This library contains publications developed under the JFF Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program (Supervised Visitation Program). These publications address the provision of supervised visitation and safe exchange services in situations where domestic violence is present.
A Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence (1997)
Author: Ellen Pence and Martha McMahon
This article describes the eight aspects of a coordinated intervention model in domestic violence cases and introduces the notion of safety and accountability audits as an assessment planning and reform tool in the criminal justice field.
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(20 page PDF)
Abusive Men’s Use of Children to Control Their Partners and Ex-Partners (2007)
Author: Marisa L. Beeble, Deborah Bybee, and Cris M. Sullivan
This study represents the first step in examining both the extent to which, and the various ways by which, abusive men use children to control and terrorize their partners.
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(8 page PDF)
Access Denied: The Barriers of Violence & Poverty for Abused Women and Their Children’s Search for Justice and Community Services After Separation (2002)
Author: Peter Jaffe, Atkinson Foundation
This report develops a comprehensive picture of women’s experiences while leaving abusive relationships and highlights the unique challenges associated with leaving abusive relationships and the gaps in policy and service delivery.
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(1 page PDF)
Advocacy Beyond Leaving: Helping Battered Women in Contact with Current or Former Spouses (2009)
Author: Jill Davies
This guide offers practical suggestions to assist advocates working day-to-day with victims and uses the familiar and concrete framework of woman-defined advocacy to explain advocates’ important role in safety planning when victims are in contact with current or former spouses
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(1 page PDF)
Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide (2003)
Author: Jacquelyn C. Campbell
This study of the Danger Assessment Tool finds that despite certain limitations, the tool can, with some reliability, identify women who may be at risk of being killed by an intimate partner.
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(6 page PDF)
Beyond Observation: Considerations for Advancing Domestic Violence Practice in Supervised Visitation (2008)
Author: Jay Campbell, Derrick Gordon, and Ona Foster on behalf of Futures Without Violence
This publication presents considerations for expanded practice in the supervised visitation and describes interventions that go beyond observation in the supervised visitation setting. The information for this publication comes from a number of sources, including interviews with experts in the field; a review of the literature on supervised visitation; observations of center operations; and focus groups conducted with consumers, staff, judges, lawyers and key constituents of supervised visitation centers.
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(50 page PDF)
Building Safety, Repairing Harm: Lessons Learned from the Office on Violence Against Women’s Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program – Demonstration Initiative (2008)
Author: Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This report presents the Supervised Visitation Program demonstration initiative’s collective and individual examination of visitation center practices, community partnerships, cultural accessibility, security, and sustainability. The four demonstration sites were: the Bay Area, CA; the City of Chicago, IL; the City of Kent, WA; and the State of Michigan.
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(150 page PDF)
Case Law on Supervised Visitation or Exchange Issues in Cases Involving Domestic Violence (2011)
Author: Emilie Meyer
This document provides an overview of supervised visitation and domestic violence cases published in the last three years.
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(2 page PDF)
Concepts in Creating Culturally Responsive Services for Supervised Visitation Centers (2007)
Author: Dr. Oliver J. Williams on behalf of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community
This publication was developed to assist supervised visitation programs grantee communities with examining how they serve culturally diverse populations. It encourages grantee communities to reflect on the good work they already do and to consider how they can enhance their efforts to support diverse populations in the context of court-referred supervised visitation when domestic violence is an issue.
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(36 page PDF)
Demonstration Initiative Site Profiles
Author: Praxis International, Inc.
Overview: The Supervised Visitation Program developed and implemented a four-year demonstration initiative to examine promising practices in the field of supervised visitation and safe exchange. OVW awarded grants to four demonstration sites: the Bay Area, CA; the City of Chicago, IL; the City of Kent, WA; and the State of Michigan.
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(25 page PDF)
Designing Supervised Visitation and Exchange Centers That Promot Safety
Author: Lauren Litton & Tiffany Martinez
The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) convened discussion groups of mothers and fathers who used visitation centers due to domestic violence, convened visitation providers, and received insight from technical assistance providers and consultants that have been working with grantees for the past 10 years. It is with that collective feedback, that this tool was created to assist supervised visitation programs in examination and development of their security measures.
