NCJ Number
234163
Date Published
2010
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This issue brief from the Family Violence Prevention Fund addresses the need to establish a national policy framework to maximize the effectiveness of early childhood home visiting programs to combat domestic violence and child maltreatment.
Abstract
The primary intent of this issue brief is to insure that Federal home visiting policies address the following: the needs of mothers and children who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic violence, the link between domestic violence and child abuse and neglect, and the impact of domestic violence on the health and well-being of children and families. To be effective in meeting these goals, home visiting policies and programs must include four key principles: 1) integrate domestic violence identification, assessment, and prevention into all aspects of home visitation training and service delivery; 2) connect mothers and children at risk of or who have experienced domestic violence with available community-based resources; 3) educate parents about the potentially harmful effects of exposure to domestic violence on children and how their parenting can be affected, both negatively and positively, by their own exposure to violence; and 4) engage fathers/other men in effective strategies to create healthy relationships with their partners and children while continuing to hold them accountable for their use of violence. This brief addresses the link between domestic violence and child maltreatment, provides recommendations for a Federal policy that addresses domestic violence and home visitation programs, provides recommendations for integrating effective practices into domestic violence and home visitation programs, and presents additional barriers that need to be considered in efforts to make home visitation programs more effective in addressing the problem of domestic violence. Endnotes