Excerpt: More than ten years ago, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) issueda pioneering set of guidelines: Effective Interventions in Cases of Domestic Violence and ChildMaltreatment (often referred to as the ñGreenbookî). The guidelines made recommendationsfor practice and policy change to three major systems: public child welfare, domestic violenceservices and dependency courts. Since that time, several communities across the nation, includingthree in California (San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties), worked intensively toapply the guidelines. Others may be aware of the concepts and may have instituted somechanges but may have been less systematic in considering strategies to help these families.
The report makes a comprehensive set of recommendations.
Recommendations include:
- Articulate Key Principles
-
Promote the State Interagency Team on Children and Families’ Leadership Role
in Addressing Domestic Violence and Its Effects on Children - SIT Agencies Should Foster Multi-disciplinary Collaboration
- Augment and Expand Professional Development Across Sectors
-
Strengthen Screening and Assessment to Better Account for the Risks
and Needs of Both Adult Victims/Survivors and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence -
Strengthen Dependency Courts’ Capacity to Protect Adult Victims/Survivors
and Abused Children and Children Exposed to Violence - Enhance the Capacity of Domestic Violence Service Providers
- Expand Community-based and Specialized Services
- Enhance Attention on Perpetrators’ Accountability and Behavioral Change
-
Deepen Support for Teens by Clarifying Mandates and Ensuring that
Every County Has Appropriate Teen Services - Increase Focus on Prevention
-
Develop More Useful Sources of Data and Information to Improve Policy and
Practice and Pursue Additional Research
