In 1999, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges published Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice, more commonly known as "the Greenbook" because of its green cover. A roadmap for collaboration, the Greenbook presents guidelines designed to "eliminate or decrease the risks that battered mothers, caseworkers, and judges must take on behalf of children".[1]
NIJ and three agencies under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted an evaluation of a 5-year demonstration project called the Greenbook Initiative. The Greenbook Initiative provides a framework for helping families that are experiencing both child maltreatment and domestic or intimate partner violence. A collaborative approach among child welfare agencies, courts, and other parties can enhance family safety and well-being by responding to the entire family rather than an isolated victim.
At six demonstration sites, child welfare agencies, domestic violence service providers and dependency courts worked together to implement guidelines found in the Greenbook. The demonstration sites agreed to establish collaborative structures and develop policies and procedures to enhance the safety and well-being of battered women and their children. The 5-year evaluation showed that collaboration and cross-training between child welfare agencies, domestic violence service providers and dependency courts resulted in some positive changes in practice, collaboration and relationship building. The extent and types of changes varied across the sites and sustaining new practices proved difficult.
For more about NIJ's research on domestic violence and children, see page 130 of NIJ's Compendium of Research on Violence Against Women.
About This Article
The research finding presented in this article are based on research funded under grant 2000-MU-MU-0014 awarded to the Caliber Associates.
This article is based on the final report, “ The Greenbook Demonstration Initiative: Interim Evaluation Report” (pdf, 176 pages).