The 30-60% overlap of child maltreatment and domestic violence in families indicates a need for child protection policy and practice that reflects this co-occurrence. In 2009, the NRCCPS collaborated with the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to publish Child and Family Service Review Outcomes: Strategies to Improve Domestic Violence Responses in CFSR Program Improvement Plans to help child protection agencies develop and implement policy and best practice respond to the need for improving and deepening the child pro identified in the CFSR process.
Several states have developed practice guidance for child protection staff to establish standards, define best practice, and provide a resource for social workers managing domestic violence cases. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, Children’s Services division, published Guidelines for Responding to the Co-occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence that establishes important guiding principles and goals for social work staff, and then outlines processes and questions for screening, assessment, and service planning.
Often practice guidance is developed as a collaborative effort between the child protection agency and DV partners. For example, in 2002 the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (KCSDV) and the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS), division of Children and Family Services, began a state-level collaboration to bridge the gaps between the child welfare system and domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy programs, and to improve services for victims of domestic and sexual violence and their children. The collaboration included resource and program development and cross-system training and technical assistance for child protection, DV agencies, and other agencies serving families in which DV and child maltreatment are occurring. Two products developed as a result of that collaboration are a desk reference guide for child protection social workers http://nrccps.org/documents/2010/pdf/dvcwmanual.pdf and an on-line training curriculum for child protection workers and domestic violence advocates .
In Oregon, a work group of child welfare and domestic violence professionals were funded by the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families to meet and develop training for staff of both systems as part of an overall effort to increase the safety of adults and children. Child Welfare Practice for Cases with Domestic Violence was produced as a result of that collaboration. Additional funding from U.S. Department of Justice funded four pilot partnership sites between local domestic violence service providers and child welfare branch offices. In a related effort from 2000-2007 Lane County, Oregon participated as one of six demonstration sites testing the recommendations of Effective Interventions in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice, published by NCJFCJ. Commonly known as the Greenbook due to the color of its cover, this document focused policy and practice recommendations on three related systems: child welfare, domestic violence, and dependency courts. Many of the products and resources developed at those demonstration sites are available at www.thegreenbook.info.
An on-going collaboration between the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), domestic and sexual violence crisis centers, and the New Hampshire Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence places Domestic Violence Specialists from the local crisis centers into DCYF District Offices. The long-standing collaboration was selected as a Greenbook demonstration site and expanded their activities to include training, policy and practice development, multi-disciplinary practice/philosophical discussions, and a variety of trainings. Curricula for training staff to work with families experiencing domestic violence, including working with men who batter, can be found here
- New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth And Families Domestic Violence Specialized Training: Day One: Safely Engaging Adult Victims And Their Children
- New Hampshire Safely Engaging Adult Victims And Their Children (Handouts)
- New Hampshire Accountability and Connection with Abusive Men
- New Hampshire Accountability and Connection with Abusive Men (Handouts)
A host of additional resources and products related to the integration of domestic violence into child protection are available at the following websites:
Family Violence Prevention Fund
www.endabuse.org (click on Children’s Programs)
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
www.ncjfcj.org (click on Family Violence Department)
In addition, the following websites may be helpful for child protection agencies seeking to understand and build domestic violence practice and policy informed by needs of specific racial and cultural communities:
National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence
Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence
Institute on Domestic Violence in the African-American Community
National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women
Women of Color Network
Technical assistance in these efforts may be available by request to the NRCCPS, including:
- consultations related to policy or practice development,
- examples of model practices and programs from other states,
- webinars or teleconferences with national experts in DV work within child protection,
- facilitation of cross-system dialogue and planning,
- on-site training or technical assistance.
Contact your ACF state specialist with technical assistance requests.
1. Edleson, J.L. (1999). Interventions and issues in the co-occurrence of child abuse and domestic violence (Special issue). Child Maltreatment, 4(2). Appel, A. E., & Holden, G. W. (1998). The co-occurrence of spouse and physical child abuse: A review and appraisal. Journal of Family Psychology, 12(4), 578–599.
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Integrating Domestic Violence Best Practices and Policy into CW Program Improvement Plans
The National Resource Center for Child Protective Services (NRCCPS) and the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) webinar entitled “Integrating Domestic Violence Best Practices and Policy into CW Program Improvement Plans” was held on September 23rd, 2009. The webinar focused on field-tested strategies and tools developed through the collaborative efforts of domestic violence service providers and local and state child protection agencies. The presenters for the webinar were Lonna Davis, Children’s Program Manager at the Family Violence Prevention Fund; Theresa Costello, Director of the NRCCPS; and Shellie Taggart, author of “Child and Family Service Review Outcomes: Strategies to Improve Domestic Violence Responses in CFSR Program Improvement Plans.
Use the play button below to listen to the podcast: Integrating Domestic Violence Best Practices and Policy into CW Program Improvement Plans
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