Articles

For articles about domestic violence, please see the Domestic violence page on the MINCAVA Electronic Clearinghouse.

• Child Protection and Advocacy
• Child Support and Custody Issues
• Children's Exposure
• Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment
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Child Protection and Advocacy

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Is It Child Abuse?
  Author: Steve Christian
  Description: This document is a review of the child welfare system's response to child exposure to domestic violence and is followed by a discussion about child abuse definitions, policy approaches, and the responsbilities of legislators.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: "This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Balancing the Harms - Protecting Children
  Author: Sharwline Nicholson
  Description: The author addresses the need for change in the child protection system and the current means through which children are removed from the home in domestic violence situations. The page provides a short video clip from the author's work-in-progress which addresses actual cases.
  Date Added: 01/29/2007

• Building Bridges Between Domestic Violence Organizations and Child Protective Services
  Author: Linda Spears
  Description: This paper provides both background information and a framework for collaboration with child protection agencies that will support the work of domestic violence advocates as they try to improve safety for women and their children.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 10/26/2005

• Building Safety for Battered Women and Their Children into the Child Protection System
  Author: Ellen Pence and Terri Taylor
  Description: This is a report based on three separate consultations by Praxis with communities wanting to explore the use of the Safety and Accountability Audit in child protection cases where there has been a history of domestic violence. This report shows how to use case files and focus groups to locate systemic problems in the handling of these cases. It is a preliminary examination of the problematic practices in working with battered women within a child protection case.
  Date Added: 11/06/2003

• Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect: 2003
  Author: Public Health Agency of Canada
  Description: This report presents the major findings of the second cycle of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003). In this initiative, data are collected every five years on child maltreatment reported to, and investigated by, child welfare agencies in Canada.
  Date Added: 10/04/2005

• Caring For My Family
  Author: Caring For My Family
  Description: "The purpose of the program is to equip unmarried mothers and fathers with skills for making healthy decisions and to explore future options for their relationship including the potential of getting married. New parents will learn skills for parenting together and strengthening their family unit."
  Date Added: 08/10/2007

• Child Protective Services for Children of Battered Women: Practice and Controversy
  Author: Carol Echlin and Larry Marshal for the London and Middlesex Children's Aid Society
  Description: 1995. A look at the difficulties that child protection workers face when trying to make a situation safe for children who witness woman abuse.
  Date Added: 01/04/2001

• Child Welfare Practices for Cases with Domestic Violence
  Author: Oregon Department of Human Services
  Description: This is the third edition of Child Welfare Practice for Cases with Domestic Violence, developed as part of an overall effort to increase the safety of adults and children through collaboration of domestic violence services and child protective services.
  Date Added: 03/18/2004

• Children, Young People and Domestic Violence
  Author: Lesley Laing
  Description: The author explores "the ways in which children and young people experience domestic violence," as well as the impact it has on child development and the response by professionals and the child protection system is also reviewed.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Domestic Violence and Child Welfare Services
  Author: North Carolina Division of Social Services & The Family and Children's Resource Program
  Description: Statistics and links to helpful resources and information related to child welfare and domestic violence are provided in this document.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction
  Author: Janet R. Johnston, Ph.D., Inger Sagatun-Edwards, Ph.D., Martha-Elen Blomquist, Ph.D., Linda K. Girdner, Ph.D.
  Description: 12-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The bulletin provides information regarding the risk factors associated with parental kidnaping and strategies that can be used to intervene with families at greatest risk. They address such critical factors as the characteristics of parents who abduct their own children, the role family violence plays in increasing the likelihood of parental abduction, ways of identifying children at risk of being abducted by a parent or other family member, and steps that can be taken to protect children from family abduction.
  Date Added: 07/23/2001

• Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy & Practice
  Author: Louis W. McHardy, Meredith Hofford, Susan Schechter, & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: This 133 page publication addresses a number of issues relevant to family violence within the home and the community and specifically focuses on interventions.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Forging New Collaborations Between Domestic Violence Programs, Child Welfare Services and Communities of Color
  Author: Nita Carter
  Description: This report summarizes the dialogues from the Women of Color Network (WOCN) focus groups on domestic violence and child welfare. Over one hundred (100) domestic violence and sexual assault activists of color participated in these focus groups. The report includes a set of recommendations and highlights from their conversations regarding issues and barriers for battered women with children from communities of color.
  Date Added: 12/19/2003

• Guidelines for Conducting Family Team Conferences When There is a History of Domestic Violence
  Author: Ricardo Carrillo, Ph.D. and Janet Carter, M.S.
  Description: These guidelines are meant to assist workers who are participating in or facilitating FTCs when there has been a history of domestic violence. The goal is to ensure that the safety of all family members is addressed in a supportive and empowering manner throughout the process of FTC.
  Date Added: 11/10/2003

• Guidelines for Public Child Welfare Agencies Serving Children and Families Experiencing Domestic Violence
  Author: Ramona Foley, David Berns, MSW, Gretchen Test, MSW and H. Lien Bragg, MSW
  Description: The guidelines describe model policies, practices, programs, and protocols that address the multiple needs of families and children affected by domestic violence and child maltreatment. They are based on recommendations contained in the Greenbook and on the thoughtful recommendations provided by public child welfare agency directors, domestic violence advocates, child advocates, and legal representatives.
  Date Added: 08/19/2003

• Guidelines for Responding to the Co-occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
  Author: Minnesota Department of Human Services
  Description: The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide direction to child protection staff when responding to situations in which child maltreatment and domestic violence are both occurring.
  Date Added: 04/22/2002

• Helping Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Law Enforcement and Community Partnerships
  Author: Barbara E. Smith, Laura B. Nickles, Darlanne Hector Mulmat, and Heather J. Davies for the American Bar Association and Association of Governements
  Description: March 2001 report. Discusses law enforcement and community responses to children who have been exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/18/2002

• In the Best Interest of Women and Children: A Call for Collaboration Between Child Welfare and Domestic Violence Constituencies
  Author: Susan Schechter and Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: This is a briefing paper prepared for a Wingspread Conference of a similar title. It discusses family violence, specifically against women and children, barriers to helping the victims, and the importance of collaboration to effect change.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 10/11/2005

• Keeping Children Safe: OJJDP's Child Protection Division
  Author: Thomas Cullen, a Senior Writer-Editor with the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
  Description: 8-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Bulletin describes CPD and its efforts to safeguard children by supporting research and programs on child victimization and exposure to violence; providing information and training and technical assistance to State, local, and community-based agencies; and developing and demonstrating effective child protection initiatives. The Bulletin also discusses the rationale for OJJDP's work in the areas of missing and exploited children and child maltreatment and describes the scope of the division's activities.
  Date Added: 07/23/2001

• Learning from Experiences of Battered Immigrant, Refugee and Indegenious Women with Child Protection Services to Inform a Dialogue Among Domestic Violence Activisits and Advocates
  Author: V. Pualani Enos
  Description: This document introduces voices of battered immigrant, refugee and indegenious women who were also involved in Child Protection Services. The document explores how community approach can enhance the physical, spiritual and mental health of individuals, families and communities and how this concept can be well utilized for policy and practice for social services.
  Date Added: 02/23/2004

• Overlap of Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment in U.S. State Civil and Criminal Statutes
  Author: Annelies Hagemeister, MA, Ph.D.
  Description: This April 2000 table lists statutes alphabetically by state.
  Other Formats: | Word |
  Date Added: 04/18/2000

