بررسی اجمالی از مطالعه خدمات کودکان و خشونت خانگی

The Children and Domestic Violence Services (CADVS) study is a project to collect detailed, contextual data at the state and local levels on the organization and relationship of child welfare services for children, and domestic violence services for women. Although previous research has found a high rate of domestic violence in families involved with child welfare services (CWS), little systematic research on a national scale is available about state and local policies and practices related to these families. The project reported in this article is a supplemental study of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a national probability study of more than 5000 children and adolescents who become involved with CWS. Whereas, the NSCAW study contains detailed information on children and families, the CADVS study uses the same sample as NSCAW to gain information about the way that CWS and domestic violence service (DVS) agencies operate on behalf of victimized children and caregivers. The CADVS study design allows for linkage of this new contextual information to the individual level survey data collected in NSCAW. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the methodology used in CADVS, including sampling, data collection, and instrument development. Future plans for data analyses, including linkage between CADVS and NSCAW, are discussed.

Children exposed to domestic violence also are frequently the victims of co-occurring maltreatment. In particular, domestic violence is a significant risk factor for child verbal abuse, physical punishment, and physical abuse (Kerker et al., 2000, Ross, 1996, Straus & Smith, 1995 and Tajima, 2000). Although high rates of co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment have been noted in the general population (Straus et al., 1980 and Straus & Smith, 1995), this co-occurrence has most commonly been investigated in single site, clinical samples of abused women and of physically abused children, with the majority of studies indicating rates of co-occurrence ranging from 30% to 60% (Appel & Holden, 1998, Edleson, 1999 and Jones et al., 2002). Many children exposed to domestic violence in the home come in contact with the child welfare services because of maltreatment, such as physical or sexual abuse, or when their exposure to domestic violence is defined as neglect. Although domestic violence and child maltreatment commonly occur together, policy makers and planners of services lack a nationally representative study that examines the prevalence of this co-occurrence, which demonstrates the importance of additional study in the area.

The high rate of co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment is a national problem that crosses geographic, ethnic and racial boundaries. It is possible that initial estimates, which appear to be very high, still may underestimate the prevalence of this serious issue. In addition to questions about the rate of co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment, it is still unclear how current domestic violence services relate to child welfare. There is little systematic research on a national level about the types of assessment tools used to identify families with co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment, or the training child welfare service and domestic violence service representatives receive on this issue. In summary, the dearth of knowledge about the coordination, utilization and regional variation of services for these families in need contributes to the challenge of identifying best practices and offering any improvements to existing policies and procedures. We anticipate that the Children and Domestic Violence Services (CADVS) study will provide detailed contextual data at the state and local levels on the organization of child welfare services for children and domestic violence services for women. Linking CADVS with the individual level data collected from National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) will provide policy makers, child welfare and domestic violence professionals, advocates and researchers with important information, from a national perspective, to further assist caregivers and their children in need.