Protecting the Child and the Family: Integrating Domestic Violence Screening Into a Child Advocacy Center

• NCJ Number: 196215
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 8 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 917-933
• Author(s): Mary L. Pulido; Divya Gupta
• Date Published: August 2002
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined a screening tool conducted at a child advocacy center for domestic violence.

Abstract

Preliminary data gathered from a pilot study of a domestic violence-screening tool at the Child Protection Center (CPC) in New York City are presented. The CPC coordinates a multi-disciplinary response to serious cases of child physical and sexual abuse by using a team of medical providers, social workers, police officers, assistant district attorneys, and child protective service workers. In 1997, the CPC launched a domestic violence initiative by incorporating screening into its forensic assessments so that the family could be protected from abuse. The 41-item questionnaire covers caretaker demographics, support systems, past relationships and domestic violence incidences, current relationship status and domestic violence incidences, and caretaker’s perception of her health and safety. The CPC developed a script for the clinicians that were interviewing caretakers to introduce the concept of screening for family safety concerns. Fifty-nine caretakers were screened at the CPC between January 2001 and April 2001. The majority of the women were Latino and the biological parent of the child who was undergoing the child abuse evaluation. The CPC found that asking a caretaker if they had ever had a restraining order opened the door to a further discussion of the incidence of violence. Of the women surveyed, 68 percent reported a past history of emotional abuse, 64 percent reported a past history of physical abuse, and 48 percent reported a past history of sexual abuse. Twelve percent of the women stated that they were currently in an abusive relationship. Ten percent said that the perpetrator of their abuse had also physically abused their children. The majority of the women stated that they were in good physical health; emotional health was reported as good by 50 percent. It is clear that the development and implementation of a domestic violence-screening questionnaire assisted in the identification of families in which women were experiencing domestic violence. The goal of identifying all types of family violence that could affect the child abuse victim was aided by this effort. 3 tables, 27 references