Child Welfare Practices www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org Child Welfare Practices for Cases with Domestic Violence 97 page report, DHS 9200, May 2010 Miscellaneous Excerpts Assessment questions for the alleged adult victim General questions about domestic violence: The following are sample questions to ask the alleged adult victim. They ask about the situation and the power and control tactics. Adapt these to your style, the language the alleged adult victim uses and the situation. Many adult victims may not identify what is happening as domestic violence. Calling it “violence” during the assessment questioning may inhibit the conversation. It is important, though, to label it as domestic violence and provide information on domestic violence toward the conclusion of the interview. 1. Are you safe right now to talk? 2. Tell me about your relationship. 3. How do decisions get made? 4. How do you and your partner divide household responsibilities? 5. How do you and your partner make decisions about money? Can you spend money when you want to? Whose name is on the accounts? 6. What happens when you and your partner disagree? 7. What do you do during the day? Has your partner prevented you from going to work/school/church? Tell me about that. 8. Does your partner harass you or make it difficult for you to work? 9. Who are your friends and family? How much contact do you have with them? Is your partner usually there? Has your partner prevented you from seeing friends or family? 10. Does your partner listen in on your phone calls or otherwise monitor your communication? Tell me about that. 11. What happens when your partner feels jealous or possessive? 12. Does your partner call you names, insult you or scream at you? 13. Have you ever felt afraid of your partner? Tell me about that. 14. Has your partner ever threatened you, your children or your family? Tell me about that. 15. Does your partner threaten to take your children? 16. Does your partner threaten to take you away from your family? 17. Does your partner ever threaten you with deportation? Is your partner making it difficult for you to get legal status? 18. Does your partner do reckless things that scare you, such as driving too fast with the children in the car? Tell me about that. 19. Has your partner ever used force against you? Pushed? Shoved? Hit? Strangled? 20. If your partner has used force against you, tell me about the worst episode. What was the most recent episode? 21. How frequently does this happen? 22. How often do you get hurt by accident? 23. Most people think of weapons as guns or knives, but other objects can be used to hurt someone. Has anyone used a weapon to threaten or harm someone in the family? If yes, tell me about that. 24. How does your partner treat your pets? Your property? 25. How often does your partner drink or use drugs? What happens then? 26. Does your partner have recent military or law enforcement training? 27. Have you left before? What happened when you did? 28. Has your partner threatened suicide? 29. What was/is the relationship between your parents? Your partner’s parents? 30. Have you ever been forced into doing something that makes you uncomfortable? 31. Has your partner pressured you or forced you to have sex? Tell me about that. 32. On a scale from 1-10, how safe do you feel? 33. If you could change one thing about your partner, what would it be? Impact on the children Additional questions to ask the non-offending parent to assess the impact of the violence on the children include the following: 1. Describe how your partner disciplines the child, and what for. 2. Does your partner call your children names, insult them, or yell at them? 3. Is your partner able to take care of the child and keep the child safe? Does your partner make decisions that are best for the child? 4. Describe how your partner supports your parenting and how your partner interferes with your parenting. 5. Where are the children when the fighting happens? 6. Describe how the children respond to the abuse. Have they ever tried to stop theabuse? 7. Have the children ever been hurt, either accidentally or on purpose? Tell me about this. 8. Have you noticed any effects on your children? 9. Are you concerned about any of your child’s behavior? 10. Have you noticed changes in your child’s behavior? 11. Does your child have trouble sleeping? 12. Is your child getting sick more often? 13. Describe any problems your child has in school or with friends. 14. How often have you had to move or change the child’s school? 15. Describe activities or groups your child is involved with. 16. Have you ever suspected that your partner may have been sexually inappropriate with your child? 17. If your child has visits with your partner, how has that been going? What does the child say about the visits? What happens at drop-off and pick-up times? 18. Does your partner ask the child to pass messages to you or ask the child to report what you do during the day? 19. How do all the things we’ve talked about today affect the way you can care for your child? 20. On a scale from 1-10, how safe are your children? How safe do they feel? How safe do they think you are? Full spectrum of efforts to protect It is also important to assess strengths and protective factors in the family and the strategies the alleged adult victim has used to stay safe and keep their children safe. Ask things like: 1. How are you managing day to day? \2. How are you maintaining a regular schedule for the children?| 3. Are the children in school? 4. Do the children get regular meals and a routine at bedtime? 5. Are the children getting regular medical and dental care? 6. Describe what you do to keep yourself and your children safe. 7. Who are friends and family members you can talk to? 8. Has anyone been able to help you? 9. What has worked for you in the past? 10. Have you ever left the situation? Where did you go? What happened? 11. How are you talking to your children about the situation? 