NCJ Number
220299
Journal
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: 2007 Pages: 1-18
Date Published
2007
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined the characteristics of intimate-partner violence (IPV) in a sample of families receiving child protective services (CPS), identified the IPV interventions used by social workers, and determined whether these characteristics and interventions influenced child welfare outcomes.
Abstract
Out of 445 cases, CPS workers found IPV in at least 43 percent. Most of the IPV was severe and was likely to have occurred more than once. The IPV families had more referrals for new incidents of abuse than did the non-IPV families. Males were the sole perpetrators of IPV in 68 percent of the cases, with only 6 percent involving the female as the sole perpetrator. Twenty-six percent of the cases involved mutual combat. Counseling parents to protect the child was the most common CPS intervention used with the victims of IPV. This does little, however, to ensure the mother's safety, which is generally critical in protecting the child. Social workers used a safety intervention for IPV victims 68.5 percent of the time. This included urging women to obtain a restraining order or consider shelter care, urging the perpetrator to leave, conducting a lethality assessment, and engaging in safety planning. Actual safety planning, however, was observed in only 6.2 percent of the cases. Interventions that focused on the perpetrator did not reduce the likelihood of new referrals or child removal from the home. Removal of the child from the home occurred in just under half of the cases. The data suggest that the training of CPS workers should focus on the safety of both the mother and the child. This study was a retrospective descriptive analysis of case records of 445 children in a protective service population in San Diego County, CA. Data were collected on the children and their parents through June 30, 2003. 5 tables and 17 references