The 2000 Minnesota Legislature, with strong bipartisan support, appropriated first-year funding for the pilot project, and Governor Ventura signed the bill. The legislation was authored by Senator Randy Kelly of St. Paul and Representative Sherry Broecker of Vadnais Heights. Continued funding will be sought from the 2001 Legislature. The Joint Domestic Abuse Prosecution Unit will be staffed by attorneys Al Zdrazil, Jill Gerber and Therese Skarda. The new prosecution unit responds to mounting research on the impact of domestic violence on children.
Studies show that many men who batter their partners also abuse their children.
Such abuse doubles the risk that a boy will have convictions for violent crime as an adult. It is not surprising, therefore, that a large percentage of male prison inmates grew up in abusive homes. Witnessing domestic violence produces many troubling consequences for children. Children from violent homes are at higher risk of behavioral and emotional problems that continue into adulthood. Researchers have found that men who batter their wives are much more likely than others to have grown up in homes where adult domestic violence was occurring.