involved a national probability study of more than 5,000 children and adolescents ages 0-14 who had been part of investigations into their alleged abuse and neglect. The study produced information on child development, functioning and symptoms, services, environment, and placement over a 3-year period, as well as data on domestic violence, maternal characteristics, and services. The FVSS supplemented the NSCAW by conducting a survey of a nationally representative sample of domestic violence and child welfare service agencies to determine their policies and practices regarding cases of co-occurring child maltreatment and domestic violence. Appended supplemental methodological recommendations