Abstract: Recommendations to Better Serve Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence (Society for Social Work and Research 22nd Annual Conference - Achieving Equal Opportunity, Equity, and Justice)

Schedule:

Friday, January 12, 2018: 2:51 PM

Monument (ML 4) (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Megan Holmes, PhD, Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Kristen Berg, Doctoral Candidate, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Anna Bender, MSW, Doctoral Student, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Background and Purpose: In the United States, it has been estimated that over 15.5 million children each year are exposed to at least one episode of intimate partner violence (IPV). Research has also indicated that children exposed to IPV experience short- and long-term negative outcomes compared to their non-exposed peers. While there is ongoing work to reduce IPV and its negative associated consequences, current barriers to reducing IPV and its effects remain, as do barriers to providing services for IPV-exposed children. Therefore, recommendations need to be formulated to address such barriers in in order to better serve children exposed to IPV.

Methods: Barriers were derived through the previously-presented symposium abstracts (systematic reviews of literature on the effects of IPV and interventions developed for children exposed to IPV, statewide survey of IPV service providers) as well as an economic impact analysis that identified the economic burden of IPV exposure and a review of the state’s law enforcement and judicial treatment of IPV cases. The recommendations were formulated to address these barriers and were outlined for policies, system changes, programming, funding streams, and other strategies to help better serve children exposed to IPV.

Results: Seven barriers were identified: (1) Lack of coordination between systems that serve children exposed to IPV. (2) Exposure to IPV is related to violence perpetration and victimization in teen dating relationships. (3) Children exposed to IPV are experiencing detrimental educational and health outcomes. (4) There is great disparity among counties in terms of the number of IPV incidents occurring and the services offered. (5) Exposure to IPV is a widespread problem that affects children in the short-term and over the full course of their lives. (6) The state legal system has great discretion when making decisions about IPV, which leads to a lack of uniformity in enforcement and treatment of IPV cases. (7) While a large body of research exists about the effects of IPV, limited information is available about specific populations and factors.

Conclusions and Implications: The following recommendations were formulated to address the barriers: (1) Develop and support a coordinated statewide response among all child-serving systems for addressing childhood exposure to IPV. (2) Provide age-appropriate, targeted teen dating violence prevention programs in grades 5–6 to complement what is being offered in grades 7–12. (3) Initiate trauma-informed care training for educators and health care professionals and implement assessment and screening standards for IPV exposure in health care institutions. (4) Address barriers to services for children exposed to IPV. (5) Promote the use of evidence-based programs that have been shown to be effective in reducing the negative consequences of IPV exposure. (6) Provide training and resources to representatives of law enforcement and the judicial system to help them make better-informed decisions in IPV cases. (7) Build a body of knowledge about the effects of prenatal exposure to IPV and the specific protective factors that are most beneficial for children. Recommendations will be discussed in detail.