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(40 page PDF)
Domestic Violence Programs and Children’s Records: Issues of Confidentiality and Release (2009)
Author: Sandra Tibbets and Jenna Yauch
The importance of confidentiality in the lives of battered women and their children cannot be understated. Preserving confidentiality for these women and children is central to ensuring their safety and allowing them to regain and retain control over their lives. This paper provides guidance to domestic violence programs regarding children’s records and serves as a starting place for internal policy development on this issue.
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(18 page PDF)
Engage to Protect: Foundations for Supervised Visitation and Exchange – Discussion Paper 1: Recognizing and Understanding Battering (2009)
Author: Ellen Pence and Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This discussion paper examines the various types of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a broad category that has come to include many kinds of violence and behaviors within relationships between intimate partners and, in most states, relationships between family and other household members. The term domestic violence tends to focus attention on acts of physical violence and obscure attention to ongoing coercion, intimidation, and emotional harm. The lack of distinction about the type and intent of violence has led to a generic response that fails to make critical distinctions in its deliberations and actions on behalf of the state.
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(12 page PDF)
Engage to Protect: Foundations for Supervised Visitation and Exchange – Discussion Paper 2: Engaging with Battered Women in Supervised Visitation Centers (2009)
Author: Maren Hansen-Kramer, Julie Tilley, Beth McNamara, and Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This discussion paper sets forth a framework for working with mothers who have been battered that requires thoughtful engagement with these women. Meeting these goals rests on the approach, as made possible by workers’ knowledge and skills in key areas, which are discussed.
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(28 page PDF)
Engage to Protect: Foundations for Supervised Visitation and Exchange – Discussion Paper 3: Engaging with Men who Batter in Supervised Visitation Centers (2009)
Author: Maren Hansen-Kramer, Julie Tilley, Beth McNamara, and Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This discussion paper presents a framework for safely and skillfully engaging with fathers who have been or are currently battering their children’s mother. Meeting these goals rests on the approach, as made possible by workers’ knowledge and skills in key areas, which are discussed.
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(28 page PDF)
Engage to Protect: Foundations for Supervised Visitation and Exchange – Discussion Paper 4: Informing the Practice of Supervised Visitation (2009)
Author: Melanie Shepard, Jane Sadusky, and Beth McNamara on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This discussion paper reviews six approaches to learning about the quality and impact of supervised visitation practices from participants, staff, volunteers, and community partners. They include: questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, check-ins, case file reviews, and case consultations.
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(20 page PDF)
Engage to Protect: Foundations for Supervised Visitation and Exchange – Discussion Paper 5: Crafting Policies that Account for Battering (2009)
Author: Ellen Pence and Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
The approach to crafting policies described in this discussion paper has the Supervised Visitation Program’s Guiding Principles as its backdrop. It has been written primarily for centers that have elected to operate within those principles. While it is convenient to cut and paste, policies must belong to an organization. The process of policy making is crucial to an organization’s ability to successfully implement those very policies. This paper offers nine tips that can help a visitation program stay on course as it maneuvers through the complexities of policymaking.
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(28 page PDF)
Fathering After Violence: Working with Abusive Fathers in Supervised Visitation (2008)
Author: Juan Carlos Areán on behalf of Futures Without Violence
This guide is intended to assist supervised visitation centers that want to enhance the safety and well-being of women and children by working more deliberately with abusive fathers who use the centers to visit their children. Although fathers are not always the visiting parents and, in fact, in some centers mothers make up almost half of the visiting caseload, this document was designed to target in particular visiting fathers who have been violent with their intimate partners.
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(54 page PDF)
Guiding Principles of the Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program (2007)
Author: The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges on behalf of the Office on Violence Against Women
The Guiding Principles are designed to guide the development and administration of centers with an eye toward addressing the needs of child(ren) and adult victims of domestic violence in visitation and exchange settings. The Guiding Principles look beyond the visitation setting to address how communities should address domestic violence in the larger community.
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(52 page PDF)
If I Killed You, I’d Get the Kids: Women’s Survival and Protection Work with Child Custody and Access in the Context of Woman Abuse (2004)
Author: Colleen Varcoe and Lori G. Irwin
This article discusses how child custody and access processes provide opportunities for abusive partners to exert power and control over their partners and children and discusses how these opportunities are often supported by policies and practices of service providers.