• Prosecutors, Kids and Domestic Violence
  Author: Debra Whitcomb
  Description: This article describes some of the issues prosecutors should be aware of when they handle domestic violence cases involving children, especially in light of recent legislation aimed to protect children.
  Date Added: 05/22/2003

• Protecting Children from Exposure to Domestic Violence: The Use and Abuse of Child Maltreatment Statutes
  Author: Lois A. Weithorn, J.D., Ph.D.
  Description: This 145 page article is a comprehensive review and critical discussion about the laws and child protection responses that have shown to be effective.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect: A Resource Guide for Mandated Reporters
  Author: Minnesota Department of Human Services
  Description: This guide is designed to help mandated reporters better understand the statute and to outline appropriate action that should be taken if there is a suspicion of child abuse or neglect.
  Date Added: 09/08/2004

• Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors: Minnesota Statute 626.556
  Description: Posted by the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Discusses public policy, definitions, persons mandated to report, report of deprivation of parental rights or kidnapping, agency responsible for assessing or investigating reports of maltreatment, agency responsible for assessing or investigating reports of maltreatment, immunity from liability, retaliation prohibited, failure to report, and more.
  Date Added: 11/27/2001

• Responding to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: This article discusses the ongoing debate between child protection workers and domestic abuse advocates. It also outlines the similarities between the two groups as they work towards similar goals.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Sharwline Nicholson v. Nicholas Scoppetta - Appeals Decision
  Description: This document outlines the Appeals decision regarding the case of Nicholson (filed as a class action in federal court in 2001). This history of this decision is based on the class action lawsuit in which battered mothers and their children in New York City successfully challenged the City child welfare agency's practice and policy of removing children from battered mothers and charging the mothers with child neglect due to domestic violence. The federal court ruled that the practice is unconstitutional under federal law. The case went up on appeal.
  Date Added: 11/02/2004

• Should Childhood Exposure to Adult Domestic Violence Be Defined as Child Maltreatment Under the Law?
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: Published as a chapter in Protecting Children From Domestic Violence: Strategies for Community Intervention (2004), this article reviews the research on childhood exposure to domestic violence and emerging laws aimed at protecting these children. The author concludes with an argument against assuming that childhood exposure to violence is automatically a form of child maltreatment and suggests the need to modify child protection services and the expansion of primarily voluntary community-based responses to these children and their families.
  Other Formats: | Word |
  Date Added: 10/11/2005

• Strategies to Improve Supervised Visitation Services in Domestic Violence Cases
  Author: M. Sharon Maxwell, LCSW, Ph.D. & Karen Oehme, J.D.
  Description: This Violence Against Women Online Resources commissioned document describes the evolution of supervised visitation services for domestic violence cases, notes legal trends in these cases, describes practice concerns, and presents strategies to improve the safety of participants when supervised visitation, due to domestic violence, is court-ordered.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 10/29/2001

• Supervised Visitation: Information for Mothers Who Have Been Abused
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: "This Guide should be given directly to mothers who have experienced abuse and whose children are in supervised visitation programs. It will tell mothers basic information about how supervised visitation programs work and how she can prepare herself and her children for the experience. If she is afraid of her children’s father or was abused by him, then the information in this Guide will be particularly helpful to her."
  Date Added: 07/25/2007

• The Canadian Child Welfare Response to Cases of Exposure to Domestic Violence: Analysis of the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Cis-2003)
  Author: Tara Black, Nico Trocme, Barbara Fallon, and Bruce MacLaurin
  Description: This document displays the results of a comparative overview of the child welfare response within Canadian boundaries to child exposure to domestic violence. Implications for policy are discussed.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Training Child Welfare Workers on Domestic Violence
  Author: Randy H. Magen, Ph.D. and Kathryn Conroy, DSW
  Description: Final Report, June 1998. In October of 1995, the Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) was awarded funds to train public child welfare workers to understand and intervene appropriately with families where there was concurrent child abuse or neglect and woman abuse. This objective was accomplished by designing, implementing, and evaluating a competency-based training curriculum on domestic violence for direct service workers in the New York City Administrationm for Children's Services (ACS). The training curriculum was designed to impact worker's attitudes toward domestic violence, provide them with knowledge and skills for assessing domestic violence, and enhance their practice with families in which there is woman abuse. This paper is the final report CUSSW's project.
  Date Added: 06/20/2000

• Using Interpreters in Forensic Interviews
  Author: Barbara Hiltz, MSSW, LGSW, Jennifer Anderson, MSW, LGSW for American Prosecutors Research Institute
  Description: This document offers experience-based considerations for those who choose to utilize interpreters in forensic interviews with children.
  Date Added: 02/06/2003

• Violence Against Women Document Library
  Author: Violence Against Women Online Resources
  Description: A huge variety of information and resources are categorized by topics relating to children and domestic violence, including information about advocacy, child custody and protection, and criminal justice responses.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• What Can I Do to Prevent Harm to Children? A Resource Guide for Mandated Reporters
  Author: Minnesota Department of Human Services - Children's Services
  Description: Designed to help you better understand Minnesota's mandated reporter statute and to outline appropriate action to take if you know of or suspect abuse or neglect to a child. Includes reference material.
  Date Added: 11/13/2000

• When Children Experience Domestic Violence: Expert Opinion
  Author: National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
  Description: This document includes a summary of a ruling made by a New York Judge to stop removing children from battered women because children of such women are exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

Child Support and Custody Issues

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: "This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
  Author: Daniel G. Saunders for VAWnet
  Description: A surprising number of battered women lose custody of their children to their abusive partners. This document describes some of the legal and cultural trends surrounding custody and visitation decisions and the social science evidence supporting a need to consider domestic violence in these decisions.
  Other Formats: | PDF |
  Date Added: 10/18/1998

• Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
  Author: Daniel G Saunders
  Description: Changes in the legal system over custody decisions involving child exposure to domestic violence are analyzed on the basis of the research literature. Recommendations for custody are made.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Deciding Child Custody When There is Domestic Violence: A Benchbook for Pennsylvania Courts (2005)
  Author: Women's Law Project
  Description: A variety of links to documents and articles related to childhood exposure to domestic violence are provided on this website, as well as information pertaining to custody issues and the laws regarding child exposure.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy & Practice
  Author: Louis W. McHardy, Meredith Hofford, Susan Schechter, & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: This 133 page publication addresses a number of issues relevant to family violence within the home and the community and specifically focuses on interventions.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Prosecutors, Kids, and Domestic Violence Cases
  Author: Debra Whitcomb
  Description: "This article describes some of the issues prosecutors should be aware of when they handle domestic violence cases involving children, especially in light of recent legislation aiming to protect children."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• The Troubling Admission of Supervised Visitation Records in Custody Proceedings
  Author: Nat Stern and Karen Oehme
  Description: This document, originally published in Vol. 75, No.2 of the Temple Law Review, explores the purpose of supervised visitation programs and the legal community's call for their development. At the core of this document is an examination of the standards and guidelines of these programs, as well as the issues surrounding the use and admissibility of observation reports used by these programs.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 02/06/2003

• Violence Against Women Document Library
  Author: Violence Against Women Online Resources
  Description: A huge variety of information and resources are categorized by topics relating to children and domestic violence, including information about advocacy, child custody and protection, and criminal justice responses.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• When Children Experience Domestic Violence: Expert Opinion
  Author: National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
  Description: This document includes a summary of a ruling made by a New York Judge to stop removing children from battered women because children of such women are exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

