Offering a systematic approach to evidence-based assessment and planning for children living with trauma and family violence, this practical book shows how to assess and analyse the needs of the child, make specialist assessments where there are continuing safeguarding concerns (using the Assessment Framework) and plan effective child-centred and outcome-focused interventions. The authors analyse the impact of exposure to a climate of trauma and family violence on a child's bioneurological development and on their capacity to form attachments and to develop and reflect on relationships through childhood and adolescence into adulthood. They bring together the assessment of children in need with the evaluation of significant harm and risk, and potential for rehabilitation, and also explore the application of evidence-based approaches to intervention. This book is an essential tool for all front-line practitioners working with child protection, including social workers, child and adolescent mental health practitioners, police officers, probation workers and domestic violence organizations. It is also suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and post-qualifying students.

What is often labeled domestic violence is, in this book, referred to as family violence, because the emotional terrorism that infuses violence between adults affects not only the adult victims but also the children who witness the abuse. Dalpiaz shows how a caring and thoughtful parent can recognize the trauma family violence inflicts upon children, and how to help them recover and go on to live happy, violence-free childhoods. What is often labeled domestic violence is, in this book, referred to as family violence, because the emotional terrorism that infuses violence between adults affects not only the adult victims but also the children who witness the abuse. Dalpiaz shows how a caring and thoughtful parent can recognize the trauma family violence inflicts upon children, and how to help them recover and go on to live happy, violence-free childhoods. Safeguarding children, building trust and breaking the cycle of violence is the goal. Once the victim of family violence, Dalpiaz later earned degrees in psychology and early childhood education, eventually launching a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children. Her book will interest not only parents who are victims of family violence, but also foster parents dealing with the aftermath of family violence, counselors, teachers, social workers, clergy, and students of the behavioral sciences.

How do you respond simultaneously to the needs of adults experiencing domestic violence and the specific needs of their children? Domestic Violence and Child Protection explores the challenges of working effectively in this complex field and offers positive models for practice. Leading practitioners and researchers outline the essential safety considerations for children, adult victims and child protection workers, and stress the importance of children's experiences, using children's own words to describe their diverse needs. The contributors offer examples of good practice in prevention, intervention and recovery, drawn from international settings. They highlight new directions for policy and practice, and consider whether these might be achieved through increased communication and coordination between agencies, or by developing multiprofessional agencies that are able to offer integrated responses. Individual chapters address child abduction, legal issues concerning child contact arrangements, and dealing with abuse in the context of divorce. Including perspectives from social services, health services and the voluntary sector, this book is a valuable source of information and ideas on how to work safely and sensitively with children living with domestic violence and will be a key reference for social workers, health professionals and policy makers.

For the last ten years Betsy Groves has been working with children traumatized by witnessing violence. In this book she shows how children understand, respond to, and are affected by violence, especially domestic violence. Groves makes the powerful case that traumatic events carried out by family members carry the most severe psychological risks for very young children. She uses clinical case studies to show that being young does not protect against the lasting effects of witnessing violence, and she offers ways adults can help.

This work covers the complex issues involved in intervention with children of battered women and provides an overview of current practice including strategies and program models.

In this volume, the authors present an overview of the innovative work taking place in relation to domestic violence and child protection. This book looks at new prevention initiatives and how interventions for children exposed to domestic violence have been developed. It shows how services for abusive fathers have evolved and provides discussion and critique of a number of new initiatives in the field of interagency risk assessment. With international perspectives and examples drawn from social care, health care and voluntary sectors, this book brings together established ideas with recent thinking to provide an authoritative summary of current domestic violence and child protection practice. As a valuable source of guidance on how to work safely with children living with domestic violence, this is a key reference for social workers, health professionals and policy makers.

Donation from Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System of the London Family Court Clinic 2004.