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While the correlation between child abuse and domestic violence has become widely recognized, there is still much to do. Historically, the missions of child protective services (CPS) workers and battered women’s advocates have been at odds. CPS workers strive to protect the child and preserve the family unit when possible. Domestic violence workers focus on protecting the adult victim from the batterer, often by supporting her efforts to leave the relationship. Responses to these families often are disjointed and can potentially put the mother and child in more danger.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund plays an integral role in several collaborations with battered women’s advocates, child welfare experts, family courts, experts in children’s mental health, and community leaders across the country to develop and implement policies and practices designed to more effectively help families in which child maltreatment and domestic violence both occur. The goals of these collaborations are to prevent child abuse and domestic violence by making systems work more effectively with each other, developing new practice and policies, providing families with better supports, and engaging neighborhoods in developing responses that keep families safe and communities strong.

Learn More about the FVPF’s Collaborative Initiatives

• Creating a Network of Community and State Efforts
• The Greenbook Initiative
• Family 2 Family Initiative
• Safe Start Initiative

Learn more about the FVPF's related publications on Children and Domestic Violence.