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“It's hard enough to deal with all the abuse issues”: Child welfare workers' experiences with intimate partner violence on their caseloads

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  • Fusco, Rachel A.

Abstract

Child welfare caseworkers (N=19) were asked to discuss their experiences working with families experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). The workers revealed that they found these cases particularly challenging, they had a difficult time collaborating with both battered women's services and law enforcement on these cases, and they lacked the training and education that they needed to understand and intervene when IPV was present. Workers talked about their fears for their own safety and discussed how their practice is impacted when they personally know a victim and/or perpetrator of IPV. The interviews also revealed a somewhat limited understanding of the impact of child exposure to IPV. Findings have important implications for the training and education of child welfare caseworkers, and highlight the important of improved cross-system collaboration when working with multi-problem families.

Suggested Citation

  • Fusco, Rachel A., 2013. "“It's hard enough to deal with all the abuse issues”: Child welfare workers' experiences with intimate partner violence on their caseloads," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 1946-1953.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:35:y:2013:i:12:p:1946-1953
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.09.020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Banks, Duren & Hazen, Andrea L. & Coben, Jeffrey H. & Wang, Kathleen & Griffith, Janet D., 2009. "Collaboration between child welfare agencies and domestic violence service providers: Relationship with child welfare policies and practices for addressing domestic violence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 497-505, May.
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    4. Hughes, Judy & Chau, Shirley & Poff, Deborah C., 2011. ""They're not my favourite people": What mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence say about involvement in the child protection system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1084-1089, July.
    5. Button, Deeanna M. & Payne, Brian K., 2009. "Training child protective services workers about domestic violence: Needs, strategies, and barriers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 364-369, March.
    6. Kohl, Patricia L. & Edleson, Jeffrey L. & English, Diana J. & Barth, Richard P., 2005. "Domestic violence and pathways into child welfare services: Findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1167-1182, November.
    7. English, Diana J. & Edleson, Jeffrey L. & Herrick, Mary E., 2005. "Domestic violence in one state's child protective caseload: A study of differential case dispositions and outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1183-1201, November.
    8. El-Bassel, N. & Gilbert, L. & Wu, E. & Go, H. & Hill, J., 2005. "Relationship between drug abuse and intimate partner violence: A longitudinal study among women receiving methadone," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(3), pages 465-470.
    9. Moles, Kerry, 2008. "Bridging the divide between child welfare and domestic violence services: Deconstructing the change process," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 674-688, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Reif, Katherine & Jaffe, Peter & Dawson, Myrna & Straatman, Anna-Lee, 2020. "Provision of specialized services for children exposed to domestic violence: Barriers encountered in Violence Against Women (VAW) services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Nikolova, K. & Postmus, J.L. & Buttner, C. & Bosk, E.A., 2020. "Working together to protect women and children from domestic violence: Factors influencing willingness to collaborate between organizations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Jenney, Angelique & Mishna, Faye & Alaggia, Ramona & Scott, Katreena, 2014. "Doing the right thing? (Re) Considering risk assessment and safety planning in child protection work with domestic violence cases," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(P1), pages 92-101.
    4. Tutty, Leslie M. & Nixon, Kendra, 2020. "Mothers abused by intimate partners: Comparisons of those with children placed by child protective services and those without," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Nikolova, Kristina & Fallon, Barbara & Black, Tara & Passanha, Nerissa & Isaac, Kenya, 2021. "Responding to intimate partner violence (IPV) in Ontario, Canada: A closer look at police involvement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Zanoni, Lee & Warburton, Wayne & Bussey, Kay & McMaugh, Anne, 2014. "Child protection fathers' experiences of childhood, intimate partner violence and parenting," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 91-102.

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