Children's Exposure

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Is It Child Abuse?
  Author: Steve Christian
  Description: This document is a review of the child welfare system's response to child exposure to domestic violence and is followed by a discussion about child abuse definitions, policy approaches, and the responsbilities of legislators.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence
  Author: Betsy McAlister Groves
  Description: This article discusses the effects of exposure to domestic violence, identification and assessment, and mental health interventions.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• A Blueprint for Responding to Children Exposed to Domestic Violence in Pediatric Health Care
  Author: Institute for Safe Families
  Description: The purpose of this document is to provide training for health care providers when working with and screening for children exposed to domestic violence. A list of recommendations is included.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• A Judicial Checklist for Children and Youth Exposed to Violence (Actual Checklist for Consideration)
  Description: A detailed checklist outlining information for judges to consider when working with cases where children or youth have been exposed to violence. A technical assistance brief detailing educational information and knowledge that is important for judges to be familiar with, can be found under the additional title.
  Date Added: 01/22/2007

• A Judicial Checklist for Children and Youth Exposed to Violence (Informational Reading)
  Description: A technical assistance brief that addresses the need for judges to understand the impact violence has on children and adolescents. The detailed checklist outlining information for judges to consider is located separate from this material.
  Date Added: 01/22/2007

• Addressing Youth Victimization
  Author: Joy D. Osofsky
  Description: 2001 Bulletin. The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention published Combating Violence and Delinquency: The National Juvenile Justice Action Plan in 1996. This report established eight objectives as the foundation for innovative and effective action by Federal, State, and local governments, in partnership with private sector organizations, to reduce juvenile violence and victimization. This Bulletin, the first in a series on the implementation of the Action Plan, summarizes the accomplishments of Council member agencies in meeting one of the Action Plan's eight objectives and numerous related action steps.
  Date Added: 02/14/2002

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty and Jeffrey L. Edleson
  Description: This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States.We discuss relevant articles of the convention, the extent to which adult domestic violence is present in cases of international parental abduction, and cases in which battered mothers have contested the forced return of their children to an abusive partner.We conclude with recommended steps needed in research, training, and legislation that may increase the likelihood of safe outcomes for battered mothers and their children.
  Date Added: 12/15/2004

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: "This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Assessing Child Exposure to Adult Domestic Violence
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Amanda L. Ellerton, Ellen A. Seagren, Staci L. Kirchberg, Sarah O. Schmidt, & Amirthini T. Ambrose
  Description: This article addresses the current available assessment tools for measuring the level of exposure to domestic violence children have witnessed within the home. A brief review of the existing measurements is offered as well as the need for a more thoroughly refined assessment tool. Suggestions are offered.
  Date Added: 07/06/2006

• Behind Closed Doors: The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children
  Author: UNICEF
  Description: This document is a collection of information about the extent of child exposure, the key finding of the research in this field, and recommendations for policymakers.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
  Author: Daniel G Saunders
  Description: Changes in the legal system over custody decisions involving child exposure to domestic violence are analyzed on the basis of the research literature. Recommendations for custody are made.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Child Welfare: Health & Human Services
  Author: Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
  Description: This website provides a number of documents and related resources, particlarly for child welfare workers. Training resources and interventions are provided as well.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Child Witnesses in Canada
  Author: London Family Court Clinic
  Description: This paper reviews the legal reforms of the 1980s that opened the courtrooms of Canada to hearing the evidence of children. Topics covered include best practice approaches, a research agenda for child witnesses, a "bill of rights" for children who have to testify, and the results of a follow-up with former clients 12 years after they were referred.
  Date Added: 05/12/2004

• Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence - Common Questions
  Author: The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
  Description: Frequently Asked Questions about child witnessing of domestic violence are answered along with information about how children are impacted, the long-term effects, and how to help.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analytic Review
  Author: Katherine M. Kitzmann, Noni K. Gaylord, Aimee R. Holt, & Erin D. Kenny
  Description: This study compared children exposed to domestic violence to children not so exposed. The results showed that child witnesses to domestic violence exhibit more negative outcomes.
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System
  Description: A variety of resources are provided for professionals and for any person interested in learning more about children and domestic violence, including books and training materials.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Steve Cohen
  Description: This document is based on a presentation done by Steve Cohen. It reviews the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children, the scope of the problem, and a variety of resources are also provided.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence: A Few Facts...
  Author: Domestic Violence Intervention Center
  Description: The impact that child exposure to domestic violence can have children and their later development is discussed. PTSD is reviewed, as well as ways to help exposed children.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children and Family Violence: The Unnoticed Victims
  Author: Gabrielle M. Maxwell of New Zealand's Office of the Commissioner for Children
  Description: May 1994 report based on a New Zealand study. This document goes into detail about child exposure to domestic violence and the consequences of such witnessing.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 05/20/1996

• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Rhode Island Kids Count
  Description: In this brief, an outline is provided that details the domestic violence problem, how it effects children by age and gender, the connection between DV and child abuse, and Rhode Islands specific efforts to combat the problem.
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: "Silent Witnesses"
  Description: This document offers statistics and also discusses the impact of child exposure to domestic violence as children progress in age.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: Research Findings and Implications for Intervention
  Author: Bonnie E. Carlson
  Description: Prevalence rates are discussed in addition to moderating factors for childrens' responses to domestic violence. Group and individual interventions are reviewed in the context of witnessing DV.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children Exposed to Violence: Current Status, Gaps, and Research Priorities
  Author: Analytical Sciences, Inc.
  Description: This is a workshop summary of the July 24-26, 2002 conference in Washington DC. It includes conference findings that explore the definition and conceptualization of child maltreatment, differentiating exposure to violence and child abuse, measuring violence exposure, services and interventions, and legal and policy issues.
  Date Added: 10/09/2002

• Children Who Witness Domestic Violence: The Invisible Victims
  Author: Joy D. Osofsky
  Description: A review of the effects of exposure to both domestic violence and community violence is the focus of this work, and the author discusses what is learned by children who witness such violence. Further directions for research are also included.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children's Domestic Violence Assessment Tool
  Description: "The purpose of this tool is to help assess safety, risk, strengths and needs. It may be used to assist in decision making and service planning during any stage of the CPS case (assessment through case planning and case management) in conjunction with required Structured Decision Making Tools. The tool is designed for use with the child(ren) in CPS cases involving domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: This article reviews the various effects, possible symptoms, protective factors, and the professional response.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Guide to Research and Resources
  Author: Alicia Summers
  Description: Published in collaborative work with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, this document outlines: the impace of domestic violence on children, the legal issues and system responses affecting children exposed to domestic violence, and provides useful resources which address this specific area of interest.
  Date Added: 01/22/2007

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Striving Toward an Ecological Framework for Interventions
  Author: Cliff McKinney, Karin Sieger, Allison Kanter Agliata, Kimberly Renk
  Description: The authors discuss the implications for childhood exposure to domestic violence and reviews a myriad of interventions that have been shown to counteract some of the consequences.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children's Exposure to Violence
  Author: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
  Description: This website provides access to research articles about a variety of topics related to child exposure to domestic violence. Articles can be searched for by topic.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children's Exposure to Violence: The Safe Start Initiative
  Author: Kracke, K. , U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
  Description: An April 2001 Factsheet presents an overview of the Safe Start Initiative. Researchers estimate that as many as 10 million U.S. children witness or are victims of violence in their homes or communities each year. The Safe Start Initiative, which was developed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in partnership with the Office of Justice Programs and the Department of Health and Human Services, is designed to prevent and reduce the impact of violence on young children and their families through the development of comprehensive and collaborative service delivery systems.
  Date Added: 02/14/2002