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(2 page PDF)
Intimate Partner Violence in Immigrant and Refugee Communities: Challenges, Promising Practices, and Recommendations (2009)
Author: Michael Runner
This report examines the issue of intimate partner violence in immigrant and refugee communities in the United States from a variety of standpoints, including the legal rights and practical challenges facing immigrant and refugee victims of violence, the ways systems are responding, and the promising practices.
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(66 page PDF)
Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinions (2011)
Author: Emilie Meyer
This document provides an overview of judicial ethics advisory opinions specific to supervised visitation issues.
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(2 page PDF)
Laws Pertaining to Supervised Visitation and Exchange (2011)
Author: Emilie Meyer
This document provides an overview of state laws containing supervised visitation provisions and provisions that protect against abduction, provisions authorizing the establishment of supervised visitation centers, and provisions mandating domestic violence training for supervised visitation providers.
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(4 page PDF)
Litigation Abuse During the Pretrial Process (2008)
Author: Hon. JerryJ. Bowles, Hon. Kaye K. Christian, Margaret B. Drew, and Katheryn L. Yetter
This section is devoted to litigation abuse by abusive parents. It identifies the abusive litigation techniques used by abusive parents as a means to control the non-abusive parent and outlines steps judges can take to curtail and end this coercive and controlling tactic.
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(4 page PDF)
Mental Illness and Domestic Violence: Implications for Family Law Litigation (2003)
Author: Denice Wolf
This article gives some background on the issues facing this client population; discusses confidentiality, privilege, and strategies for dealing with treatment and evaluative evidence in preparing the case; and offers ideas for system advocacy with regard to mental illness in the family law system.
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(13 page PDF)
Mobilizing Communities to Prevent Domestic Violence by Melanie Shepard (2008)
Author: Melanie Shepard
This paper places community mobilization within the context of the Battered Women’s Movement, explores guiding concepts and frameworks for community mobilization, and discusses the challenges of implementing community mobilization strategies.
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(9 page PDF)
New Perspectives on Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange: Orientation (2008)
Author: Jane Sadusky on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This document provides an overview of a shift in practice. The shif includes the change from agency-centered intake to person-centered orientation as a framework for welcoming mothers, fathers, and children to the experience of supervised visitation. It presents the broad sweep of questions and new perspectives that have emerged from the work and discussions involving the Office on Violence Against Women, the demonstration initiative sites, grantee communities, and technical assistance partners.
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(41 page PDF)
On Safety’s Side: Protecting Those Vulnerable to Violence (2008)
Author: Martha McMahon and Ellen Pence
This document is an invitation to visitation centers serving families with a history of domestic violence to engage far more actively and broadly in the work of protecting victims of violence. Doing so involves protecting both adult and child victims and requires a re-examination of the idea that visitation centers have an obligation to the court to be neutral in the “conflict between parents using a center.”
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(1 page PDF)
On Safety’s Side: Protecting Those Vulnerable to Violence (2008)
Author: Martha McMahon and Ellen Pence on behalf of Praxis International, Inc.
This document is an invitation to visitation centers serving families with a history of domestic violence to engage far more actively and broadly in the work of protecting victims of violence. Doing so involves protecting both adult and child victims and requires a re-examination of the idea that visitation centers have an obligation to the court to be neutral in the "conflict between parents using a center."
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(48 page PDF)
Ozha Wahbeganniss: Exploring Supervised Visitation & Exchange Services in Native American Communities
Author: Lauren J. Litton and Dr. Oliver J. Williams
This report reflects the first step in an opportunity to critically think about how supervised visitation and safe exchange services can be crafted and implemented by tribal communities in a manner that offers safety, respect, healing, health, and serenity. It highlights recommendations stemming from discussion groups held with Native American professionals and consumers about how these services can be created in a way that both meets the needs of families and is valued by the community.
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(1 page PDF)
Parenting Arrangements After Domestic Violence: Safety as a Priority in Judging Children’s Best Interest
Author: Peter G. Jaffe, Claire V. Crooks, and Hon. Frances Q.F. Wong
This article discusses some of the controversies surrounding parent-child access and provides practical guidelines within a clinical and legal context.
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(1 page PDF)
Power and Control Wheel by Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs
Author: Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs
The Power and Control Wheel was developed from the experience of battered women in Duluth who had been abused by their male partners. It does not attempt to give a broad understanding of all violence in the home or community, but instead offers a more precise explanation of the tactics men use to batter women.
