Case Assessment and Service Receipt in Families Experiencing Both Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering

Abstract

Professional attention to families experiencing both child maltreatment and woman battering has increased in recent years. This study examined data for 172 families—95 families for which police had filed child abuse incident reports and adult domestic assault incident reports, and 77 other families for which police had filed child maltreatment reports but had no documentation of domestic assaults. Exploring differences between the two groups of families, the authors found that dual-violence families were more likely to include an unrelated male in the household, to involve a neglect allegation, and to include perpetrator substance abuse. Child protection workers assessed dual-violence families to be at higher risk and were more likely to open the case for child protection services. Among open cases, however, dual-violence families received fewer services but were more likely to be referred to the county attorney. These findings and their implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.