Domestic Violence Assessment: Current Practices and New Models for Improved Child Welfare Interventions

Abstract

Despite the established link between domestic violence and child abuse, only one study in California has explored whether Child Protective Services agencies have integrated domestic violence into their written child abuse assessment formats. This national study analyzes data gathered from every state in the U.S. (except California) to determine the extent to which CPS workers are encouraged through their assessment forms to inquire about domestic violence when assessing for child abuse. These preliminary findings suggest that although 90% of the states studied have, in one way or another, now integrated domestic violence into their child abuse assessment forms, states have only incorporated domestic violence to the extent that it may be a threat to the child. According to the assessment forms reviewed, no states have taken the critical next step of fully integrating domestic violence into their child abuse evaluations for the specific purpose of empowering the mother to protect the child. To respond to the call for a more comprehensive assessment, a screening questionnaire is proposed for CPS agencies that are truly interested in developing strategies that protect both the mother and the child. The perceptions of child welfare workers related to how they define the problem of domestic violence, and their ability to empower battered women in the child welfare process are also discussed as an important precursor to practice interventions chosen. Ample theoretical and empirical research suggests that children will be protected in the long-term by addressing the needs of battered women. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2:153‐172 (2002)]