• Children's Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence
  Author: Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: "This article focuses on understanding on how witnessing violence in defined, what we know about its effects on children, and how such information may be used or misused.
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• Children, Young People and Domestic Violence
  Author: Lesley Laing
  Description: The author explores "the ways in which children and young people experience domestic violence," as well as the impact it has on child development and the response by professionals and the child protection system is also reviewed.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Deciding Child Custody When There is Domestic Violence: A Benchbook for Pennsylvania Courts (2005)
  Author: Women's Law Project
  Description: A variety of links to documents and articles related to childhood exposure to domestic violence are provided on this website, as well as information pertaining to custody issues and the laws regarding child exposure.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Domestic Violence and Child Welfare Services
  Author: North Carolina Division of Social Services & The Family and Children's Resource Program
  Description: Statistics and links to helpful resources and information related to child welfare and domestic violence are provided in this document.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Domestic Violence and Children
  Author: Gail Horner
  Description: The author discusses the consequences of domestic violence on children and empahsized the role that primary care providers play in forestalling child maltreatment and the negative impacts.
  Date Added: 05/25/2007

• Domestic Violence and Children: A Children's Health Fund Report
  Author: The Children's Health Fund
  Description: The author discusses domestic violence as a pediatric issue and as a valuable source for intervention.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Domestic Violence and children: Analysis and Recommendations
  Author: L.S. Carter, L.A. Weithorn, & R.E. Behrman
  Description: This document reviews the prevalence of child exposure to domestic violence by documenting their existence in all segments of the community. The impact of exposure on children is also discussed.
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being
  Author: Sharmila Lawrence
  Description: The author looks at domestic violence among women on welfare, the impact on children who are exposed to violence in the home, and methods to increase the stability of marriages.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence as a Form of Child Abuse: Identification and Prevention
  Author: Marianne James
  Description: By looking at the ways child exposure to domestic violence manifests itself during the various stages of a child's life, the author documents ways to identify problems in exposed children and discusses specific intervention strategies.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children
  Author: Karestan C. Koenen, Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalon Caspi, Alan Taylor, & Shaun Purcell
  Description: The researchers document the consequences of early childhood stress, such as exposure to domestic violence, on brain development, which subsequently can lead to a lower IQ.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Domestic Violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children
  Author: Karestan C. Koenen, Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalon Caspi, Alan Taylor, & Shaun Purcell
  
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• Domestic Violence Reading List
  Author: National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  Description: "This reading list was compiled by experts in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. It includes important recent work as well as classic books and articles on domestic violence by Network and other experts in the field."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence Services
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: Being knowledgeable about domestic violence services available to families, particularly children who have been exposed to violence in the home, has become increasingly important. This document offers an array of links, information, and resources related to such services.
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy & Practice
  Author: Louis W. McHardy, Meredith Hofford, Susan Schechter, & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: This 133 page publication addresses a number of issues relevant to family violence within the home and the community and specifically focuses on interventions.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Effects of Domestic Violence on Women: FAQs
  Author: Womancare
  Description: Commonly asked questions along with extensive and valuable answers are included in this document. A Safety Plan and a Children's Bill of Rights are provided as well.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Effects On Children & Teens
  Description: A discussion about the impact of domestic violence characterizes this document, and is supplemented with a review of the impact at the various stages of child development.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Exposure to Interparental Violence in Childhood and Psychosocial Adjustment in Young Adulthood
  Author: David M. Fergusson & L. John Horwood
  Description: The authors discuss how exposure to domestic violence as children manifests itself during the adolescent period. The article concludes that young adults who were exposed to domestic violence during their childhood had increased rates of mental health disorders, substance abuse usage, and criminal recrods.
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• Exposure to Violence: Psychological and Academic Correlates in Child Witnesses
  Author: Hallam Hurt, MD; Elsa Malmud, PhD; Nancy L. Brodsky, PhD; Joan Giannetta, BA
  Description: 2001 Report. Inner-city children are frequently exposed to violence; however, there are few data regarding the psychological and academic correlates of such exposure in young children at school entry. This study aims to document exposure to violence in inner-city children aged 7 years; assess their feelings of distress; and evaluate the relationships of exposure to violence with school performance, behavior, and self-esteem.
  Other Formats: | PDF |
  Date Added: 02/08/2002

• Family Violence: Open Directory Project
  Description: This page is a comprehensive list of links to various organizations and websites that provide information and resources about children and domestic violence.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Gallery of Children's Art
  Author: Domestic Abuse Project
  Description: The following pictures were created by children in the Domestic Abuse Project's Children's Program. All children in this program are child witnesses of violence committed by one adult household member (usually their father, step-father, or mother's boyfriend) against their mother. Each file is rather large (35K-95K) and be prepared to wait as each image loads into your computer.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 05/16/2003

• Get the Facts - Domestic Violence and Children
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: Statistics and numbers are provided to give an idea of trends in the United States related to children and exposure to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Helping Children Affected by Domestic Violence
  Author: Human Services Policy Center
  Description: This is a comprehensive document about children who have been exposed to domestic violence and is supplemented with specific interventions that have shown to help palliate the impact.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• How Children Are Involved in Adult Domestic Violence: Results From a Four City Telephone Survey
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Lyungai F. Mbilinyi, Sandra K. Beeman, and Annelies K. Hagemeister
  Description: This article, which was published in Vol. 18, No. 1 of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2003), summarizes a study that collected direct reports on domestic violence events. Information was gathered through anonymous telephone interviews with 114 battered mothers in four metropolitan areas across the United States, eliciting detailed information from the women on their children’s observations and responses to the violence being committed against the mothers. The article concludes with recommendations for a greater emphasis on careful assessment of children’s involvement in domestic violence incidents and on assisting mothers to achieve economic stability as well as safety.
  Other Formats: | Word |
  Date Added: 05/14/2003

• Infant Exposure to Domestic Violence Predicts Heightened Sensitivity to Adult Verbal Conflict
  Author: Erica S. Dejonghe, G. Anne Bogat, Alytia A. Levendosky, Alexander Von Eye, and Williams S. Davidson II
  Description: The results of this article found that infants do respond negatively to verbal conflict in the environment.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Intergenerational Transmission of Partner Violence: A 20-Year Prospective Study
  Author: Miriam K. Ehrensaft and Patricia Cohen, Jocelyn Brown, Elizabeth Smailes, Henian Chen, and Jeffrey G. Johnson
  Description: An unselected sample of 543 children was followed over 20 years to test the independent effects of parenting, exposure to domestic violence between parents (ETDV), maltreatment, adolescent disruptive behavior disorders, and emerging adult substance abuse disorders (SUDs) on the risk of violence to and from an adult partner.
  Date Added: 08/20/2003

• Little eyes, little ears: How violence against a mother shapes children as they grow
  Author: Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker
  Description: This comprehensive 44 page document is divided by topics that cover facts and figures, types of abuse against women and children, ways a child can be impacted by domestic violence, myths about women and abuse, copin strategies, and responding and reporting, among others.
  Date Added: 06/06/2007

