Because we're monitoring the perpetrator, we can pull him if he starts stalking the family or using drugs or doing something to violate his probation. It's easy to arrest him and that gives us a safety net for the women and children. Another positive change is that battered women's advocates convinced the police department that witnessing domestic violence is child abuse, and police officers report all domestic violence calls they receive to the Children's Services Bureau. In addition, a domestic violence resource specialist was hired to train Children's Services Bureau workers on issues such as assessing the lethality of batterers, safety planning for battered women, teen dating violence and distinguishing between mutual combat and domestic violence. That program was founded when domestic-violence advocates found that 43 percent of the families they worked with also had incidents of physical or sexual child abuse.
None are court-ordered cases.
The program provides intensive group and individual therapy and legal consultations for battered women and their children. The program's five advocates, who have all experienced violence themselves, work with mothers and children for three months to three years. Advocates also work with law-enforcement and prosecutors. Although we work with both sides of the issue, some people claim we're victim's advocates and not concerned with the children. Historically, that has been a major barrier because those social workers couldn't understand why the woman stayed in the relationship or allowed her child to be injured.