OUR WORK
Parenting, Children, and Families
Children grow, develop, and thrive within a web of interconnected relationships, influenced by family, culture, and community. Witnessing domestic and sexual violence (DSV) in their homes directly affects children and may impact their safety, physical and mental health, and well-being. Children’s and youths’ experiences with DSV are unique and vary widely; they are buffered from these traumatic experiences and other adverse circumstances by the totality of protective factors in their lives. As human beings, we have an amazing capacity for resilience in the face of stress and trauma, and for healing from harm and loss.
We offer resources that are designed to support domestic violence advocates, mental health clinicians, and program supervisors engaging with families affected by domestic violence. You may also find these resources helpful if you are a community partner or practitioner from other child-and-family-serving systems, including prevention, early intervention, family court, schools, mental health, substance use, and child welfare.
Our hope is that these resources provide practical guidance for engaging with families and communities affected by domestic violence. Social context matters in understanding how ongoing discrimination, racism, and collective and historical trauma intersect with experiences of domestic violence and impact access to equitable and responsive services and resources.
Our work in this area is relationship- and strengths-based, family-centered, and informed overall by an accessible, culturally responsive, trauma-informed (ACRTI) framework. Our approach honors the voices of children, youth, and their caregivers and recognizes the potential for healing and resilience in our relationships with each other and in community with others.
Key Resources
Resource
Family-Centered Toolkit for Domestic Violence Programs
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Webinar Series
Building Trauma-Informed Services for Children, Youth, and Parents Impacted by Domestic Violence
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Resource
Guide for Engaging and Supporting Parents Affected by Domestic Violence
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