Funded as a Special Interest Resource Center: Civil & Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, with additional funding provided by the Office on Violence Against Women, Department of Justice.
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Tools & Guides

Domestic Violence-Informed Child Custody Decision-Making Worksheets

Published: October, 2017| Gabrielle Davis, Loretta Frederick, Nancy Ver Steegh

These worksheets assist the family court practitioner in easily and visually organizing and keeping track of what is being learned about abuse in a custody case, including its full nature and context… View this resource

Webinar Recording

A SAFeR Approach to Considering Child-Related Relief in Orders for Protection

Published: September, 2018| Gabrielle Davis

Battered parents frequently struggle to secure statutorily permitted child-related relief in civil protection orders. This webinar will introduce one strategy that advocates, attorneys, and survivors… View this resource

Webinar Recording

Making the Case for Coercive Control

Published: June, 2016| Loretta Frederick, Nancy Ver Steegh

Family court professionals generally agree that domestic violence comes in many different shapes and sizes and impacts families in many and varied ways. The challenge comes in helping family court… View this resource

Webinar Recording

A Domestic Violence-Informed Approach to Child Custody Decision-Making

Published: June, 2016| Loretta Frederick, Nancy Ver Steegh

Notwithstanding an abundance of social science literature and persistent efforts to raise awareness about the adverse affects of domestic violence on children and parenting, family court systems… View this resource

Promising Practices & Policies

A Systematic Approach to Domestic Abuse-Informed Child Custody Decision Making in Family Law Cases

Published: October, 2015| Gabrielle Davis

This article describes a 4-part framework which provides an approach for practitioners who are making decisions in family court cases. The framework encourages these practitioners to 1) identify if… View this resource

Webinar Recording

Calculating Safety: Domestic Violence and Child Support Parenting Time Initiatives

Published: October, 2015| Nancy Ver Steegh, Gabrielle Davis

Policy makers and stakeholders have been engaged in a national discussion about establishing parenting time for never-married noncustodial parents when initial child support orders are entered.… View this resource

Webinar Recording

Rural Domestic Violence: Custody and Beyond

Published: July, 2015| Dr. Melanie Shepard, Melissa Scaia, MPA

Dr. Shepard presents findings from two studies: a study exploring the perceptions of rural women on custody and visitation arrangements with abusive ex-partners and an examination of the successes and… View this resource

Tools & Guides

Practice Guides for Family Court Decision-Making in Domestic Abuse-Related Child Custody Matters

Published: June, 2014| Loretta Frederick, Gabrielle Davis

These practice guides are designed to improve decision-making by family court professionals involved in domestic abuse-related child custody matters. They provide guidance on how to identify… View this resource

Webinar Recording

What Can We Learn From Turned-Around Cases

Published: April, 2014| Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D., Stephanie Dallam

In this presentation, new information is presented about the results of a case analysis of 27 custody cases involving the abuse of children. In these cases, a judge initially ordered the children into… View this resource

Webinar Recording

The Child Custody/Child Protective Service “Sandwich”

Published: February, 2014| Joyce Yedlosky

Battered women and their children are often “sandwiched” between child custody proceedings and the Child Protection System (CPS). This webinar focuses on the systemic structures, assumptions and… View this resource

Promising Practices & Policies

Calculating Safety: Reckoning with Domestic Violence in the Context of Child Support Parenting Time Initiatives

Published: April, 2015| Nancy Ver Steegh, Gabrielle Davis

This article explores domestic violence-related implications of federal and state initiatives seeking to establish parenting time in connection with entry of child support orders. The authors… View this resource

Website

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges/Family Violence Department

Published: January, 2015| National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

The Family Violence Department improves the way courts, law enforcement agencies, and others respond to family violence, while recognizing the legal, cultural, and psychological dynamics involved with… View this resource

Promising Practices & Policies

Domestic Violence and Child Custody: A 4-Part Model for Helping Judges Make More Informed Decisions

Published: June, 2013| Kristine Lizdas

Family court judges should consider the impact of violence on families when making decisions about child custody and visitation, according to Kristine Lizdas, a managing attorney at the Battered… View this resource

Research & Statistics

Parenting Interventions for Men Who Batter

Published: June, 2012| Katreena Scott, Fernando Mederos

This Applied Research paper provides an overview of the research on the commonalities and controversies surrounding parenting interventions programs for men who batter with an emphasis on improving… View this resource