| Resources |
| The following resources were developed by or in collaboration with members of I.S.P. Consulting. For more information about these documents feel free to call I.S.P. or use the contact form on this website. |
| Guiding Principles |
| This publication outlines the guiding principles for communities implementing supervised visitation and safe exchange services with Safe Haven grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant communities bring together courts, visitation providers, domestic violence agencies, and numerous other community-based organizations to account for safety in all aspects of service delivery when families have experienced domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or child abuse. |
| To read more click here |
| Access to Justice: Civil Legal Representation for Victims of Domestic Violence in El Paso County, Colorado |
| The Greenbook Project of El Paso County (Project) recognizes that legal assistance for victims of domestic violence is a key component to affording safety for both victims and their children. With time of the essence, the Project wanted to identify gaps in services and begin to examine ways to leverage resources to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence locally. The Project contracted with I.S.P. Consulting to conduct a preliminary gathering of information and highlight both short and long term opportunities to increase legal assistance. |
| To read more click here |
| Helping Courts With the Co-occurrence of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse |
| Protecting families where there is co-occurring child abuse and domestic violence poses a real challenge to courts and social services systems. A new publication, Helping St. Louis County Families: A Guide for Court Professionals on the Co-occurrence of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse/Neglect, provides practical information to court professionals on the overlap of domestic violence and child abuse to help shape their practice to handle these cases more effectively. The guide was developed as an outgrowth of the 1999 Greenbook, published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, which provided guidance to State courts on the development of best practices. St. Louis County, MO, was one of six communities selected by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to serve as a demonstration site in implementing the principles of the Greenbook. The current guide provides information on the context for domestic violence and such specific issues as confidentiality, safety planning, protection orders, visitation, family support meetings, personal bias, and vicarious trauma. It was written by Lauren J. Litton and is intended for attorneys, judges, social services providers, and volunteers working with families in co-occurrence cases. |
| To read more click here |
| Ozha Wazbeganniss: Exploring Supervised Visitation and Exchange Services in Native American Communities |
| Supervised visitation and exchange services for families who have experienced intimate partner violence is a needed resource for tribal communities. This report highlights recommendations stemming from discussion groups held with Native American professionals and consumers about how these services can be created in a way that both meets the needs of families and is valued by the community. Some of the topics explored include the significance of kinship, jurisdictional complexities, impact of poverty and oppression, confidentiality, and other cultural considerations |
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| A Guide to Providing Appropriate Parenting Time for Children Involved in Deprivation Cases: Domestic Violence Considerations |
| Family time is an important aspect of deprivation case plans. It assists children who have been placed into foster care remain connected with their parent(s), helps retain some sense of normalcy, and is essential to reunification. There are numerous facets to each family's situation and individual consideration must be given to crafting family time arrangements that serve the children and family members in question. When domestic violence is also a factor, intervening professionals need to be aware of the risks and subtleties with family time for the victimized parent and account for safety in that regard |
| To read more click here |
| Assisting Battered Women Involved in the Child Protection System: A Framework for San Francisco Domestic Violence Advocates in Co-Occurrence Cases |
| Domestic violence advocates are in a position to assist battered women and their children when it comes to issues around child abuse and neglect without dishonoring the legal parameters that uphold fundamental philosophies of their work. Advocates have opportunities to open the lines of communication with their clients about co-occurrence in order to identify child abuse and neglect indicators and provide services to diminish those indicators; support and aide in the successful completion of a FCS case plan if in existence; link clients to legal and other social supports; create environments that remove perceptions of shame about involvement with FCS; and promote cooperation and collaboration with the client and the other systems involved in her life. |
| To read more click here |
| Helping Battered
Women and Their Children: A Guide for Domestic Violence Advocates on the Co-Occurrence of Domestic Violence and Child
Maltreatment |
| This guide was written by and for domestic violence advocates in St. Louis County, Missouri. Domestic violence service providers have a historical commitment to helping battered women and their children. In fact, the message ‘keeping a mother safe will also keep her child safe’ originated from the domestic violence movement. The advocacy community believed it was imperative for their sector to produce a document that could assist advocates to think through how to improve their approach and understanding of co-occurrence cases. |
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Using Reasonable Efforts Determinations to Improve Systems and Case Practice in Cases Involving Family Violence and Child Maltreatment |
| The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 reinforced that the safety, permanency, and well-being of the child should be the primary concerns when making decisions about child protection interventions, child placement, and efforts at reunification. The court's role in oversight of agency practice in individual cases through the requirement of specific judicial findings as a condition of receipt of certain funding was also maintained and strengthened by ASFA. Based on the recognition of the number of cases where there is a co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment, there is a need for communities and agencies to set reasonable expectations of good practice for responding to the issues raised. |
| To read more click here |
Parental Contact in Domestic Violence Cases: Considerations for Decision-Makers:
Phase I: Getting to Know the Lay of the Land in Vermont |
| Focus groups and interviews were conducted with stakeholders across the State of Vermont to learn about the procedures, decision-making, and outcomes in parent-child contact cases when there is an intersection with domestic violence. This document highlights the themes that emerged and suggests next steps. |
| To read more click here |
| Co-Occurrence of Child Abuse/Neglect and Domestic Violence: Guide for New Hampshire Court Appointed Special Advocates |
| When families are in court due to allegations of child abuse and/or neglect, a commitment of time and understanding is required by all those involved. CASA/GAL volunteers are an important part of this court system response. Some issues a family faces can be more complicated than others; that is the case with domestic violence. Domestic violence is pervasive in family division caseloads and can impact families in both obvious and subtle ways. The co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse/neglect creates a situation where there are several family members at risk, and decisions on how and if to intervene, can be extremely difficult and dangerous. It is essential that CASA/GAL staff and volunteers be aware of these subtleties and wherever possible work in coordination with other professionals in order to protect both the child and the parent who is the victim of the domestic violence. |
| To read more click here |
| Reflections from the Field: Considerations for Domestic Violence Specialists |
| Interdisciplinary collaboration is becoming a common way of addressing complex and multidimensional social problems. The interest in interdisciplinary response to intimate partner violence raises critical questions about how best to support and encourage collaborating professionals to improve outcomes for families through individual and systemic advocacy. Both the civil and criminal arenas engage in efforts to develop a seamless, comprehensive, coordinated, and interdisciplinary system of delivery of domestic violence services. The creation of specialized domestic violence positions has been the direct result of these partnerships and endeavors. |
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| Enhancing the Representation of Children in Private Custody Cases |
| This is the final report of the ABA Child Custody and Adoption Pro Bono Project. The Project's mission was to enhance and expand the delivery of legal services to children involved in divorce, adoption, guardianship, unmarried parent, and civil protective order matters. With emphasis on identifying and developing "best practices," training, and technical assistance and to design and implement programs and policies fostering children's well-being and providing children meaningful participation to courts and pro bono programs, the Project served as a critical national resource in the important area of child custody |
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