Supporting Safety Together: Assessing Child Protective Services Response to Battering

Supporting the Safety of Battered Mothers & Their Children Together: A Guide to Assessing Child Protection Practice in Domestic Violence-Related Cases is a new tool created by Praxis International for institutional change-oriented advocacy. It guides community teams of advocates, child protection representatives, and other stakeholders to collaboratively assess their child protective services response to the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse. To establish a common language and understanding, teams first explore together concepts of safety, use of children by batterers, protective strategies, and children’s exposure to domestic violence. Next, teams map how families enter the children protection system, how they are screened in or out, and the steps that follow. Finally, teams review policies, forms, and case files. Together, these activities lead teams to uncover and close the gaps between what battered mothers and their children need and what child protective services provides. Created with input from National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and The Center for the Study of Social Policy, this tool was tested in Wright County, Minnesota and is now available for use across the country. Join us for this webinar to learn more about the discussion series, mapping, and policy, form, and case file review activities detailed in the guide.