>
In a review of studies, Edleson (1999) found 30-60% of families experiencing one type of victimization, were also experiencing the other
Historically, domestic violence and child victimization have been treated independently of one another
Child welfare system and domestic violence advocacy programs
Two very different systems built upon different set of missions, mandates, and policies and procedures
Early work in Massachusetts and Michigan has shown promising results by promoting collaboration
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) brought together an advisory committee to develop guidelines for policy and practice for communities struggling to respond to these cases
The 00reenbook00 recommends that communities must cross-train their domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile court system personnel Law enforcement, schools, health care systems, faith and community organizations
Six local demonstration projects were funded to implement these NCJFCJ recommendations in 2000 A national evaluation team is documenting the process and examining the effects of implementation on collaboration and system change
Saunders and Anderson (2000): a two-day training on domestic violence for child protection workers Showed gains in self-reported recognition and handling of co-occurrence cases
Kolbo and Strong (1997): initial and ongoing training were the most frequently cited strategies to overcoming barriers
Harbaugh et al. (1987): noted positive benefits of interdisciplinary training and education on professional practice
Research has not progressed to the point of identifying the nature and type of trainings that yield positive results
Moreover, it is not clear whether trainings, in and of themselves, can enhance collaboration without addressing system barriers
Seeks to identify perceived barriers and how they may relate to self-reported levels of collaboration
Used the 00reenbook00recommendations as a basis and held educational forums presented by national experts
Recommended consistent statewide cross-training among disciplines on family violence
Developed a multidisciplinary training curriculum to be presented by a multidisciplinary training team
Assessing risk across disciplines Safety planning across disciplines Roles/responsibilities of other players Bringing the players together when conflict occurs
A series of 10 regional trainings were conducted in the fall of 2004 The training curriculum = nine modules presented in a one day session
Pre-Training group (on site) = Charleston
Post-Training group (mailed 6 months out) = Clarksburg, Huntington, and Shepherdstown
Pre/post-training survey designed to measure participants00/font> Knowledge level regarding co-occurrence issues and others roles/responsibilities Attitudes toward counterparts in other disciplines Level of collaboration Perception of barriers
Once matched no significant differences between the two groups on gender, race, age, education, and work location (urban vs. rural)
Final matched sample consisted of 62 child welfare workers
Study focuses on this groups00interactions with domestic violence advocates, law enforcement, and court personnel
Findings suggest: (a) CW workers have less knowledge of advocates role and (b) greatest gains may occur with DV advocates
Most knowledgeable of how child abuse/neglect cases are processed and assessing risk of harm to children
Less knowledgeable of how DV cases are processed
More participants felt knowledgeable of safety planning issues for children than for adult victims
Greatest increases at post-training occurred regarding laws and legal definitions pertaining to these cases
Domestic violence advocates also rated slightly lower for attitudinal measures Attitudes toward law enforcement were most positive and increased most at post-training
Over 70% of participants identified system-level barriers high turn-over rate, too few staff, and time constraints
Accessibility of counterparts and different priorities were the most identified individual-level barriers both pre and post-training
High turn-over rates for workers, failed collaborations in the past, and inability to agree on action to be taken increased slightly in the post-group
Self-reported collaboration was not significantly impacted by perceptions of system-level barriers
Collaboration with, as well as, knowledge of the roles and responsibilities and attitudes toward DV advocates remain lower compared to law enforcement and court personnel
Disjuncture between views on the importance of and actual collaboration 00/font> while many feel collaboration is important, far fewer are actually doing it
Training was successful in reducing participants perceptions of the presence of many barriers
Perception of the presence of individual-level barriers may be most important for influencing levels of collaboration
This study tells us that greater attention may need to be given to the nature of trainings and which trainings are likely to be most effective May be related to dosage and duration Ongoing and longer trainings with greater intensity have shown some positive results (see Jones et al. 2002; Saunders and Anderson 2000)
Future research should seek to delineate the characteristics of trainings associated with heightened collaboration
The Impact of Cross-Disciplinary Training
on a Collaborative Response to the
Co-Occurrence of Domestic Violence
and Child Victimization
BJS/JRSA Annual
National Conference
October 12, 2006
Erica Turley, Research Analyst
Stephen M. Haas, Ph.D., Director
WV Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center
Co-Occurrence
of Domestic Violence
and Child Victimization
In a review of studies, Edleson (1999) found 30-60% of families experiencing one type of victimization, were also experiencing the other
Historically, domestic violence and child victimization have been treated independently of one another
Child welfare system and domestic violence advocacy programs