• Lola's Story
  Description: Transcript of an argument between an abuser and a victim, recorded on a Fisher Price recorder by the 12-year old child witness who told detectives "I knew he would kill her, he told her that he would." Source: Anne O'Dell, formerly of the San Diego PD, now a presenter and consultant on DV issues. This transcript was a collaborative effort by the some of the Victim Advocates in Phoenix, Arizona. The transcript is not word for word, as not everything said on the tape is intelligible. The advocates' characterizations are given in parentheses after many of Mac's comments.
  Date Added: 11/02/2000

• Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence
  Author: Betsy McAlister Groves
  Description: Abstract of article that discusses the growing body of empirical research that demonstrates that exposure to domestic violence deleteriously affects children's social, emotional, and cognitive development.
  Date Added: 01/04/2001

• National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence
  Author: National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Description: A review of relevant websites, statistics, and current literature is provided in this document.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: General Statistics
  Author: National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Description: This document provides general statistics relating to children's witnessing of domestic violence. Estimates and prevalences are provided based on demographic variables.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Parenting in the Context of Domestic Violence
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D., Lyungai F. Mbilinyi, M.S.W., and Sudha Shetty, J.D.
  Description: This report describes children’s exposure to domestic violence, the needs of both parents and children in the context of domestic violence events, and the resources available to help them.
  Date Added: 08/06/2003

• Prevalence and Effects of Child Exposure to Domestic Violence
  Author: John W. Fantuzzo & Wanda K. Mohr
  Description: A review of the problems associated with making valid and reliable estimates concerning the prevlance of child exposure to domestic violence in included in this document. Additionally, the impact of such exposure is discussed and the document ends with a discussion surrounding the need for more empirical research in order to effectively intervene with exposed children.
  Date Added: 08/24/2007

• Prevalence of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Implications for Prevention and Intervention
  Author: Joy D. Osofsky
  Description: A discussion surrounding the problems with defining domestic violence and the difficulty in determining prevlance rates as a result constitutes the bulk of this document. The implications of this problem are also looked at.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Prosecutors, Kids, and Domestic Violence Cases
  Author: Debra Whitcomb
  Description: "This article describes some of the issues prosecutors should be aware of when they handle domestic violence cases involving children, especially in light of recent legislation aiming to protect children."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Protecting Children from Exposure to Domestic Violence: The Use and Abuse of Child Maltreatment Statutes
  Author: Lois A. Weithorn, J.D., Ph.D.
  Description: This 145 page article is a comprehensive review and critical discussion about the laws and child protection responses that have shown to be effective.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Research and Practice in Child Interviewing: Implications for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Kathleen Coulborn Faller
  Description: "This article argues that methods employed in interviewing children about child maltreatment can be applied to interviewing children about exposure to domestic violence. The article describes how cognitive interviewing, narrative elaboration, and event segmentation can be employed when talking to children about domestic violence. In addition, the article discusses how focused questions related to child maltreatment and child endangerment can be used to elicit information from children about domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Responding to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: This article discusses the ongoing debate between child protection workers and domestic abuse advocates. It also outlines the similarities between the two groups as they work towards similar goals.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Responding to Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Research Informing Practice and Policy
  Author: Catherine Koverola and Astrid Heger
  Description: This article discusses the political and practical ramifications of disparate disciplines, theories, and movements on the response to children exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Safe from the Start: Reducing Children's Exposure to Violence
  Author: California Attorney General's Office: Crime and Violence Prevention Center
  Description: This is a very comprehensive review of promising strategies and programs. It serves as a resource guide and includes evaluation tools and funding resources information.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Safe From the Start: Taking Action on Children Exposed to Violence
  Description: Document posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Click on the "Table of Contents" to view the entire document.
  Date Added: 01/17/2001

• Should Childhood Exposure to Adult Domestic Violence Be Defined as Child Maltreatment Under the Law?
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: Published as a chapter in Protecting Children From Domestic Violence: Strategies for Community Intervention (2004), this article reviews the research on childhood exposure to domestic violence and emerging laws aimed at protecting these children. The author concludes with an argument against assuming that childhood exposure to violence is automatically a form of child maltreatment and suggests the need to modify child protection services and the expansion of primarily voluntary community-based responses to these children and their families.
  Other Formats: | Word |
  Date Added: 10/11/2005

• Silent Victims Revisited: The Special Case of Domestic Violence
  Author: Barry Zuckerman, Marilyn Augustyn, Betsy McAlister Groves, & Steven Parker
  Description: The authors discuss the current knowledge base on children exposed to domestic violence, the impact of such violence, and practice implications.
  Date Added: 08/24/2007

• Tackling Domestic Violence: Providing Support for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence
  Author: Audrey Mullender
  Description: "This report provides good practice recommendations and suggestions for a range of practitioners and professionals who have a role in commissioning, developing, or delivering initiatives to support children who have in the past or are currently witenssing domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Teachers' Resource: Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
  Description: Guidelines, particularly for teachers, are provided to help professionals respond to children who have been exposed to domestic violence and abuse. Mini-stories are included and are followed by suggestions as to how one should respond.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• The Canadian Child Welfare Response to Cases of Exposure to Domestic Violence: Analysis of the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Cis-2003)
  Author: Tara Black, Nico Trocme, Barbara Fallon, and Bruce MacLaurin
  Description: This document displays the results of a comparative overview of the child welfare response within Canadian boundaries to child exposure to domestic violence. Implications for policy are discussed.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• The Domestic Violence & Mental Health Policy Initiative
  Description: The Domestic Violence & Mental Health Policy Initiative is a current project that is being undertaken in order to "provide the infrastructure and resources to enable domestic violence and mental health agencies and training programs nationwide to be able to work more effectively with individuals who are dealing with both domestic violence and mental health issues."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children: Resources for Children
  Author: Kent County Divorce Court
  Description: Ways to keep children safe, ways exposed children can cope, and statistics are provided in this document.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• The Effects of Family and Community Violence on Children
  Author: Gayla Margolin & Elana B. Gordis
  Description: This document is a review of the current literature on the impact that various types of violence exposure has on children.
  Date Added: 07/11/2007

• The Facts on Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: Outlined in this document is a list of statistics related to domestic violence and its impact on children and pregnancy.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• The Impact of Domestic Violence on Urban Preschool Children: Battered Mother's Perspectives
  Author: Ellen R. Devoe & Erica L. Smith
  Description: "This article explores urban battered mothers' perceptions of their preschool children's exposure to domestic violence. It also examines mothers' reports about their young children's functioning and traumatic stress symptoms and the connections women make between their own experiences of victimization by partners and their children's difficulties."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Violence Against Women Document Library
  Author: Violence Against Women Online Resources
  Description: A huge variety of information and resources are categorized by topics relating to children and domestic violence, including information about advocacy, child custody and protection, and criminal justice responses.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Vision for services for children and young people affected by domestic violence
  Author: LGA, ADSS, Women's Aid, and CAFCASS
  Description: "This draft publication offers a pathway for services for children experiencing domestic violence which connects the two."
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Viva Voce: A National Newsletter About Child Victims and Witnesses
  Author: Children Witness Project of the London Family Court Clinic
  Description: Winter 1999 newsletter. A review of the impact that child testifying in court has on children in included.
  Date Added: 01/04/2001

• What About Me? Seeking to Understand the Child's View of Violence in the Family
  Author: Alison Cunningham and Linda Baker
  Description: This study was funded by the National Crime Prevention Strategy in Ottawa. It involves an exhaustive review of the literature on child exposure to domestic violence (almost 400 sources) integrated with extensive clinical experience to create a revolutionary new framework for understanding, studying and intervening with children who have lived with woman abuse. Case studies illustrate key points and child drawings bring to life the experience of violence through young eyes.
  Other Formats: | HTML |
  Date Added: 09/21/2004

