Screening for Domestic Violence in Public Welfare Offices

Abstract

Despite a high prevalence of domestic violence among welfare clients, most studies of the implementation of the Family Violence Option (FVO) under welfare reform find that women rarely receive domestic violence services in welfare offices. This study reviews findings from current research on the factors that improve the likelihood that women will reveal their domestic violence experiences to service personnel, and uses the guidelines drawn from this review to evaluate domestic violence screening practices in welfare offices using 782 transcribed interviews between welfare workers and clients from 11 sites in four states. The analysis found that only 9.3% of case encounters involved screening for domestic violence. Screening rates differed by state, interview type, and length of worker employment. Qualitative analysis of the interviews showed that the majority of screening by workers was routinized or consisted of informing clients of the domestic violence policy without asking about abuse. Only 1.2% of the interviews incorporated at least two of the procedures that increase the likelihood of disclosure among domestic violence survivors, suggesting deeply inadequate approaches to screening for abuse within the context of welfare offices, and a need for improved training, protocol, and monitoring of FVO implementation.

The Domestic Violence Fatality Review

“…The policy implementation literature suggests that policy changes do not happen without a significant investment of organizational resources and attention to shifting the culture of the organization to embrace these new changes (Lindhorst, Meyers, & Casey, 2008; Meyers & Vorsanger, 2003). Implementation scholars have pointed to the necessity of offering tangible incentives to encourage policy reform efforts (Wright, 2000).…”

Changes in Economic Hardship and Intimate Partner Violence: A Family Stress Framework

“…While nearly one out of every four American women has experienced IPV at some point in their lives, approximately half of all women receiving governmental welfare benefits have been victimized (Lindhorst et al 2008). Victimization appears to be more acute in households experiencing poverty, unemployment, or increased financial distress Benson et al 2003Collier-Tenison 2003;Cunradi et al 2002;Gelles and Straus 1988;Greenfeld et al 1998;Lloyd 1997;Raphael 2000).…”

Jezebel at the Welfare Office: How Racialized Stereotypes of Poor Women’s Reproductive Decisions and Relationships Shape Policy Implementation

“…Data were originally collected as part of the Frontline Management and Practice Study conducted by the Rockefeller Institute of Government for the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (see Lindhorst, Meyers & Casey 2008, and Meyers, Riccucci & Lurie 2001, for further description of the study). The goal of the parent study was to investigate the implementation of welfare reform policies in states with diverse administrative and political structures.…”