This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
Type of Maltreatment: Exposure to domestic violence
Target Population: Families with children from birth to 18 years old that have reported incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) to police. Children need not have been physically present at the violent event, but there must be children living in the home for the family to be eligible for the service. All levels of violence are targeted, with specific interventions determined by the level of ongoing danger.
Brief Description:
The Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) has been rated in the area of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence: Services for Victims and their Children. The DVHVI is a joint project of the Yale Child Study Center and the New Haven Police Department. The project provides enhanced law enforcement, community-based advocacy, and mental health services to families affected by domestic violence, in an effort to increase children’s safety and decrease negative psychological effects of exposure to domestic violence. The project conducts outreach home visits by teams of advocates and patrol officers. At the initial home visit, the team and non-offending parent identify issues affecting family safety. The team provides information related to judicial processes, available community resources, and children’s responses to violence and trauma. Ongoing intervention, including referrals for child-focused clinical treatment, is determined by the unique needs of each family.
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Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was not designed to be conducted in a group.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) has not been tested for use in a group setting.
Recommended intensity: This program provides a single initial home visit to all referred families. The number of visits ranges from 1 to 15. Most families receive 1 or 2 visits, with the initial home visits ranging in length from 5 minutes to 2 hours, with a median of 20 minutes. For those families that do engage in ongoing services, frequency of contact with program advocates ranges from daily to monthly.
Recommended duration: Individual service plans are determined by specific family needs and wishes. Duration of contact ranges from a single visit to more than a year of advocacy service with the total time spent ranging from 10 minutes to more than 100 hours. Most families receive less than 1 hour of total service.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) does not include a homework component.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) is typically conducted in a(n): Birth Family Home.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was designed with a Parent Component.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Parent experiencing IPV with children from birth to 18 years old.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was designed with a Child Component.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Trauma-related symptoms
Age range(s): 0-17
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was not developed for children with developmental delays.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) has not been tested for children with developmental delays.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was not designed for specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) was not tested in specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
There is a manual that describes how to implement this program.
There is training available for Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI).
Training contact: Colleen Vadala, National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT 06520-7900, (203) 785-2975, colleen.vadala@yale.edu
Number of days/hours: For those communities that have existing police-mental health partnerships based on the Child Development-Community Policing (CD-CP) program model, training in this program as an additional component takes place in a 1- day seminar, followed by site-specific consultation. For communities where there is no existing partnership program between police and a mental health agency, training in the CDCP model takes place in phases (initial visit to New Haven by replication site team; site visit to the new site by CDCP team; 4-day training in New Haven with observations and police ride alongs; ongoing consultation for program development).
Training is obtained: Initial training in the program is provided at the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence in New Haven, CT. Follow-up consultation is provided by phone and e-mail, with site visits to the new site arranged as the new program develops.
There currently are not additional qualified resources for training.
The typical resources for implementing Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI) are: Support for program from police and clinical agency leadership, Police officers to identify cases of IPV in families with children and to conduct home visits with program advocates (number of officers and time required depends on size of community or district where the program is implemented and specific case characteristics identified as referral criteria (e.g., level of violence), Advocate(s) to conduct home visits (number of staff depends on scope of program as with police), Clinical supervisor to administer and direct program and supervise advocate(s), Access to clinical resources for referral of symptomatic children, Support staff to enter and maintain client information in database
Advocates must have knowledge of domestic violence dynamics; principles of child development and children’s response to trauma; relevant local resources for legal services; basic needs; and social support. Advocates need not have advanced degree. Clinical supervisor must have at least MSW and must have knowledge and experience in working with battered women, traumatized children, clinical case management, and knowledge of community resources. Police must have basic knowledge of domestic violence dynamics and good understanding of relevant judicial processes in the jurisdiction.
There are currently no research studies for the Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention (DVHVI).
Berkman, M., Stover, C.S., & Marans, S. (2007). Domestic violence home visit intervention project: Guidelines for police-advocate visits. New Haven, CT: National Center for Children Exposed to Violence.
Berkman, M., Casey, R., Berkowitz, S., & Marans, S. (2004). Police in the lives of children exposed to domestic violence: collaborative approaches to intervention. In: Jaffe, Baker, & Cunningham (eds.) Ending domestic violence in the lives of children and parents. New York: Guilford Press.
Contact name: Colleen Vadala
Affiliation/Agency: National Center for Children Exposed to Violence at the Yale Child Study Center
Email: colleen.vadala@yale.edu
Phone: 203-785-2975
Fax: 203-785-4608