There is emerging evidence to suggest that children who come to the attention of child protective authorities are more likely to experience out-of-home placement if their families are affected by domestic violence than other reasons for investigation. To develop a better understanding of child welfare-involved families that are exposed to domestic violence, this article provides a comprehensive review of research examining the effects of domestic violence on the likelihood of out-of-home placement and family reunification. A search of the literature resulted in 16 articles that met the study's criteria. Data suggested that domestic violence may be negatively related to out-of-home placement depending on the sample type, and marginally related to family reunification. Recommendations and implications related to future research are presented.
As many as 15.5 million U.S. children live in households in which domestic violence (DV) occurred at least once during the past year (McDonald, Jouriles, Ramisetty-Mikler, Caetano, & Green, 2006); this violence is overwhelmingly directed at their mothers (Edleson, 1999, Fantuzzo et al., 1997 and Straus, 1992). Mothers affected by DV are burdened by risk factors across several ecological domains that negatively influence their parenting (English et al., 2005, Kohl, Edleson, English and Barth, 2005 and Kohl and Macy, 2008). Children exposed to DV are at higher risk of many negative outcomes, including physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse (Kernic et al., 2003, LaViolette and Barnett, 2000 and Straus, 1992). Given this connection, many children affected by DV become involved with child protective services (CPS). Between 14% and 60% of families with CPS child maltreatment cases indicated DV as a risk factor for that maltreatment (Kohl, Edleson, English and Barth, 2005 and Whitney and Davis, 1999).
An emerging body of child welfare literature has examined the case outcomes of families that experience DV; however, there have been no published reviews that critically assessed specific results and scientific rigor related to this topic. Rather, reviews examining this population have primarily focused on defining child witnessing of DV (e.g., Edleson, 1999) and identifying risks associated with child exposure to DV (e.g., Herrenkohl et al., 2008, Kitzmann et al., 2003 and Wolfe et al., 2003). Because information on the case outcomes of child welfare-involved children affected by DV is not efficiently integrated into the literature, it may be difficult to conclude whether out-of-home placement is an issue for these children; and, once in out-of-home care, whether they are able to safely reunify with their family of origin. Therefore, the current study provided a review of research related to the case outcomes of DV-exposed families involved with CPS. Before presenting our specific goals, we discuss the existing research on the effects of DV and its relation to out-of-home placement.
Given the negative effects associated with out-of-home placement and the many families affected by DV that are involved with the child welfare system, it is imperative that both practitioners and policymakers are aware of the child welfare experiences of those affected by domestic violence. Our findings suggest that children in families affected by DV may be more at risk of being placed out-of-home care than children in families not affected by DV. We also found that, once in out-of-home care, these children may never reunify with their caregivers. We hope that by summarizing this research and highlighting the gaps in knowledge and need for more sophisticated research, this study can inform future research agendas as well as the provision of appropriate DV services for child welfare-involved families.