12. What has your partner done to stop being abusive? 13. What do you think needs to happen for you and your children to be safe? Concluding the interview with the alleged adult victim 1. How dangerous do you think your partner is? What do you think your partner is capable of? What is the worst-case scenario? 2. How do you think your partner will react when finding out we talked to you? 3. How do you think your partner will react when finding out we talked to the children? 4. How do you think your partner will react when receiving the notice of disposition? 5. What do you think will happen when I leave? Assessment questions for the alleged batterer General questions about domestic violence The following are sample questions to ask the alleged batterer. You may want to reassure the alleged batterer that the domestic violence questions are a routine part of any family assessment. These questions can also be used to screen for domestic violence when it was not part of the allegation. The questions ask about the situation and the power and control tactics. Adapt these to your style and the situation. Many alleged batterers will not identify what is happening as domestic violence. Calling it “violence” during the assessment questions may inhibit the conversation. It is important, though, to label domestic violence behavior as domestic violence and provide information on domestic violence toward the conclusion of the interview. 1. Tell me about your relationship. 2. How do decisions get made? 3. How do you divide household responsibilities? 4. How do you make decisions about money? Whose name is on the accounts? 5. What types of things are children disciplined for? What happens? 6. What does your partner do during the day? 7. Who are your partner’s friends or family? How often does your partner see or talk with them? 8. Do you ever feel jealous or possessive and if so, what do you do? 9. Do you listen in on your partner’s phone calls? 10. What happens when you and your partner disagree? 11. Do you call your partner names, insult or scream at your partner? 12. Does your partner ever seem afraid of you? 13. Has anyone been hurt during an argument? What happened? Was anyone pushed, shoved, hit, strangled, etc.? 14. If so, tell me about the worst episode. What was the most recent episode? How frequently does this happen? 15. Do you have weapons (knife, guns, etc.) in the house? Have you used them against your partner? 16. Have the children ever been hurt? Where are they when this happens? 17. When this happened what did you do? What did other family members do (including pets)? 18. Has property been destroyed or damaged? 19. Do you or your partner use alcohol or drugs? How often? 20. Do you have recent military or law enforcement training? 21. On a scale from 1-10, how safe do you feel in your family? How safe do you think your partner feels? Your children? 22. What was the relationship like between your parents? Impact on the children Additional questions to ask the batterer to assess the impact of their violence on the children include: 1. Have your noticed changes in your child’s behavior? 2. Are you concerned about any of your child’s behavior? If your child visits you, how has that been going? How much time do you spend together? Who, if anyone, helps care for your child on visits? 3. Does your child have trouble sleeping? 4. Is your child getting sick more often? 5. Describe any problems your child has in school or with friends. 6. How often have you had to move or change your child’s school? 7. Describe activities or groups your child is involved in. 8. How do you think your children see you or feel about you? 9. How does the abuse interfere with the care of your child? Engagement without collusion It is also important to assess opportunities for change and intervention. Ask: 1. How would you like your child to think of you? 2. How would you like your child’s relationships to be in the future? 3. What have you done to stop the violence? 4. Whom have you asked for help? 5. What happened when you asked? 6. Who are friends and family members you can talk to? If a batterer tends to identify his or her partner or children as the problem instead of his or her own behavior, the batterer might be open to services for the partner or children. The worker can then use this as an opportunity to work with the adult victim and children. However, be careful as this can be seen as colluding with the batterer and reinforcing the batterer’s control. 1. If you could change one thing about your partner, what would it be? 2. Are there any services or information you or your partner might want to help strengthen your family or to improve parenting skills? 3. Are there any services or information your children need? Assessment questions for the children Adapt your questioning to the developmental age of the child. Talk to the child abou ways to stay Teen Survivors Teen survivors often face heightened challenges when working with systems and when reporting their own victimization. Their challenges can be heightened in the following areas: Lack of understanding that what they experienced was a crime Fear that no one will believe them Fear of being blamed or punished Feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame Fear of retaliation Mistrust of adults and in particular government agencies Belief that nothing will be done Lack of knowledge about available services Lack of access to services Perceived and real limits of confidentiality20 Other challenges can be: Fear of alienation Fear of losing the person they may perceive to be their only support system. It can help during the interview process if you: Use simple language and avoid jargon Use the teen’s vocabulary as much as possible Ask a variety of concrete questions about abuse, not generalized questions. Reviewing a checklist of specific behaviors can be useful. See the Resources Section for a sample checklist. Four typical reactions to crime are