Intervening with Domestic Violence Perpetrators: How Focusing on Perpetrators Improves Community-Wide Practice for Fami

Intervening with Domestic Violence Perpetrators: How Focusing on Perpetrators Improves Community-Wide Practice for Families Kristen Selleck, MSW David Mandel &Associates, LLC May 9, 2013

Safe and Together™ Principles 1 Keeping children Safe and Together™ with non-offending parent Safety Healing from trauma Stability and nurturance 2 Partnering with the non-offending parent as default position Efficient Effective Child-centered 3 Intervening with perpetrator to reduce risk and harm to child Engagement Accountability Courts (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Practice Implications • Screening • Trauma-based behaviors and needs • DV context for working with individuals with various needs • Interviewing/Engaging • Focus on perpetrators’ behaviors, strengths of survivors and needs of children • Direct practice with children • Relationship between children and survivors • Relationship between children and perpetrators • Trauma • Behavioral issues • Direct practice with survivors • Strengths-based • Trauma informed • Supports needs of children/parenting • Perpetrators’ behaviors as context • Direct practice with perpetrators • Behavior change is the goal • Focus on the impact on children • Monitor over time • Informed by experiences of children and survivors (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Group Activity: Discussion Questions • What current practices (in your own and/or other systems) can be amended to focus on perpetrators’ exclusive role in harming children? (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Direct Interventions with Perpetrators • Interviewing with Purpose • Documenting behaviors • Family conferences/team meetings • Referrals to BIP with details about behaviors • Juvenile/Dependency court proceedings • Discussing concerns and plans with: • Providers • Law enforcement • Criminal court personnel (including prosecutors) • Probation officers (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Case Plan Recommendations • Forthe perpetrator: Batterer Intervention (rather than anger management, individual therapy or couples’ counseling); Substance Abuse or Mental Health Treatment (when necessary); behavior-specific goals (to end violent behaviors and provide safety and for basic needs of children) • For the survivor: Continue efforts to provide for the safety and well-being of children; to know about available resources (domestic violence advocates, shelter, therapy for self or children); to continue to inform child welfare of perpetrator’s behaviors (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Case Plan Recommendations, Continued • To avoid: Case plans that ask both partners to end the perpetrator’s behaviors (Example: Mom and Dad should not engage in further DV); Case plans that overburden survivors with services simply because the perpetrator is not working with CPS; Case plans that do not take into account batterer-generated risks • Making victims responsible for perpetrators’ behaviors is both dangerous and counterproductive to child welfare’s goals (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Batterer Intervention Treatment Issues • Counseling should focus on stopping the abuse • Behavior change is the priority • Anger management, couples counseling and individual counseling are problematic with domestic violence perpetrators • Communication between provider and CPS is critical to avoid the batterer manipulating either party • Share with program what you know about the batterer's pattern of coercive control and actions to harm the children. • Share what your goals for the batterer are • Substance treatment is best done at the same time (if possible) (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Community Based Interventions • Regardless of whether you or your system directly intervenes with perpetrators, you are part of a community that does • Perpetrators are more likely to change behaviors when there is a clear coordinated response by community partners (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Indirect Interventions with Perpetrators • Documentation • Discussion with those who are working with perpetrators • Use knowledge of perpetrators’ behaviors to guide practice with survivors and children • Provide context to issues in the family functioning • Understanding the role of the perpetrator at all times (in relationship, post-separation, new relationship) (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Child-Centered Interventions with Perpetrators • Is this best for the children? • Does it take into account the safety of the children in various circumstances? • Does it take into account situation changes? • Does it take into account the trauma children have experienced/ could potentially experience? • Does it improve the relationship between survivors and children? • Does it allow for stability for the children? • Does it allow for the children to safely talk about their experiences? (c)2013 David Mandel & Associates LLC Do not reproduce or distribute without permission

Intervening with Domestic Violence Perpetrators: How Focusing on Perpetrators Improves Community-Wide Practice for Fami