1. Protecting Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
Teresa Drake, J.D.,
Director, The Source Program,
Visiting Legal Skills Professor,
Associate Director, Center on Children and Families,
Levin College of Law;
Affiliate Professor, Center for
Women’s Studies and Gender
Research, UF College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences

2. Fla Stat 741.2902 Legislative Intent with respect to judiciary's role
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature, with respect to injunctions for protection against domestic violence issued pursuant to s , that the court shall:
(e) Consider supervised visitation, withholding visitation, or other arrangements for visitation that will best protect the child and petitioner from harm.

3. Fla Stat
(6)(a)Upon notice and hearing, when it appears to the court that the petitioner is either the victim of domestic violence as defined by s or has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence, the court may grant such relief as the court deems proper, including an injunction:
(3) On the same basis as provided in chapter 61, providing the petitioner with 100 percent of the time-sharing in a temporary parenting plan that remains in effect until the order expires or an order is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction in a pending or subsequent civil action or proceeding affecting the placement of, access to, parental time with, adoption of, or parental rights and responsibilities for the minor child.

4. Power & Control Wheel

5. Children and DV
In 43% of households where DV occurs, at least one child under the age of 12 lives in the home
Although many parents believe they can hide DV from children, research suggests that 80% - 90% of these children are aware of the violence
Sleeping infant study!

6. Examples of Child Exposure
Hearing threats of physical harm
Feeling tension building in home prior to assault
Being hit/threatened while in mother’s arms
Hearing/seeing assault on their mother
Being denied care because mother is injured or depressed
Being forced to watch/participate in violence against their mother
Seeing aftermath of violent incident
Having their relationship with their non-violent parent undermined
Being taken hostage to force mother to return home
Being forced to relay messages, spy on, or monitor the mother
Experiencing the loss of a parent due to murder/suicide.

7. The Most Dangerous Time
The most dangerous time for a battered woman is when she finally decides to leave
As many as 75% of DV calls made to police and 73% of the emergency room DV visits occur during or immediately following separation
Of women killed by their abusers, 70% are killed during the process of trying to leave.

8. Children Witnessing DV
In approximately 19% of femicides, children are also killed
In 71% of cases a child either witnesses the femicide or is the first to find body.

9. Children Affected by DV
Children Affected by Trauma

10. Brain Development
Brain development and growth is profoundly “front loaded” such that by age four, a child’s brain is 90% of adult size
The fastest “spurt” begins in the last trimester and is at least 83% postnatal, continuing to about months of age.

11. Brain Development
During this great ‘brain” growth between -9 – 4 years of life, a child’s rapidly developing brain organizes to reflect the child’s environment
Neurons, neural systems and the brain change in a “use-dependent” way
Physical connections between neurons (synaptic connection) increase and strengthen through repetition, or wither through disuse…Cells that fire together, survive together, and wire together.

13. What If Our Environment is Unsafe?

15. Responses Affected
In a state of fear we retrieve information from the world differently than when we feel calm
In a state of calm, we use more complex parts of the brain (neocortex) to process and act on information
As perceived threat level goes up, less thoughtful and more reactive responses surface; actions are governed by emotional and reactive thinking styles (limbic and diencephalon).

16. Base-line Stress Levels Affected
Flight or flight: hyperarousal response, may display defiance, resistance or aggression. Often display hypervigilance, anxiety, panic or increased heart rate. More common in older children, males and circumstances where trauma involved witnessing or playing an active role.
Freeze: dissociative response, may involve avoidance, withdrawing from the outside world. Child may be compliant (even robotic), display rhythmic self-soothing such as rocking. Most common in young children, females and during traumatic events characterized by pain or inability to escape.

17. Fight, Fright or Freeze: Stuck On

18. Trauma is Intergenerational
P, Suicide
IPV victim
“Accidental”
shooting
Incarcerated
Drug use
Drug use

19. Creating a Context for Children’s Healing
A sense of physical and emotional safety in current surroundings
Structure, limits and predictability
A strong bond with the nurturing, non-violent parent is one of the best predictors of a child’s ability to recover from trauma
The child must feel that the parent can protect them
The child must recover his/her respect and/or confidence in the parent
The child must feel that the surrounding social environment supports them bring close to that parent.

