CHAPTER
3
Children
Living in Homes With Domestic Violence
Estimates
are that between 3.1 and 10 million children witness acts
of domestic violence each year.[71,71] Currently, about
43,000 children in Massachusetts are exposed to domestic
violence annually, and an even greater number of cases are
unreported.[73] In a 1994 report, the Department of
Social Services reported that an average of 32 percent of
its cases involved domestic violence. Five years later it
revised its figures upward to 40 to 60 percent, or 22,000
of its open protective cases.
Research
indicates that 30 to 60 percent of children from homes where
domestic violence is present are also victims of abuse themselves.[74]
In a 1995 national survey of over 6,000 American families,
Strauss and Gelles[75] found that 50 percent of the men
who assaulted their wives also frequently physically abused
their children. In Massachusetts, a 1991 Boston City
Hospital study found 59% of mothers of abused and neglected
children had medical records suggesting they were victims
of domestic violence.[76]
Co-occurrence
of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
Independent
of one another, child abuse and domestic violence can endanger
children, impair development and lead to long-term negative
outcomes.[77] The co-occurrence of domestic violence and
child abuse, however, can compound even further the negative
effects children are likely to experience over their lifetime.[78]
The
health risks for children of parents engaged in domestic
violence can begin even before birth. Estimates are that
as many as 20 percent of pregnant women experience personal
violence.[79] The direct trauma or stress of abuse during
pregnancy can lead to low birth weight, premature birth,
fetal distress, fetal injury, and death.[80]
Children's
physical, emotional, behavioral and psychological development
can be impacted on both a short and long-term basis. Mothers
who are stressed and burdened by being victimized are also
at an increased risk of neglectful parenting.[81] Mothers
experiencing abuse may also be less available to provide
care and emotional support to their children.[82]
Long-term
consequences to children can include higher rates of mental
illness, drug abuse, and criminal justice involvement as
an adult. Children exposed to domestic violence are at greater
risk for sexual abuse outside the home, as well. In fact,
their risk of sexual abuse is seven times greater than for
children not exposed to domestic violence.[83] Most distressing
is that domestic violence constitutes the "single, major
precursor" for child maltreatment fatalities.[84]
Children
growing up in abusive homes are also at risk of developing
violent behaviors, and repeating the cycle to become abusers
themselves. Of children that witness domestic violence,
it is estimated that 30 percent later become perpetrators
of violence, as compared to a rate of 2 to 4 percent in
the general population.[85]
Children
suffer through both the trauma of experiencing violence,
as well as the horrors of witnessing violence against a
loved one. Researchers now know that children who see or
hear a parent being battered can experience the same level
of trauma as children who themselves are beaten. In one
study, 93 percent of children witnessing domestic violence
were diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).[86]
Despite
the growing research pointing to the devastating emotional
effects on children of witnessing violence, the controversy
over whether to screen these cases in for protective custody
on the grounds of emotional abuse is still not resolved.
In an attempt to address this issue in Massachusetts, the
current Governor's Commission on Domestic Violence is reviewing
DSS protective intake policy. Although universal screening
for domestic violence is warranted, it is extremely difficult
to ascertain which cases require child protection intervention
that might lead to emergency shelter care and court involvement,
and which cases would be better served through a referral
to community supports and treatment.
Mothers
often fail to seek help because they fear a referral to
DSS will be made and that their children will be removed
if they choose not to leave their abusive spouse or partner.
Further compounding their dilemma is the fact that the "clinical
and legal mind-set" in Massachusetts has not shifted sufficiently
towards holding batterers accountable.[87] Many battered
women report that batterers repeatedly violate orders of
protection, or gain access to severely traumatized children
through court-ordered evaluations that reflect bias against
the protective parent or ignore the clinical needs of the
child.
Integrating
Child Welfare and Domestic Violence in Massachusetts
Few
public policies nationwide have provided guidance on how
child welfare and domestic violence organizations can best
address these issues when they co-occur in families. Yet
collaborative responses between these fields appear to be
the best way to keep mothers with their children while keeping
children safe.
The
Massachusetts Department of Social Services was the first
public child welfare agency in the country to initiate programs
to address both child abuse and domestic violence. It began
in the late 1980s, initiating programs to assist DSS in
helping mothers to seek safety and support for themselves
and their children.[88]
Battered
women's shelters that received a majority of their funding
from DSS began to complain that DSS was victimizing children
by removing children from mothers and forcing them to seek
restraining orders. DSS workers argued that programs for
battered women were overlooking the needs of children witnessing
or experiencing violence at the hands of an abuser.
In 1990,
as a first step toward addressing some of these concerns,
DSS moved to integrate battered women's advocates into the
child welfare setting. A pilot program with two sites (one
urban and one rural) was developed. Utilizing a multidisciplinary
approach, the pilots sought to coordinate child welfare
and domestic violence practice by examining the impact of
domestic violence throughout the life of the DSS case. The
pilot sites received specialized trainings in safety planning,
risk assessment, intervention and treatment. Funds were
also awarded to these sites to provide intervention programs
for batterers.
Two
years after this successful pilot was launched, it became
evident to women's advocates that the philosophy underlying
their work could become an integral part of child welfare
practice if enough time, training, staff support, and resources
were provided to DSS staff and their clients.
