Domestic Violence (Cont.)

“Police can help children understand that what happened was not their fault and it is not their responsibility to make the situation right,” said Betsy McAlister Groves of the Child Witness to Violence Project at the Boston Medical Center in Boston and a member of the NCTSN First Responders Workgroup that developed the materials. 

“When police officers respond to a domestic violence call, they may be the first ones from outside the family to see the adverse conditions kids are living in.  If they leave without doing something, the opportunity to intervene in a child’s life is lost.”

"It’s critical for all of us to understand there are simple things police officers can do while on scene to help reduce the impact of domestic violence on children,” added Lt. RC Hassett of the New Haven Police Department, another member of the workgroup. 

Other workgroup members included Steve Berkowitz and Miriam Berkman, of the Child Development Community Policing Program at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, CT; Rosemary Creeden, of the Children Who Witness Violence Program in Cleveland; and Rebecca Gaba, now at the Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, VA.

The 20-minute educational video can be viewed at www.NCTSN.org.   Other available resources include a tip card identifying simple actions officers can take to help children, such as limiting use of force in front of them and explaining to them why any force was necessary.
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The DVD and accompanying materials are being disseminated to the Child Welfare League of America and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as national police and domestic violence advocacy groups. Members of these organizations and the NCTSN will be encouraged to use the materials in trainings and share them with local police departments. A limited number of copies of the materials are available by e-mailing info@NCTSN.org. 

Coming Soon: 
NCTSN Knowledge Bank

The National Resource Center staff are putting finishing touches on the NCTSN Knowledge Bank, an online tool that will allow users to identify and obtain hundreds of resources related to child trauma. Network members will be able to list their own materials. The NCTSN Knowledge Bank will be launched in March.

The NCTSN Knowledge Bank will serve as a “virtual index” to the knowledge, skills and products of the Network and other professionals.  Users will be able to find materials by browsing organized categories or searching for specific resources. 

Much of the material will be available online, simply by clicking the URL provided. In other cases, users can contact the source for more information or to obtain copies of items.

For more information about the Knowledge Bank, please contact Peggy Schaeffer at peggy.schaeffer@duke.edu or Cybele Merrick at cybele.m.merrick@dartmouth.edu.