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Prevalence of Co-occurrence in Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence

Date Published
March 10, 2011

Child maltreatment and domestic violence often co-occur. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) is a nationally recognized probability study of more than 5,000 children ages 0 to 14 who have been abused or maltreated. An NIJ-funded supplemental survey to NSCAW, called the Family Violence Services Study (FVSS), examined the services provided to children and families who face abuse and maltreatment. The FVSS found the following:

  • Of families involved in child welfare investigations for child maltreatment, 29 percent had abused children within the past year. Approximately 45 percent of children in these families had experienced maltreatment over the course of their lifetime.
  • Only 15 percent of child abuse cases reported by mothers were identified by child welfare staff.
  • Child welfare and domestic violence organizations have few tools available to assess the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment and have difficulty coordinating to identify best practices for service.

In response to the low rates of service provision, FVSS researchers developed 19 recommendations for helping child welfare agencies assess child maltreatment cases and coordinate response.[1]

To read the 19 recommendations, see Appendix 3 of Co-Occurring Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment: Local Policies/Practices and Relationships to Child Placement, Family Services and Residence (pdf, 31 pages).

About This Article

The research finding presented in this article are based on research funded under grant 2002-WG-BX-0014 awarded to the Children’s Research Institute.

This article is based on the final report, “ Co-Occurring Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment: Local Policies/Practices and Relationships to Child Placement, Family Services and Residence, Final Report” (pdf, 30 pages) by Kelly Kelleher; William Gardner; Jeff Coben; Rick Barth; Jeff Edleson; and Andrea Hazen.

 

Date Published: March 10, 2011