The Administration of Children and Families (ACF) has launched a new Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services aimed at addressing domestic violence.
The new office is the result of reorganizing the Division of Family Violence Prevention and Services, which has for years operated from within the Family and Youth Services Bureau, into a separate office within the Office of the Assistant Secretary. The reorganization is meant to help propel a more comprehensive approach to family violence prevention throughout the federal government’s offices.
Domestic violence co-occurs with child maltreatment in an estimated 30 to 60% of cases, according to the federal government. A press release announcing the change notes that creating an office dedicated to the issue “demonstrates a deep understanding of the scale of domestic violence in this country and the needs of all families accessing ACF.”
“This new office underlines ACF’s commitment to prevention programs, survivor services, and a whole family approach to serving families when they need it most,” ACF Assistant Secretary January Contreras stated. “ACF will continue to implement a comprehensive strategy to promote violence prevention through programs and resources that impact survivors’ physical and behavioral health, safety, well-being, housing, economic mobility, and family stability.”
The new office will be run by Shawndell Dawson, who has focused on violence prevention for the Department of Health and Human Services for nearly 13 years, most recently serving as director of the Division of Family Violence Prevention and Services. Dawson said the new office will advise all ACF programs and divisions on how to “provide equitable trauma-informed assistance for adults, children, and youth.”
One issue an office like this — with the ability to guide social services departments — could make headway on is the child welfare practice of removing children from domestic violence survivors on “failure to protect” charges.
Child welfare systems across the country have varying responses to cases where children are exposed to domestic violence: In many states, children being able to see or hear domestic violence take place can be deemed abuse or neglect, warranting removal into foster care. Few states protect survivors from losing custody of their children under these circumstances, though Maryland is currently considering a bill that would create a “rebuttable assumption” that it is not neglect for an abuse survivor to stay in a relationship with an abusive partner, continue to live with them, or choose not to report them to the police or seek a restraining order. However, research has shown a child’s protective factors, including their relationship with the non-offending parent, play a large role in determining their resiliency to the exposure.
In addition to developing a holistic plan for preventing and addressing domestic violence throughout ACF’s social services programs, the office will work with other agencies, including the Justice Department and Housing and Urban Development, on policies and programs to prevent violence and support survivors.