C11

WHY JUVENILE COURTS SHOULD ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Presenters: Sarah Buel

Abstract Category: Domestic Violence

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Presentation: Click Here

Description:

Family violence presents as an overt or covert issue in many cases involving child protection and juvenile delinquency, affording us many opportunities to improve our interventions with these children and their families.

Abstract:

Family violence presents in juvenile court cases in three forms:

First, as the underlying cause of the youth’s delinquent behavior rather than the presenting offense – e.g., theft or drug possession. Even a rudimentary inquiry reveals that the juvenile, his mother and/or siblings are being abused by another adult or each other;

In the second form, the youth batters a parent, caretaker or sibling;

While in the third form, s/he abuses an intimate partner, usually in the context of a dating relationship.  There exists a dearth of assistance for parents victimized by their own children, though battered women often report this phenomenon as accompanying abuse from an adult partner. Occasionally afternoon talk shows present desperate parents confronting abusive adolescents or tearful teens lamenting their inability to leave their violent boyfriends, but sorely lacking is practical guidance for victims dealing with physical and psychological abuse. 

Similarly, most juvenile justice systems have few resources for intimate partners or family members being battered by teens. Scant attention is paid to the issue, in part because of the reluctance of parents, siblings and partners to involve aggressors in the juvenile court system particularly with the specter looming of adult prison or a secure youth facility. For families of color, dramatically disproportionate confinement of their children and partners only serves to further alienate them from the justice system. 

This session will focus on brief identification of the problem, then an overview of promising practices and model interventions.