Domestic Violence Experts for DCFS Hotline

CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES

County Spending Category
2.6 Addressing Trauma and Violence
Federal Expenditure Category
Public Sector Capacity: Effective Service Delivery
Project Launch Date
03/15/2023
Anticipated End Date
03/15/2025

Project Contacts

Indicators & Metrics to Date

  • Domestic violence expert will give pre and post test to determine efficacy of training material
    0
  • Domestic Violence Expert to participate in Monthly Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings
    5
  • Develop / Train Child Protection Staff
    45
  • Percent decrease in Court filings on cases of domestic violence
    0
  • Percent increase in the average number of families sent to linkage services
    0

Target Populations

  • People with Disabilities
  • Systems Impacted Individuals
  • Systems Involved Individuals
  • Individuals Experiencing Mental Health Disorders
  • Individuals Experiencing Substance Use Disorders
  • People Experiencing Homelessness
  • Victims of Domestic Violence

Project Description

Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, intimidating, or violent behavior within the home, typically involving a partner's verbal and/or physical abuse. Oftentimes, domestic violence is called into the child abuse hotline and reported to be an abuse of a child, which is then categorized as “general neglect” or “emotional abuse”. However, an incident of domestic violence does not in and of itself necessarily constitute child abuse. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Protection Hotline (CPH) logged a significant increase beyond its 220,000 annual calls that are reported to be child abuse or neglect. Consequently, there was an 8.1% increase in domestic violence in the high and highest populations in key demographic that includes East LA/Boyle Heights (1st District), Compton/Watts (2nd District), Van Nuys, and Panorama City (3rd District), Long Beach (4th District), and Antelope Valley (5th District). The increase in domestic violence was due, in part, to the additional stressors on the family system such as loss of employment, fear of becoming ill, children not being able to attend school or childcare, and sharing close quarters with multiple family members throughout the day, amongst other COVID-related factors. With families sheltering in place because of COVID-19, increased domestic violence became prevalent, which resulted in more domestic violence calls to the Child Protection Hotline. Funding will be utilized to address Effective Service Delivery as it relates to the negative impact of Violence and Trauma on victims of Domestic Violence. In addition, the Child Protection Hotline will contract two Domestic Violence Experts (DV Experts) to be embedded within the hotline for a two-year period. The DV Experts will work with the DCFS to train social workers who screen calls coming into the child abuse hotline to accurately assess risk and safety factors when domestic violence allegations are present. The goal is to filter out calls that do not meet the level of Child Abuse and Neglect as defined by the Welfare and Institutions Code. The Child Protection Hotline will then refer those families, who statistically were most likely to be negatively impacted by COVID 19 to prevention services via our Community Prevention Linkages program (also known as Hotline to Helpline) and provide effective service delivery under the Public Health Emergency. In doing so, the overall impact will create a reduced reliance on the Department of Children and Family Services, lessening the amount of time a family receives intervention by the Child Welfare system and ensuring timely and appropriate service delivery to programs that will address the trauma and violence. DCFS/CPH intention is to build an increased capacity and strengthen the delivery of services to the target population, which is comprised of victims of trauma and violence who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.

Goals & Objectives

Goal Description By the end 2024, train Child Protection Hotline Staff to accurately assess domestic violence and identify and provide linkages for needed services in a timely manner.

Objective Description Child Protection staff will have an increased awareness of complicating factors when calls are made to the Hotline regarding domestic violence. Child Protection staff will use this increased awareness and knowledge to properly screen-out calls that only have allegations of domestic violence (no co-occurring abuse and/or neglect).

Activity Description Two annual trainings will occur over the next two years. This will ensure that 160 staff are fully trained over the two years. Training will be provided to up to 45 staff per each of the four sessions over the next two years.
Indicators
# Type Name Baseline Target
28 Service Delivery Hire two domestic violence experts to develop curriculum to train child protection staff 0.00 2.00
31 Service Delivery Domestic violence expert will give pre and post test to determine efficacy of training material 80.00 160.00
32 Service Delivery Domestic Violence Expert to participate in Monthly Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings 120.00 240.00

Outcome Description Reduction in the number of domestic violence calls investigated due to inaccurate allegations of general neglect and/or emotional abuse.