Description Children’s safety and well-being are integrally linked with the safety of the mother. Children can be exposed to their mother’s abuse in many ways, including when they see their mother assaulted and demeaned, hear loud conflict and violence or see the aftermath. Children might also be used by an abusive partner to perpetuate the abuse, for example, threatening violence against the children, talking inappropriately to children about their mother’s behaviour and holding the children hostage or abducting them. Two-thirds of women admitted to women’s shelters in Alberta are accompanied by children (estimated 5,000 per year) and almost half of these are pre-schoolers. Domestic violence has a profound impact on the lives of children. Exposure to domestic violence impacts the brain development of children, and increases the likelihood that children will experience or perpetrate abuse over the course of their lifespan. Promising Practices ✓ Provides trauma-informed, affordable, developmentally and gender appropriate care based on knowledge of childhood attachment and behavioural disorders; ✓ Provides programming specifically focusing on pre-school children, including, in particular attachment-based activities or programs for mothers together with their children; ✓ Has access to accredited safe visitation centres that put a child’s best interest and safety at the forefront; ✓ Because of complexity of the complexity of children’s issues, child care options use an enhanced staff to child ratio, to ensure that children can have one on one attention when needed; ✓ Provides training for staff in age-appropriate and culturally competent intervention approaches and materials; ✓ Advocates that court decisions of family law cases that involve violence against women take in to account the impact of those decisions on children; ✓ Assists children and adolescents through counselling to receive information and tools to break the cycle of abuse; children are provided with a safe and nurturing environment in which they are free to tell their story, share their experiences and work through the traumas associated with being exposed to family violence; ✓ Refers to and coordinates with external service providers as needed to address the needs of children/youth; ✓ Provides care for children to allow mothers time to meet their individual needs, as well as to support the healthy development of children; ✓ Works with mothers to assess and support achievement of their personal goals related to parenting, and to understand parent’s perspectives and need for parenting support ✓ At the mother’s request and consent and/or to ensure child’s safety, provides support and information to police and/or Children’s Service authorities, when these systems become involved in custody and parenting issues; ✓ Provides programming to fathers to enhance their understanding, compassion and empathy for their children. Story: Just Blow Out Your Flower Key Elements: Care is child-focused and is based on trauma-informed practices and knowledge of the complexity of children’s issues. Care is accessible to all, regardless of ability to pay for services. Joy Johnson-Green Sonshine Centre Finding the right care for a traumatized child is a daunting experience. I made a long list of possible daycare options. But I crossed them off my list one by one as I heard them say “we cannot take her if she has aggressive behaviours.” In desperation, I contemplated “minimizing” her behaviors to them but in my heart, I knew it would only be a matter of time before she would fail the placement. Then Sonshine figuratively “shone” hope upon us. Our 4-year-old granddaughter was one of the first children to enroll in the program. She attended for just over a year. Sonshine specializes in children like our granddaughter – those who have been exposed to domestic violence. They offer care which is trauma-informed and they know that the child has the potential to grow and to overcome her early life experiences. Before entering Sonshine our granddaughter was impulsive, aggressive and unpredictable. It was not uncommon for her to lash out physically at another child, unprovoked. She did not have coping skills to deal with her internal world. Sonshine taught her to give language to her feelings: such as sad, mad, happy, or scared. She got so good at these skills she began to teach other children (and us too). Even the family dog got a lesson! One day I must have been stressed about something. I recall her telling me, “Grandma, just blow out your flower!” At first I didn’t understand what she was talking about. But then she explained that I should pretend to be blowing out a dandelion bloom. Breathe in deeply…breathe out! Brilliant. It certainly helped me calm down. When you see a precious child transform before your eyes you know that the work Sonshine child care is doing is truly life saving. We often wonder how we can truly express the gratitude we feel to have had our sweet granddaughter receive their love and care? All we can say is thank you. Organizations Providing Tools / Resources Organization/Region Contact Tools Interview Providing Assistance Counselling & Education (PACE) Sexual Assault and Trauma Centre Grande Prairie Jacquie Aitken Executive Director 780-539-6692 jackie@pacegp.ca Guide for Battering Intervention Referral Assessment Matrix Interview Summary Discovery House Calgary Mariela Araya Team Lead, Child & Youth Case Management 403-860-6492 MAraya@discoveryhouse.ca Ages and Stages Questionnaires Kids Club Mom’s Empowerment Triple P – Positive Parenting Program N/A Sonshine Children’s Centre Calgary Joy Johnson-Greene Executive Director 403-226-4785 jjohnson@sonshine.ab.ca Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Evaluation Tools Interview Summary YWCA Lethbridge Lethbridge Lorrie Wittke Youth Services Manager 403-329-0088 lwittke@ywcalethbridge.org Project Child Recovery Comfort Box Example Comfort Box Example References ACWS (2004). Domestic Violence: Child Custody, Access and Recommendations for Reform. Submission to the Ministry of Children’s Services. Prepared with the assistance of the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Centre and Sheriff King Home. Anderson, S., Westermarland, N., and Kelly, L. (2013). The need for accountability to, and support for, children of men on domestic violence perpetrator programmes. Child Abuse Review, 22: 182-193. Baker, L., and Campbell, M. (2012). Exposure to Domestic Violence and its Effect on Children’s Brain Development and Functioning. Learning Network Brief (2). London, Ontario: Learning Network, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children. www.learningtoendabuse.ca/learningnetwork/network-areas/childrens-exposure Macdonald, D., and Wilson, D. (2016). Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada. Written for Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Clark, D. (2011). Supporting Inner Strength and Hope. ACWS Children’s Project. Written for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. Cunningham, A., and Baker, L. (2007).Little eyes, little ears. How violence against a mother shapes children as they grow. The Centre for Children and Families in the Justice system. Edleson, J., Shin, N., Johnson K. (2007). Measuring children’s exposure to domestic violence: The development and testing of the Child Exposure to Domestic Violence (CEDV) Scale. Children and Youth Services Review, 30 (2008). Hoffart, I. and Cairns, K. (2013). The ACWS Children’s Project: Phase I. Written for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. Kleiss, K. (2013). Alberta Privacy Commissioner says Child First Act threatens privacy. The Edmonton Journal, May 8, 2013. Lourdes, O., de la Osa, N., Granero, R., Doménech, J. (2010). Mental health needs of children exposed to intimate partner violence seeking help from mental health services. Children and Youth Services Review: 32, 1004–1011. McDonald, S., and Tough, S. (2015). The 2013 Alberta Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Survey. Key Findings. Calgary: Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research; Norlien Foundation. Paul, A. (2016). Conference in Winnipeg focuses on needs of First Nations children. Winnipeg Free Press. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/advocate-wants-province-to-reveal-where-unused-federal-child-tax-credits-are-going-375471321.html Praxis International (2016). A Guide to Assessing Child Protection Practice in Domestic Violence-Related Cases. http://praxisinternational.org/institutional-analysiscommunity-assessment-2/resources/a-guide-to-assessing-child-protection-practice-in-domestic-violence-related-cases/ Sousa, C., Herrenkohl, T., Moylan, C., Tajima, E., Klika, J., Herrenkohl, R., and Russo, M. (2010). Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Child Abuse and Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence, Parent Child Attachments, and Antisocial Behaviour in Adolescence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20 (10), 1-26. Stevens, J. (2015). Pediatricians Screen Parents for ACEs to Improve Health of Babies. Social Justice Solutions.
