Addressing Domestic Violence in Child Welfare Practice

Conclusion

Return to “Angela’s family: A Story of Intimate Partner Violence”, the case study from Unit One. What new insights do you have now that you have learned more about domestic violence? Many child welfare professionals still do not uniformly assess for domestic violence and miss the opportunity to provide meaningful support to battered women and their children.   Other child welfare professionals do their best to assess and intervene, but become frustrated with adult victims who do not follow through with referrals and services. The social work ethical principle of self-determination requires us to respect the right of women to make their own choices. The child welfare priority of protecting children can often be best achieved in domestic violence situations by holding abusive partners accountable and addressing the safety needs of adult victims.            

This course module was created by Melanie Shepard, PhD. Send comments to mshepard@d.umn.edu.

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