particularly damaging for teens: Isolation – Feeling different from their peer group, the teen either drops this group of friends or finds that they have been dropped from their peer group. Helplessness – The teen feels that nothing can be done to change the situation and that no one can or will help or that no one cares. Hopelessness – The teen loses hope that life will return to normal or that the future will be better. Powerlessness – The teen feels that he or she has no control and no personal power. All victims may experience these feelings, but for a teenager, who may already be experiencing feelings like these as a normal part of adolescence, they can be especially destructive. For an adolescent, victimization may intensify these negative feelings, sometimes to the point of despair. As with all domestic violence survivors, teens may be trying to protect themselves and their children by placating and accommodating the abusive partner. These actions need to be recognized when assessing their ability and willingness to protect. 20 Reaching and Serving Teen Victims, National Crime Prevention Council http://www.ncvc.org/tvp/AGP.Net/Components/DocumentViewer/Download.aspxnz?DocumentID=40836 Teen parents & CPS dispositions If your assessment will be founded for TOH/ domestic violence, be sure you are correctly identifying the perpetrator. Workers sometimes identify both the batterer and the nonoffending parent as a perpetrator, believing that the teen survivor is also culpable as they continued to remain with the batterer (e.g. called him, asked him to come over, went to see him after an incident, etc.). If you believe the teen survivor is also culpable for the Threat of Harm, staff the case with your supervisor and consider utilizing your CPS Consultant for guidance. Look for batterer intervention programs that: Work well with the local domestic violence service providers; Are part of a coordinated community response Have accountability built into the program through methods, including attendance policies, reporting restraining order and no-contact order violations to the Court, and making batterers pay towards the cost of the intervention program; Allow professionals to sit in and observe the functioning of the groups; Include education on oppression theory in their program; Will provide progress and documentation to DHS; Are willing to testify in courts. Batterers may also have co-existing problems of substance abuse or mental illness. However, both the co-existing problem and the battering need to be addressed directly. Substance abuse and mental health screening should be included in a batterer intervention intake process. Just because a batterer attends an intervention program does not mean his or her beliefs and behaviors will change. Just stopping the physical violence is not enough if the threa is still there. Listen to how the batterer talks about his or her actions and his or her partner. Talk to the adult victim, the children or others who know the family. Indications that the batterer is changing include that the batterer: Is no longer being physically violent or threatening; Acknowledges that the abusive behavior is wrong; Is not using other forms of power and control such as economic abuse (withholding money, child support, etc.); Doesn’t humiliate or degrade his or her partner; Accepts responsibility and does not blame his or her partner; Supports the adult victim’s parenting and relationship with the children; Acknowledges not being “cured” and that change is a lifelong process. Indications that the batterer is changing also include that the adult victim: Can disagree with the batterer; Is able to make independent decisions and be involved in activities without the batterer. This learning guide outlines the difference between batterer programs and anger management programs to help in selecting an appropriate referral: Allies in Change Counseling Center Common differences between anger management and batterer intervention programs ANGER MANAGEMENT Anger is viewed as the primary problem Primary focus is on managing the emotion. Abuse is seen as due to a loss of control Intervention is short term (2-16 hours) Little attention given to the consequences Generally no identified victim(s) No addressing of empathy for the victim There is no outreach to the victim Little or no attention to accountability Non-confrontational. Denial is not addressed. Emotionally unprovocative. Gender is not considered not to be an issue It is viewed as a personal mental health issue Intervention is confined to the specific service provided BATTERER INTERVENTION Abuse and control are viewed as the primary problem Primary focus is on changing the beliefs and behavior. Abuse is seen as due to taking of control Intervention is long term (40 -100+ hours) Repeated reminders of the damage caused There are identified victim(s) Empathy building for victim is common Referrals are provided to the victim Accountability is paramount Confrontational. Denial is regularly targeted Emotionally demanding and intense at times Sexism and gender socialization are viewed as significant factors It is viewed as a social, societal issue Intervention is just one part of a coordinated community response Chris Huffine, Psy.D, 1815 SW Marlow Rd., Suite 208 Portland, OR 97225 503-297-7979 Tips for court documentation • Write juvenile court petition allegations in language that is not victim-blaming. For example, petition allegations can say “the child was exposed to domestic violence” as an endangering condition or circumstance. Use the phrase “Despite the mother’s efforts to protect the children, the perpetrator is creating conditions that are a safety threat to the children” instead of “the mother has failed to protect” to reduce the blame placed on the adult victim. Mandatory arrest Oregon has a “mandatory arrest” statute. Police are required to arrest when responding to a domestic violence call if they have probable cause to believe that an assault