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Research shows that when families served by child welfare are actively involved in making decisions about their own lives and the changes they have to make, child safety, permanency and well-being are more likely to be achieved. This practice is known as family engagement.
When domestic violence is the cause of or contributes to child abuse or neglect, caseworkers need guidance and support to decide when and how to safely implement family engagement practice strategies.
Engaging families who experience domestic violence is especially challenging for child welfare caseworkers.
To create practice guidance to safely implement a variety of family engagement strategies, OCFS worked with a nationally recognized consultant in child welfare/domestic violence intervention and the Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence to develop the tools below.
Use these tools to engage families affected by domestic violence safely:
- Identifying Domestic Violence
- Practice Considerations for Conducting Family Meetings With Families Affected by Domestic Violence
- Helpful Things to Say or Ask a DV Offender
- Helpful Things to Say or Ask a Non-Offending Parent
- Practice Considerations for Coached Visits in Domestic Violence Situations
- Practice Considerations for Locating and Engaging Fathers in Domestic Violence Situations
- Domestic Violence: An Overview (High Def.)
- Domestic Violence: An Overview (Standard Def.)
- Family Engagement & Assessing Family Violence in Child Welfare