20. Context for Children’s Healing, con’t
Not to feel responsible for taking care of adults
Contact with the battering parent if it can occur with adequate protection for the child’s physical and emotional safety
A strong bond to siblings.

21. Batterer’s Manipulations After Separation: Disrupting Healing
Children can be used as primary weapon to:
Pressure partner to reunify
Sending messages through children
Parentification of children
Neglecting/abusing children
Retaliate
Threatening to obtain “custody of children”
Blaming/Undermining relationship with non-violent parent
Spying, Cyberstalking through children
Pet abuse
Sabotaging children’s relationships with therapists, medical personnel, child care
Isolating children from support/peers
Neglecting/Abusing children.

22. Back to Injunction: The Chain of Events
Petitioner (80-85% of domestic violence survivors are women) files for injunction for protection with children
Temporary injunction is granted; petitioner is given 100% timesharing
Respondent is served and all that is seen is SHE IS LEAVING…NO ACCESS TO THE CHILDREN
Respondent loses control and blames survivor for denying his rights to his children
….Chaos…..escalation….danger.

23. How Can We Minimize the Danger
Demystify/Empower/De-escalate: Brochure or handout that is served on Respondent with temporary order or order setting hearing:
Explains that the temporary order is temporary
Tell Respondent he/she will get the opportunity to present evidence before Judge makes a final decision
Warns about consequence of violations
Assures Respondent that timesharing will be addressed by the Judge at the final hearing and prepares the Respondent for the possibility of mediation.

24. Petitioner Safety
Brochure/handout given to the Petitioner when she/he applies for injunction and at the final hearing:
Describes court proceedings, including mediation and her/his ability to opt out
Outlines safety plan in home, community and courthouse
Explains reporting violations procedures
Lists community resources.

25. In the Courtroom
Have a good working relationship between bailiffs, mediation staff, victim advocates (Fla. Stat (6)(a)(6)) in which safety is the top priority
Explain the parameters in which you will use mediation and/or dv victim advocates in the courtroom.

26. When to Address Time-sharing
If parties are married
If paternity has been established by a circuit court
If neither, then Respondents can be guided to resources that can assist them to open a family law case
The responsibility of initiating a family law case should not be on the shoulders of the Petitioner.

27. Determining Time Sharing: Mediation
Fla. Stat (2)(c) In circuits in which a family mediation program has been established and upon a court finding of a dispute, (the Court) shall refer to mediation all or part of custody, visitation, or other parental responsibility issues as defined in s Upon motion or request of a party, a court shall not refer any case to mediation if it finds there has been a history of domestic violence that would compromise the mediation process…however, if the petitioner knowingly agrees to the process and the scope is narrowly defined…
…and if there is a victim advocate (Fla. Stat (7))
Cases should be referred after a final injunction has been ordered and the judge has determined that timesharing will be supervised or unsupervised.

28. Mediation, con’t
Mediators must have specialized training in domestic violence mediations (contact Circuit 8, Beverly Graper,
Mediators review all files before court and are present in courtroom
All mediations are conducted caucus style
All mediators:
Understand the dynamics of power and control
Aware of the effects of dv on children
Understand survivor trauma behavior
Familiar with supervised visitation center options and safe public pass-off locations
Familiar with Family Wizard and other such services
Uses template for “tight” high-conflict parenting plans
Keenly aware of information, verbal or non-verbal, that is passed from one party to the other
Have safety support to transport both themselves and petitioner to mediation suite
Understand that any threat to mediator by Respondent is outside confidentiality.

29. Assistance in Determining Time Sharing
Supervised Visitation Center
Supervised Visits with neutral third party
Safe public pass-off locations (strict timeframes)
Publix
Sheriff’s office
Banks.

30. Child Support
Best Practices Model on Child Support in Domestic Violence Cases.

31. Judicial Resources
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
National Center for State Courts
National Online Resource Center for Violence Against Women
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence

32. Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic
Thank You
Teresa Drake, J.D.
Director
Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic
University of Florida
Levin College of Law
This project was supported by Grant No.: WL-AX-0006 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.