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(1 page PDF)
Preventing Family Violence: Community Engagement Makes the Difference (2002)
Author: P. Catlin Fullwood
This report looks at the lessons learned from community-based efforts to counter family violence, focuses on five goals that emerged and that are critical to family violence prevention efforts, includes examples of groups that are addressing each of these goals, and provides a list of practical guidelines for effective community engagement to prevent family violence.
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(28 page PDF)
Resource Guide for Advocates and Attorneys on Interpretation Services for Domestic Violence Victims (2010)
Author: Chic Dabby and Cannon Han
These guidelines focus on court interpretation for domestic and sexual violence victims with limited English proficiency
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(87 page PDF)
Responding to Stalking
Author: The National Center for Victims of Crime
Stalking is a serious and dangerous crime; yet, it is also often misunderstood, minimized, or overlooked entirely. Evidence of stalking—harassing phone calls or text messages, showing up at a victims’ school or work uninvited—is sometimes interpreted as a pattern of domestic violence, rather than a distinct crime that should be identified and assessed. Recognizing stalking and its intersection with domestic violence is critical for evaluating the risk of further violence and lethality. This booklet will address the definition and dynamics of stalking, the intersection of stalking and domestic violence, the intersection of stalking and supervised visitation and safe exchange, safety considerations, and policies and procedures, and will also provide additional resources.
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(9 page PDF)
Safe Passage: Supervised Safe Exchange for Battered Women and Their Children (2010)
Author: Jane Sadusky
This publication sums up key issues in supervised safe exchange, presents strategies to address those issues, and suggests policy and procedure changes that will help visitation programs deliver this critical service as skillfully and safely as possible
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(1 page PDF)
Safety and Accountability Audit Reports for the Demonstration Initiative Sites – Bay Area, CA (2004, revised 2006)
Author: Praxis International, Inc.
The four sites chosen as demonstration initiative sites under the Supervised Visitation Program Initiative were required to conduct community-based assessments utilizing the methodologies of the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit. Each demonstration site explored a different question related to the design and delivery of visitation and exchange services. The Bay Area explored how the work of visitation centers produces safety for everyone involved.
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(33 page PDF)
Safety and Accountability Audit Reports for the Demonstration Initiative Sites – City of Chicago, IL (2005)
Author: Praxis International, Inc.
The four sites chosen as demonstration initiative sites under the Supervised Visitation Program Initiative were required to conduct community-based assessments utilizing the methodologies of the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit. Each demonstration site explored a different question related to the design and delivery of visitation and exchange services. The City of Chicago explored how visitation centers account for peoples’ unique cultures and identities.
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(35 page PDF)
Safety and Accountability Audit Reports for the Demonstration Initiative Sites – City of Kent, WA (2007)
Author: Praxis International, Inc.
The four sites chosen as demonstration initiative sites under the Supervised Visitation Program Initiative were required to conduct community-based assessments utilizing the methodologies of the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit. Each demonstration site explored a different question related to the design and delivery of visitation and exchange services. The City of Kent explored how victims of battering who might benefit from supervised visitation services identify and access them.
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(38 page PDF)
Safety and Accountability Audit Reports for the Demonstration Initiative Sites – State of Michigan (2004)
Author: Praxis International, Inc.
The four sites chosen as demonstration initiative sites under the Supervised Visitation Program Initiative were required to conduct community-based assessments utilizing the methodologies of the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit. Each demonstration site explored a different question related to the design and delivery of visitation and exchange services. The State of Michigan explored the role of supervised visitation centers.
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(33 page PDF)
Safety Planning
Author: Jill Davies
This paper discusses how to implement comprehensive safety planning for battered women using a women-centered model. It also discusses batterer-generated and life-generated risks and the role of advocates in supporting safety planning strategies.
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(12 page PDF)
Shared Parenting After Abuse: Battered Mothers’ Perspectives on Parenting After Dissolution of a Relationship
Author: Carolyn Tubbs and Oliver Williams
This chapter focuses on the question: what types of shared parenting expectations do battered women have in reference to the men with whom they have a shared history of violence?