In 1994,
DSS harnessed the support of the Massachusetts Coalition
for Battered Women's Service Groups and secured legislative
funding to expand their domestic violence program. The current
Domestic Violence Program at DSS includes a continuum of
care including: services for battered women and their children,
coordination, batterer intervention, emergency response,
and prevention. In addition, training in domestic violence
is now agency-wide.
One
of the most effective components of the DSS Domestic Violence
Program is the role of its 14 Domestic Violence Specialists.
Each Specialist covers two to three local DSS Area Offices.
Their duties include individual case consultation with direct
line workers, sharing information on available services,
and direct advocacy for women and children.
One
of their primary goals is to educate and support DSS staff.
Since the area of domestic violence is a complex and evolving
one, caseworkers constrained by high caseloads and emergencies
cannot be expected to keep abreast of rapidly changing developments
in the field. The Specialists can provide that expertise.
Also, working with domestic violence cases can pose risks
for social workers. The Specialist is an important resource
in assisting the social worker to develop her own safety
plan and address her concerns about safety for all involved
in the case. Specialists also participate in DSS multidisciplinary
teams, providing insight at the assessment level, and proposing
effective interventions in cases in which child abuse and
domestic violence co-occur.
Other
noteworthy initiatives within the Domestic Violence Program
include:
Shelters for Substance Abusing Battered Women
These
shelters provide comprehensive services to substance abusing
battered women and their children for six months, with
follow-up services for up to one year. The programs work
with DSS to reunify mothers with their children when appropriate.
Visitation
Centers
Currently, 16 Visitation Centers are located throughout
the state to provide safe and supervised visitation services
to children and families that have separated due to domestic
violence. The Centers also serve as neutral pick-up and
drop-off points when supervision of visits is not mandated.
Specialized
Clinical Assessment
Traditional clinical assessments have not adequately addressed
the presence of partner abuse in the home and the effects
of witnessing violence on children. Children's Charter,
a private organization, works with DSS to provide evaluation
and ongoing clinical services to families where children
have witnessed violence.
DSS
also funds 35 battered women's programs across the state
to provide shelter, intervention, support, advocacy and
transitional living services to battered women and their
children. A statewide telecommunications network links these
programs so that data and immediate information on bed availability
can be provided.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Address local DSS Area Office gaps in assessments,
services and advocacy in cases where child abuse and domestic
violence co-occur.
The success of the Massachusetts domestic violence and
child welfare model was the result of strong DSS Central
Office leadership and the commitment and support of battered
women's programs, communities, and local DSS direct service
staff who have worked effectively with Domestic Violence
Specialists. Though a 1997 study showed that 62 percent
of DSS Supervisors had consulted a domestic violence specialist
five times or more,[89] the commitment to this casework
resource today is still not uniform across the DSS system.
DSS Area Office Directors and Program Managers must be
further exposed to the benefits and success of this model
so that children and families in every part of the state
can take advantage of better assessments, services, and
advocacy when abuse and domestic violence occur in their
lives.
- Increase the number of Domestic Violence Specialists.
In the first three months of 1998, Specialists provided
1,519 consultations involving 1,210 families,[90] of which
670 were new families. These numbers demonstrate the widespread
need for Domestic Violence Specialists in current DSS
practice. Currently, Specialists balance their time among
two or three Area Offices that are often 50 miles apart.
In addition to providing individual case consultation
and advocacy, Specialists network with community agencies
and also provide them with critical training and technical
assistance. These activities are creating a well-trained
and coordinated network of community services to meet
the needs of battered women and their children. They must
be more widely supported.
- Expand specialized treatment for child victims of
domestic violence.
Some child victims who witness violence require specialized
treatment. The state is making some progress in developing
new interventions in this area. For example, special DSS
funds help support the Children's Charter in Waltham and
the Child Witness to Violence Program at Boston Medical
Center where new approaches are being developed to help
these vulnerable children. These efforts, however, are
still in the developing stage, and providers say there
is an "overwhelming" shortage of specialized care. Overall,
the scarcity of qualified counselors and personnel is
striking in view of the reported increases in family violence.[91]
- Expand training about domestic violence for child
welfare providers, school personnel, providers of medical
care for women and children, and juvenile, family and
criminal court personnel.
In order to identify mothers and children being victimized
by domestic abuse, providers of care to children and families
need to be trained to identify signs of this problem.
Training must include the dynamics of family violence
and the significant impact witnessing violence has on
the child. Knowledge of effective and culturally responsive
interventions, including safety planning, is crucial.
Training should be provided within state, as well as private,
non-profit agencies that work with women and children
so that the response to children living with domestic
violence is consistent and universal.
- Address gaps in services for victims of domestic
violence at the community level.
The child protection system sees the most serious cases
of domestic violence. However, many other women and children
who require assistance have not been referred to the child
protection agency. As a result, community-based responses
are necessary to address the needs of battered women and
their children regardless of the point of referral.
Family support programs can assist victims and their children
by providing transportation, respite, childcare, and other
services. These programs can also focus on family violence
prevention. Community-based justice programs can offer
neighborhood crime watches, ensuring that restraining
orders against batterers are enforced and that batterer
accountability remains a priority. These programs can
provide a continuum of services and prevention responses
for the population of domestic violence victims and their
children who are not served by the child protection agency.
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