• When Children Experience Domestic Violence: Expert Opinion
  Author: National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
  Description: This document includes a summary of a ruling made by a New York Judge to stop removing children from battered women because children of such women are exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Witnessing Domestic Violence: The Effect on Children
  Author: Melissa M. Stiles, M.D.
  Description: The author discusses the conequences of child exposure to domestic violence across various ages, as well as prevention and screening techniques. Community advocacy is emphasized.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Witnessing Violence Fact Sheet
  Author: Joanne Davis, Ph.D. & Ernestine Briggs, Ph.D
  Description: The authors discuss the types of violence that children witness, prevlance rates, correlates, and future directions for research.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment

• Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence
  Author: Betsy McAlister Groves
  Description: This article discusses the effects of exposure to domestic violence, identification and assessment, and mental health interventions.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• A Blueprint for Responding to Children Exposed to Domestic Violence in Pediatric Health Care
  Author: Institute for Safe Families
  Description: The purpose of this document is to provide training for health care providers when working with and screening for children exposed to domestic violence. A list of recommendations is included.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty and Jeffrey L. Edleson
  Description: This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States.We discuss relevant articles of the convention, the extent to which adult domestic violence is present in cases of international parental abduction, and cases in which battered mothers have contested the forced return of their children to an abusive partner.We conclude with recommended steps needed in research, training, and legislation that may increase the likelihood of safe outcomes for battered mothers and their children.
  Date Added: 12/15/2004

• Adult Domestic Violence in Cases of International Parental Child Abduction
  Author: Sudha Shetty & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: "This article discusses the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its impact on battered mothers and their children seeking safety in the United States."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Behind Closed Doors: The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children
  Author: UNICEF
  Description: This document is a collection of information about the extent of child exposure, the key finding of the research in this field, and recommendations for policymakers.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Bonding and Attachment in Maltreated Children: Consequences of Emotional Neglect in Childhood
  Author: Bruce D. Perry
  Description: This article is designed for parents, teachers and working professionals interested in learning about attachment and how it is affected by emotional absences in early development.
  Date Added: 04/06/2007

• Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: Discussion of the study, "Relation Between Childhood Sexual and Physical Abuse and Risk of Revictimisation in Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey", that shows women who are physically and/or sexually abused in childhood are at risk of being victims of abuse as adults.
  Date Added: 10/23/2001

• Child Abuse and Domestic Violence: Creating Community Partnerships for Safe Families - Suggested Components of an Effective Child Welfare Response to Domestic Violence
  Author: Janet Carter and Susan Schechter
  Description: November 1997. This paper is meant to serve as a working document rather than the "last word," and it will be subject to revision as child welfare and domestic violence agencies on the vanguard of creating partnerships learn more about the link between child abuse and domestic violence, and how to best protect both children and their abused mothers. While the suggested practices and policies are by no means exhaustive, it is hoped that setting them out will save agencies from having to "reinvent the wheel," and will, at the same time, motivate them to add additional "spokes."
  Date Added: 03/09/1999

• Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
  Author: Daniel G Saunders
  Description: Changes in the legal system over custody decisions involving child exposure to domestic violence are analyzed on the basis of the research literature. Recommendations for custody are made.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Child Welfare: Health & Human Services
  Author: Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
  Description: This website provides a number of documents and related resources, particlarly for child welfare workers. Training resources and interventions are provided as well.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Child Witnesses to Domestic Violence - Common Questions
  Author: The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
  Description: Frequently Asked Questions about child witnessing of domestic violence are answered along with information about how children are impacted, the long-term effects, and how to help.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System
  Description: A variety of resources are provided for professionals and for any person interested in learning more about children and domestic violence, including books and training materials.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Steve Cohen
  Description: This document is based on a presentation done by Steve Cohen. It reviews the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children, the scope of the problem, and a variety of resources are also provided.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children and Domestic Violence: A Few Facts...
  Author: Domestic Violence Intervention Center
  Description: The impact that child exposure to domestic violence can have children and their later development is discussed. PTSD is reviewed, as well as ways to help exposed children.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Rhode Island Kids Count
  Description: In this brief, an outline is provided that details the domestic violence problem, how it effects children by age and gender, the connection between DV and child abuse, and Rhode Islands specific efforts to combat the problem.
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: "Silent Witnesses"
  Description: This document offers statistics and also discusses the impact of child exposure to domestic violence as children progress in age.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: Research Findings and Implications for Intervention
  Author: Bonnie E. Carlson
  Description: Prevalence rates are discussed in addition to moderating factors for childrens' responses to domestic violence. Group and individual interventions are reviewed in the context of witnessing DV.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children Who Witness Domestic Violence: The Invisible Victims
  Author: Joy D. Osofsky
  Description: A review of the effects of exposure to both domestic violence and community violence is the focus of this work, and the author discusses what is learned by children who witness such violence. Further directions for research are also included.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children's Domestic Violence Assessment Tool
  Description: "The purpose of this tool is to help assess safety, risk, strengths and needs. It may be used to assist in decision making and service planning during any stage of the CPS case (assessment through case planning and case management) in conjunction with required Structured Decision Making Tools. The tool is designed for use with the child(ren) in CPS cases involving domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Striving Toward an Ecological Framework for Interventions
  Author: Cliff McKinney, Karin Sieger, Allison Kanter Agliata, Kimberly Renk
  Description: The authors discuss the implications for childhood exposure to domestic violence and reviews a myriad of interventions that have been shown to counteract some of the consequences.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children's Exposure to Violence
  Author: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
  Description: This website provides access to research articles about a variety of topics related to child exposure to domestic violence. Articles can be searched for by topic.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Children, Young People and Domestic Violence
  Author: Lesley Laing
  Description: The author explores "the ways in which children and young people experience domestic violence," as well as the impact it has on child development and the response by professionals and the child protection system is also reviewed.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Deciding Child Custody When There is Domestic Violence: A Benchbook for Pennsylvania Courts (2005)
  Author: Women's Law Project
  Description: A variety of links to documents and articles related to childhood exposure to domestic violence are provided on this website, as well as information pertaining to custody issues and the laws regarding child exposure.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Domestic Violence and Child Welfare Services
  Author: North Carolina Division of Social Services & The Family and Children's Resource Program
  Description: Statistics and links to helpful resources and information related to child welfare and domestic violence are provided in this document.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Domestic Violence and Children
  Author: Gail Horner
  Description: The author discusses the consequences of domestic violence on children and empahsized the role that primary care providers play in forestalling child maltreatment and the negative impacts.
  Date Added: 05/25/2007