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(26 page PDF)
Shared Parenting After Abuse: Battered Mothers’ Perspectives on Parenting After Dissolution of a Relationship (2007)
Author: Carolyn Tubbs and Oliver Williams
This chapter focuses on the question of what types of shared parenting expectations do battered women have in reference to the men with whom they have a shared history of violence.
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(26 page PDF)
Substance Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence (2008)
Author: Larry Bennett and Patricia Bland
This paper discusses the co-occurrence of substance abuse and intimate partner violence, highlights the special role of men’s drunkenness in intimate partner violence, examines substance abuse by victims of intimate partner violence, and presents issues related to coordination and integration of substance abuse and intimate partner violence services.
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(16 page PDF)
Supervised Visitation Programs: Information for Mothers who have Experienced Abuse (2007)
Author: Jill Davies on behalf of Futures Without Violence
This guide is for mothers who have experienced abuse and whose children are in supervised visitation programs. It provides basic information about how supervised visitation programs work and how mothers can prepare themselves and their children for the experience.
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(28 page PDF)
Supervised Visitation: What Courts Should Know when Working with Supervised Visitation Programs (2006)
Author: Samantha Moore and Kathryn Ford
This paper highlights a number of practices used by supervised visitation programs and the courts. It is intended for judges, court administrators, and their community partners in an effort to reduce the risk of violence for survivors and their children. While implementing all of the suggestions in this paper may be difficult, this paper aims to give courts and programs a framework for ongoing coordination.
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(9 page PDF)
The Parenting of Men Who Batter (2002)
Author: Lundy Bancroft
This article discusses the parenting characteristics commonly observed in batterers and the implications for children’s emotional and physical well-being, their relationships with their mothers and siblings, and the development of their belief systems.
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(6 page PDF)
The Troubling Admission of Supervised Visitation Records in Custody Proceedings (2002)
Author: Nat Stern and Karen Oehme
This article argues that the widespread misuse of visitation reports threatens to compromise both the interests of abused children and the safety of domestic violence victims. It explores the purposes of supervised visitation programs and the legal community’s call for their development; describes the efforts of legislatures and provider networks to develop standards and guidelines for the administration of supervised visitation services; addresses issues surrounding the use and admissibility of observation reports and other reporting tools routinely kept by supervised visitation programs; and proposes a standard limiting the circumstances under which courts may admit program records into evidence in custody proceedings
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(42 page PDF)
Understanding Women’s Experiences Parenting in the Context of Domestic Violence: Implications for Community and Court-Related Service Providers (2005)
Author: Peter G. Jaffe and Claire V. Crooks
This paper identifies and discusses seven central themes that highlight the intersection between women abuse and parenting. Specific implications and recommendations for community and court service providers are offered.
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(18 page PDF)
Violence Against Women with Mental Illness
Author: Council of State Governments Justice Center
This report reviews existing literature on mental illness and victimization; provides information on relevant mental health or victim service programs and resources; and recommends research, methods of developing policy and programs, and types of training and education to improve services for this population.
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(20 page PDF)
Visits in Cases Marked by Violence: Judicial Actions that Can Help Keep Children and Victims Safe
Author: Julie Kunce Field
This article discusses some of the methods available to courts to fashion visitation orders that can ensure safety for children and the victim parent and identifies new developments in the area of supervised visitation in family law cases.
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(13 page PDF)
Voices of Mothers and Fathers
Author: Lauren Litton & Tiffany Martinez
Recommendations about safety and security measures for supervised visitation centers serving families who have experienced domestic violence. This report is a summary of information gathered from conversations with family members that have used supervised visitation and exchange centers on safety, security, and overall program satisfaction from the user’s perspective.
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(24 page PDF)
You can’t be held accountable if you don’t count" The Impact of the National Institute on Fatherhood, Domestic Violence and Visitation (NIFDV) on the Capacity of Supervised Visitation Centers to Engage Men and Enhance Family Safety. (2013)
Author: Lisa Goodman, Ph.D., Margret Bell, Ph.D., Jennifer Rose, Consultant on behalf of Futures Without Violence
Futures Without Violence surveyed communities to identify: lessons learned, obstacles to implementation, and to develop next steps for deepening our work with women, men and children using supervised visitation and safe exchange programs. Key findings in the following report include shifts in philosophical beliefs and program interest in engaging with men who batter.
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(10 page PDF)