Reasonable Efforts in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases that Involve Domestic Violence

• NCJ Number: 251127
• Author(s): Theresa L. Bohannan; Lorie Sicafuse; Melissa Mangiaracina; Karen Zavora
• Date Published: 2014
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-DD-BX-K026
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Policy; Instructional Material

Annotation

This report presents the methodology, findings, and recommendations from a study conducted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) that conducted on-site case file reviews of three jurisdictions in different regions of the United States in order to document court and agency responses to dependency cases with and without co-occurring domestic violence at multiple points throughout case processing.

Abstract

The study findings focus on the identification of notable trends, differences, and challenges observed across jurisdictions rather than on an aggregate-level assessment that combines and reports cross-site data as a whole. In addition to reporting findings from this research, this report also identifies and discusses themes from a NCJFCJ mini-conference held in June 2013. A main component of the conference was the 10 represented regions' creation of action plans that address domestic violence in child abuse and neglect cases in their respective regions. The groups identified common projects and activities, which were placed in the following four categories: training and education; court-ordered services; collaboration; and screening tool, data collection, and research. Eighteen intended outcomes from the action plans are listed. Based on the research findings and the conference action plans, this report concludes that communities are starting to make positive changes in dependency cases that involve domestic violence. Juvenile and family court judges are encouraged to lead a movement for change in their jurisdictions. 8 figures, 1 table, and 28 notes