• Domestic Violence and Children: A Children's Health Fund Report
  Author: The Children's Health Fund
  Description: The author discusses domestic violence as a pediatric issue and as a valuable source for intervention.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being
  Author: Sharmila Lawrence
  Description: The author looks at domestic violence among women on welfare, the impact on children who are exposed to violence in the home, and methods to increase the stability of marriages.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence as a Form of Child Abuse: Identification and Prevention
  Author: Marianne James
  Description: By looking at the ways child exposure to domestic violence manifests itself during the various stages of a child's life, the author documents ways to identify problems in exposed children and discusses specific intervention strategies.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children
  Author: Karestan C. Koenen, Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalon Caspi, Alan Taylor, & Shaun Purcell
  Description: The researchers document the consequences of early childhood stress, such as exposure to domestic violence, on brain development, which subsequently can lead to a lower IQ.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Domestic Violence Reading List
  Author: National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  Description: "This reading list was compiled by experts in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. It includes important recent work as well as classic books and articles on domestic violence by Network and other experts in the field."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence Services
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: Being knowledgeable about domestic violence services available to families, particularly children who have been exposed to violence in the home, has become increasingly important. This document offers an array of links, information, and resources related to such services.
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Youth Violence: Strategies for Prevention and Early Intervention
  Author: Janet Carter
  Description: Another Family Violence Prevention Fund publication that argues for a collaborative, community-based approach to combatting child abuse, domestic violence and youth violence.
  Date Added: 03/09/1999

• Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases (Executive Summary)
  Author: Susan Schechter and Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: This is an executive summary of the document "Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policies and Practice." The aim of this document is to offer a more comprehensive set of responses to eliminate or decrease the enormous risks that individual battered mothers, caseworkers, and judges must take on behalf of children.
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 10/26/2005

• Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy & Practice
  Author: Louis W. McHardy, Meredith Hofford, Susan Schechter, & Jeffrey Edleson
  Description: This 133 page publication addresses a number of issues relevant to family violence within the home and the community and specifically focuses on interventions.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and Adolescents: An Overview
  Author: Joseph S. Volpe, Ph.D., B.C.E.T.S.
  Description: The article examines the prevalence and domestic violence as a cause of traumatic stress in children.
  Date Added: 07/12/2004

• Effects of Domestic Violence on Women: FAQs
  Author: Womancare
  Description: Commonly asked questions along with extensive and valuable answers are included in this document. A Safety Plan and a Children's Bill of Rights are provided as well.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Emerging Strategies in the Prevention of Domestic Violence
  Author: David A. Wolfe and Peter G. Jaffe
  Description: This article reviews the problems with interventions implemented after abuse has already occurred and focuses on the need for the development of empirically based primary interventions
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Family Violence: Open Directory Project
  Description: This page is a comprehensive list of links to various organizations and websites that provide information and resources about children and domestic violence.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Formacion de Vinculos y e Desarrollo de Apego en Ninos Maltratados: Condecuencias de la Negligencia Emocional en la Ninez
  Author: Bruce D. Perry
  Description: Spanish translation of article - "Bonding and Attachment in Maltreated Chidren: Consequences of Emotional Neglect in Childhood"
  Date Added: 04/06/2007

• Get the Facts - Domestic Violence and Children
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: Statistics and numbers are provided to give an idea of trends in the United States related to children and exposure to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Guidelines for Responding to the Co-occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
  Author: Minnesota Department of Human Services
  Description: The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide direction to child protection staff when responding to situations in which child maltreatment and domestic violence are both occurring.
  Date Added: 04/22/2002

• Helping Children Affected by Domestic Violence
  Author: Human Services Policy Center
  Description: This is a comprehensive document about children who have been exposed to domestic violence and is supplemented with specific interventions that have shown to help palliate the impact.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Helping Traumatized Children: A Brief Overview for Caregivers
  Author: Bruce D. Perry
  Description: This article, designed largely with a child's caregiver in mind, addresses how to talk to children who have experienced trauma and what these experiences may have been like.
  Date Added: 04/06/2007

• Learning to Listen, Learning to Help: Understanding Woman Abuse and Its Effects on Children
  Author: Linda Baker & Alison Cunningham
  Description: A concise handbook for students and volunteers entering the helping professions, to prepare them to recognize and respond to families in which there is or was violence at home. Topics include background material on the dynamics of woman abuse, the concept of power and control, facts and figures, how to support women and help them find appropriate resources, how children are affected by violence, how children cope with violence at home, how to respond to child disclosure of abuse and neglect, standards of professional conduct, taking stock of your own attitudes, and suggestions for how you can make a difference to end violence.
  Date Added: 03/17/2005

• Little eyes, little ears: How violence against a mother shapes children as they grow
  Author: Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker
  Description: This comprehensive 44 page document is divided by topics that cover facts and figures, types of abuse against women and children, ways a child can be impacted by domestic violence, myths about women and abuse, copin strategies, and responding and reporting, among others.
  Date Added: 06/06/2007

• Mothers and Children: Understanding the Links Between Woman Battering and Child Abuse
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: This is a briefing paper for a strategic planning meeting on the Violence Against Women Act. "This paper focuses on an important gap in our current understandings of family violence: the link between woman battering and child abuse. It is surprising that after so many years of public attention it is only in recent years that a discussion of this link has begun to appear in the literature. At present, there is much more we need to know about the overlap between woman and child abuse."
  Other Formats: | PDF | | TXT |
  Date Added: 05/20/2000

• National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence
  Author: National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Description: A review of relevant websites, statistics, and current literature is provided in this document.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: General Statistics
  Author: National Center for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Description: This document provides general statistics relating to children's witnessing of domestic violence. Estimates and prevalences are provided based on demographic variables.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Prevalence of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: Implications for Prevention and Intervention
  Author: Joy D. Osofsky
  Description: A discussion surrounding the problems with defining domestic violence and the difficulty in determining prevlance rates as a result constitutes the bulk of this document. The implications of this problem are also looked at.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Prosecutors, Kids, and Domestic Violence Cases
  Author: Debra Whitcomb
  Description: "This article describes some of the issues prosecutors should be aware of when they handle domestic violence cases involving children, especially in light of recent legislation aiming to protect children."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Protecting Children from Exposure to Domestic Violence: The Use and Abuse of Child Maltreatment Statutes
  Author: Lois A. Weithorn, J.D., Ph.D.
  Description: This 145 page article is a comprehensive review and critical discussion about the laws and child protection responses that have shown to be effective.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Research and Practice in Child Interviewing: Implications for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Kathleen Coulborn Faller
  Description: "This article argues that methods employed in interviewing children about child maltreatment can be applied to interviewing children about exposure to domestic violence. The article describes how cognitive interviewing, narrative elaboration, and event segmentation can be employed when talking to children about domestic violence. In addition, the article discusses how focused questions related to child maltreatment and child endangerment can be used to elicit information from children about domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Responding to Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence
  Author: Child Welfare Information Gateway
  Description: This article discusses the ongoing debate between child protection workers and domestic abuse advocates. It also outlines the similarities between the two groups as they work towards similar goals.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Responding to Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Research Informing Practice and Policy
  Author: Catherine Koverola and Astrid Heger
  Description: This article discusses the political and practical ramifications of disparate disciplines, theories, and movements on the response to children exposed to domestic violence.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Responding to the Co-occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Adult Domestic Violence in Hennepin County
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D. Sandra K. Beeman, Ph.D.M, University of Minnesota
  Description: In this report, Drs. Edleson and Beeman and their research assistants detail information collected from a variety of sources during the first half of 1999. Information collection included detailed reporting by child protection screeners and investigators in the Hennepin County Department of Children and Family Services (HCDCFS), consulting with national experts in this area, reviewing published materials on prominent demonstration projects from around the United States and Canada, and holding a series of stakeholder meetings throughout Hennepin County.
  Other Formats: | Word |
  Date Added: 10/26/2005