has occurred between family or household members, or to believe that one such person has placed the other in fear of imminent serious physical injury (ORS 133.055). Police are also directed not to arrest both parties, but determine who the primary aggressor is. Some district attorneys are now proceeding with criminal cases against the batterer even without the victim’s cooperation. These cases can be successfully prosecuted if law enforcement documented the assault and gathered adequate evidence. This type of “evidence-based prosecution” can be disempowering to the victim if the victim does not want the batterer to be prosecuted. On the other hand, prosecution without the victim’s consent can help increase safety by turning the batterer’s focus onto the system and the court. It can reduce the intimidation the batterer typically uses to get the victim to drop the charges. Legal requirements for getting a restraining order Age: The petitioner is at least 18 years old or The petitioner is younger than 18 and the respondent at least 18 years old and: The petitioner and respondent are or were married to each other; or The petitioner and respondent have been in a sexually intimate relationship. Relationship: The petitioner and the respondent must have one of the following relationships: Husband, wife or domestic partner; Former husband, former wife or former domestic partner; Adults who are living in or have lived together in a sexually intimate relationship; Adults who have been in a sexually intimate relationship in the past two years; Adults related by blood, marriage or adoption; Unmarried parents of a child. Abuse: In the past 180 days*, the respondent must have: Physically injured or tried to physically injure the adult victim; Made the adult victim afraid that he or she was about to physically injure the adult victim; Forced the adult victim to have sexual relations against his or her wishes by using force or threats of force; AND *Any time period when the batterer was in jail or lived more than 100 miles from the victim does not count as part of the 180 days. In these circumstances, a victim who was abused more than 180 days ago may be able to get a restraining order. Ongoing Danger: The adult victim must be in imminent danger of the further abuse and the batterer is a threat to the physical safety of the adult victim and his or her children. Note: FAPA does not authorize a judge to sign a restraining order because of physical abuse of children or threats to take children. FAPA also does not authorize a judge to sign a restraining order because of verbal or emotional abuse of children or the adult victim. An order with additional protections is available, including protection from verbal or emotional abuse, if the victim is a person with disabilities or an elderly person (Elderly/Disabled Persons Abuse Prevention Act Order). When the batterer is the father, holding him to a high set of expectations as a parent: Poor Adequate Good Excellent Seeing the importance of the father, who is a batterer, to the children: Poor Adequate Good Excellent Avoiding automatic conclusions, e.g., “If she remains in this violent relationship, it must mean she doesn’t understand domestic violence.” Poor Adequate Good Excellent Teen domestic violence assessment tool Have you ever experienced any of the following in your relationship? Ever 6 mo Put downs/Name-calling humiliates you in public or private Jealousy and possessiveness Controls who you see, what you do, where you do, what you wear, who you talk to Constantly accusing you of flirting, cheating, or having sex with others Isolation keeps you from seeing your family and friends Stalking or tracking you Calling or paging you constantly Showing up at school or work Controlling your money Crazy-making playing mind games Lying Threats Threatens to leave you Threatens to physically hurt you Threatens to hurt your family or children Threatens to spread rumors about you Threatens to kill themselves if you break up with them Destroying your stuff Physical abuse Spitting Slapping and hitting Pushing or shoving Kicking Punching Sexual Abuse Forces sex after fights or beatings Gets you drunk or high to get sex Using weapons Causing you injuries Bruises Bleeding Broken bones Injuries requiring medical attention Choking or strangling you Minimizing or blaming Saying the abuse didn’t happen Saying you caused the abuse Insights Teen Parent Program • 711 SE Ankeny, Suite B · Portland, OR • 503-239-6996 If your community does not have a domestic violence program that can do safety planning, the DHS domestic violence point person in the relevant district may be a resource. When safety planning, keep in mind that domestic violence safety planning can occur in all situations, including: When the adult victim remains with the batterer; When the adult victim leaves the home; or When the batterer leaves the home. Web based resources Making the Link: Promoting Safety of Battered Women and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse Family Violence Prevention Fund National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Family Violence Department “How to File a Restraining Order” video Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment’s Treatment Improvement Protocol #25 Substance Abuse Treatment and Domestic Violence: go to the SAMHSA Web site and select “Treatment Improvement Protocols” under SAMHSA publications: Oregon Department of Human Services domestic violence pages in the Abuse and Neglect section has links to list of domestic violence service providers in Oregon Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Oregon Family Law Resources through Oregon Judicial Department Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence publications Domestic violence and sexual assault material Domestic violence and sexual assault Source: apps.state.or.us/Forms/Served/ce9200.pdf   ©2007-2011, www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org/childwelfare.html