Two very different systems built upon different set of missions, mandates, and policies and procedures
Co-Occurrence
of Domestic Violence
and Child Victimization
Early work in Massachusetts and Michigan has shown promising results by promoting collaboration
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) brought together an advisory committee to develop guidelines for policy and practice for communities struggling to respond to these cases
The
00reenbook00Initiative
The 00reenbook00 recommends that communities must cross-train their domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile court system personnel Law enforcement, schools, health care systems, faith and community organizations
Six local demonstration projects were funded to implement these NCJFCJ recommendations in 2000 A national evaluation team is documenting the process and examining the effects of implementation on collaboration and system change
Impact
of Training on
Inter-Agency Collaboration
Saunders and Anderson (2000): a two-day training on domestic violence for child protection workers Showed gains in self-reported recognition and handling of co-occurrence cases
Kolbo and Strong (1997): initial and ongoing training were the most frequently cited strategies to overcoming barriers
Harbaugh et al. (1987): noted positive benefits of interdisciplinary training and education on professional practice
Impact
of Training on
Inter-Agency Collaboration
Research has not progressed to the point of identifying the nature and type of trainings that yield positive results
Moreover, it is not clear whether trainings, in and of themselves, can enhance collaboration without addressing system barriers
Focus
of Current Study
Seeks to identify perceived barriers and how they may relate to self-reported levels of collaboration
Co-Occurrence
Training in WV
Used the 00reenbook00recommendations as a basis and held educational forums presented by national experts
Recommended consistent statewide cross-training among disciplines on family violence
Developed a multidisciplinary training curriculum to be presented by a multidisciplinary training team
Training
Curriculum Topics
Assessing risk across disciplines Safety planning across disciplines Roles/responsibilities of other players Bringing the players together when conflict occurs
A series of 10 regional trainings were conducted in the fall of 2004 The training curriculum = nine modules presented in a one day session
Evaluation
Design
Pre-Training group (on site) = Charleston
Post-Training group (mailed 6 months out) = Clarksburg, Huntington, and Shepherdstown
Pre/post-training survey designed to measure participants00/font> Knowledge level regarding co-occurrence issues and others roles/responsibilities Attitudes toward counterparts in other disciplines Level of collaboration Perception of barriers
Evaluation
Design
Once matched no significant differences between the two groups on gender, race, age, education, and work location (urban vs. rural)
Final matched sample consisted of 62 child welfare workers
Study focuses on this groups00interactions with domestic violence advocates, law enforcement, and court personnel
Knowledge
of Counterparts
Roles and Responsibilities
Findings suggest: (a) CW workers have less knowledge of advocates role and (b) greatest gains may occur with DV advocates
Knowledge
of Training Competencies
Most knowledgeable of how child abuse/neglect cases are processed and assessing risk of harm to children
Less knowledgeable of how DV cases are processed
More participants felt knowledgeable of safety planning issues for children than for adult victims
Greatest increases at post-training occurred regarding laws and legal definitions pertaining to these cases
Attitudes
Toward Agency Counterparts
Domestic violence advocates also rated slightly lower for attitudinal measures Attitudes toward law enforcement were most positive and increased most at post-training
Self-Reported
Collaboration with
Agency Counterparts
System
and Individual Level Barriers
to Inter-Agency Collaboration
Over 70% of participants identified system-level barriers high turn-over rate, too few staff, and time constraints
Accessibility of counterparts and different priorities were the most identified individual-level barriers both pre and post-training
System
and Individual Level Barriers
to Inter-Agency Collaboration
High turn-over rates for workers, failed collaborations in the past, and inability to agree on action to be taken increased slightly in the post-group
System
and Individual Level Barriers
to Inter-Agency Collaboration
Relationship
between Perceived Barriers and Collaboration
Self-reported collaboration was not significantly impacted by perceptions of system-level barriers
Conclusions
Collaboration with, as well as, knowledge of the roles and responsibilities and attitudes toward DV advocates remain lower compared to law enforcement and court personnel
Disjuncture between views on the importance of and actual collaboration 00/font> while many feel collaboration is important, far fewer are actually doing it
Training was successful in reducing participants perceptions of the presence of many barriers
Perception of the presence of individual-level barriers may be most important for influencing levels of collaboration
Implications
This study tells us that greater attention may need to be given to the nature of trainings and which trainings are likely to be most effective May be related to dosage and duration Ongoing and longer trainings with greater intensity have shown some positive results (see Jones et al. 2002; Saunders and Anderson 2000)
Future research should seek to delineate the characteristics of trainings associated with heightened collaboration
References
Contact Information
Erica Turley, Research Analyst
WV Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center
304-558-8814 ext. 207
eturley@wvdcjs.org
www.wvdcjs.com
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