• Safe from the Start: Reducing Children's Exposure to Violence
  Author: California Attorney General's Office: Crime and Violence Prevention Center
  Description: This is a very comprehensive review of promising strategies and programs. It serves as a resource guide and includes evaluation tools and funding resources information.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Supervised Visitation: Information for Mothers Who Have Been Abused
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: "This Guide should be given directly to mothers who have experienced abuse and whose children are in supervised visitation programs. It will tell mothers basic information about how supervised visitation programs work and how she can prepare herself and her children for the experience. If she is afraid of her children’s father or was abused by him, then the information in this Guide will be particularly helpful to her."
  Date Added: 07/25/2007

• Tackling Domestic Violence: Providing Support for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence
  Author: Audrey Mullender
  Description: "This report provides good practice recommendations and suggestions for a range of practitioners and professionals who have a role in commissioning, developing, or delivering initiatives to support children who have in the past or are currently witenssing domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Teachers' Resource: Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
  Description: Guidelines, particularly for teachers, are provided to help professionals respond to children who have been exposed to domestic violence and abuse. Mini-stories are included and are followed by suggestions as to how one should respond.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• The Canadian Child Welfare Response to Cases of Exposure to Domestic Violence: Analysis of the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Cis-2003)
  Author: Tara Black, Nico Trocme, Barbara Fallon, and Bruce MacLaurin
  Description: This document displays the results of a comparative overview of the child welfare response within Canadian boundaries to child exposure to domestic violence. Implications for policy are discussed.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• The Child's Loss: Death, Grief and Mourning - How Caregivers Can Help Children Exposed to Traumatic Death
  Author: Bruce D. Perry and Jana Rubenstein
  Description: This article addresses the ins and outs of talking openly with children about the grief and loss they experience as a result of exposure to a traumatic death. FAQs about how and when to talk with children are addressed as is a discussion of what these experiences may mean to the children who have been exposed to violent trauma.
  Date Added: 04/06/2007

• The Domestic Violence & Mental Health Policy Initiative
  Description: The Domestic Violence & Mental Health Policy Initiative is a current project that is being undertaken in order to "provide the infrastructure and resources to enable domestic violence and mental health agencies and training programs nationwide to be able to work more effectively with individuals who are dealing with both domestic violence and mental health issues."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children: Resources for Children
  Author: Kent County Divorce Court
  Description: Ways to keep children safe, ways exposed children can cope, and statistics are provided in this document.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• The Facts on Children and Domestic Violence
  Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
  Description: Outlined in this document is a list of statistics related to domestic violence and its impact on children and pregnancy.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• The Impact of Domestic Violence on Urban Preschool Children: Battered Mother's Perspectives
  Author: Ellen R. Devoe & Erica L. Smith
  Description: "This article explores urban battered mothers' perceptions of their preschool children's exposure to domestic violence. It also examines mothers' reports about their young children's functioning and traumatic stress symptoms and the connections women make between their own experiences of victimization by partners and their children's difficulties."
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and Woman Abuse
  Author: Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D.
  Description: Reviews over 35 studies on the overlap between child maltreatment and woman battering in the same families. This paper has now been published in Violence Against Women, 1999, 5(2), pp. 134-154 and is no longer available on this site. This link, however, goes to a brief VAWnet paper on the topic.
  Other Formats: | PDF |
  Date Added: 05/06/1997

• Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children
  Author: John Briere, Ph.D.
  Description: This measurement tool was published in 1996, after several years of research. It is a self-reporting tool geared toward children ages 8 to 16. There are fifty items, with several sub-scales including anxiety, depression, anger, PTSD, dissociation, and sexual concerns. The TSCC was designed to address traumatic events in general, meaning that it does not specifically address domestic violence. Nonetheless this checklist can be to gauge the impact domestic violence may have on a child. The actual questionnaire is copyrighted, but you may access it by contacting the publisher, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. at P.O. Box 998, Odessa, FL 33556. Telephone number: (800) 331-TEST.
  Date Added: 07/12/2004

• Violence Against Women Document Library
  Author: Violence Against Women Online Resources
  Description: A huge variety of information and resources are categorized by topics relating to children and domestic violence, including information about advocacy, child custody and protection, and criminal justice responses.
  Date Added: 05/09/2007

• Vision for services for children and young people affected by domestic violence
  Author: LGA, ADSS, Women's Aid, and CAFCASS
  Description: "This draft publication offers a pathway for services for children experiencing domestic violence which connects the two."
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Witnessing Domestic Violence: The Effect on Children
  Author: Melissa M. Stiles, M.D.
  Description: The author discusses the conequences of child exposure to domestic violence across various ages, as well as prevention and screening techniques. Community advocacy is emphasized.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Witnessing Violence Fact Sheet
  Author: Joanne Davis, Ph.D. & Ernestine Briggs, Ph.D
  Description: The authors discuss the types of violence that children witness, prevlance rates, correlates, and future directions for research.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

General Items

• Mental Health Services for Children Who Witness Domestic Violence
  Author: Betsy McAlister Groves
  Description: This article discusses the effects of exposure to domestic violence, identification and assessment, and mental health interventions.
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings, and Recommendations
  Author: Daniel G Saunders
  Description: Changes in the legal system over custody decisions involving child exposure to domestic violence are analyzed on the basis of the research literature. Recommendations for custody are made.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Rhode Island Kids Count
  Description: In this brief, an outline is provided that details the domestic violence problem, how it effects children by age and gender, the connection between DV and child abuse, and Rhode Islands specific efforts to combat the problem.
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being
  Author: Sharmila Lawrence
  Description: The author looks at domestic violence among women on welfare, the impact on children who are exposed to violence in the home, and methods to increase the stability of marriages.
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Domestic Violence is associated with environmental suppression of IQ in young children
  Author: Karestan C. Koenen, Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalon Caspi, Alan Taylor, & Shaun Purcell
  Description: The researchers document the consequences of early childhood stress, such as exposure to domestic violence, on brain development, which subsequently can lead to a lower IQ.
  Date Added: 05/11/2007

• Emerging Strategies in the Prevention of Domestic Violence
  Author: David A. Wolfe and Peter G. Jaffe
  Description: This article reviews the problems with interventions implemented after abuse has already occurred and focuses on the need for the development of empirically based primary interventions
  Date Added: 04/25/2007

• Prosecutors, Kids, and Domestic Violence Cases
  Author: Debra Whitcomb
  Description: "This article describes some of the issues prosecutors should be aware of when they handle domestic violence cases involving children, especially in light of recent legislation aiming to protect children."
  Date Added: 05/02/2007

• Research and Practice in Child Interviewing: Implications for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
  Author: Kathleen Coulborn Faller
  Description: "This article argues that methods employed in interviewing children about child maltreatment can be applied to interviewing children about exposure to domestic violence. The article describes how cognitive interviewing, narrative elaboration, and event segmentation can be employed when talking to children about domestic violence. In addition, the article discusses how focused questions related to child maltreatment and child endangerment can be used to elicit information from children about domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

• Tackling Domestic Violence: Providing Support for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence
  Author: Audrey Mullender
  Description: "This report provides good practice recommendations and suggestions for a range of practitioners and professionals who have a role in commissioning, developing, or delivering initiatives to support children who have in the past or are currently witenssing domestic violence."
  Date Added: 05/04/2007

File Last Modified: Wed Jul 6 15:12:42 2005
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This website is sponsored by the Link Research Project, a project of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse. Both the website and the Link Research Project were established with grants from the Allina Foundation (Minnesota) for the first phase of the project, and by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (California) for the second phase. For more information or to contact project staff, please contact us via the MINCAVA email submission form.