[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8102-S8104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 1321. A bill to amend title III of the Family Violence Prevention 
and Services Act and title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 to limit the effects of domestic violence on the lives of 
children, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.


     children who witness domestic violence protection act of 1999

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Children 
Who Witness Domestic Violence Protection Act. My legislation, which I 
am joined by Senator Murray in offering today, is a comprehensive first 
step towards confronting the impact that witnessing domestic violence 
has on children. This bill addresses the issue from multiple 
perspectives, including mental health, education, child protection 
services, supervised visitation centers, law enforcement, and crisis 
nurseries.
  There are many facets to the serious problem we have with violence in 
our country. The evening news brings violent images from around the 
world into our homes every day. We also witness through various media 
the violent images or hear stories of violence that has occurred in our 
own communities and in our schools like Columbine High.
  Images of violence bombard our children from the movies, video games, 
or from television programs. But there is a type of violence in the 
lives of America's children that is not in the spotlight. Increasingly, 
children are witnessing real-life violence in their homes. In fact, it 
is in their own homes that many children witness violence for the first 
time.
  Over 3 million children are witnessing violence in their homes each 
year, and it is having a profound impact on their development.
  Frequently, these children are physically injured by the violence. 
But always, they carry with them lasting emotional sears from having 
been exposed to the threat and trauma of injury, assault or killing. 
This exposure to domestic violence changes the way children view the 
world. It may change the value they place on life itself. It affects 
their ability to learn, to establish relationships, and to cope with 
stress.
  Witnessing domestic violence has such a profound impact on children, 
placing them at high risk for anxiety, depression, and, potentially, 
suicide. Further, these child victims may exhibit more aggressive, 
antisocial, and fearful behaviors. They are also at greater risk of 
becoming future offenders.
  Studies indicate that children who witness their fathers beating 
their mothers suffer emotional problems, including slowed development, 
sleep disturbances, and feelings of helplessness, depression and 
anxiety. Many of these children exhibit more aggressive, anti-social, 
fearful and inhibited behaviors. They also show lower social competence 
than other children.
  Children from homes where their mothers were abused have also shown 
less skill in understanding how others feel and in examining situations 
from the other's perspective when compared to children from non-violent 
households. Even one episode of violence can produce post-traumatic 
stress disorder in children.
  Exposure to family violence, many studies suggest, is the strongest 
predictor of violent delinquent behavior among adolescents. It is 
estimated that between 20 and 40 percent of chronically violent 
adolescents have witnessed extreme parental conflict.
  Recent studies have demonstrated that up to 50% of children who come 
before the juvenile dependency court on allegations of abuse and 
neglect have been exposed to domestic violence in their homes.
  In a Justice Department funded study of children in Rochester, NY, 
children who had grown up in families where domestic violence occurred 
were 21 percent more likely to report violent delinquency than those 
not so exposed. Children exposed to multiple forms of family violence 
reported twice the rate of youth violence as those from nonviolent 
families.

  A 1994 survey of 115 mothers in the waiting room of Boston City 
Hospital's Primary Care Clinic found that by age 6, one in ten children 
had witnessed a knifing or shooting. An additional 18 percent of the 
children under six had witnesses pushing, hitting or shoving. Half of 
the reported violence occurred in the child's home.
  Many children actually see their father, stepfather, or mother's 
boyfriend

[[Page S8103]]

not only beat their mothers but rape them as well. Although some 
parents believe that they succeed in shielding their children from the 
batterer's aggression, children often provide detailed accounts of the 
very events which adults report they did not witness. Reports by 
children and by adults of their memories of childhood experience 
indicate that parents severely underestimate the extent to which their 
children are exposed to violence.
  Children who witness domestic violence are traumatized and need 
support. Who is a child going to turn to when their mother is the 
victim of their father? Who is a child going to talk to when their 
sibling has emotionally shut down and no longer speaks? Who is a child 
going to go to for help when they need assistance?
  Children have the right to know that what is happening in their home 
is wrong. Children have the right to feel that we are about their 
safety.'
  This bill addresses the issue from multiple perspective including 
mental health, education, children protection services, supervised 
visitation centers, law enforcement, and crisis nurseries.
  There are some creative programs in this country that are forging 
partnerships in their communities to meet the needs of traumatized 
children. I have visited such programs in Boston, San Francisco and 
Minnesota.
  More must be done.
  To address the devastating impact that witnessing domestic violence 
has on the mental health of children, my legislation provides nonprofit 
agencies with the funds needed to design and implement multi-system 
interventions for child witnesses. This partnerships would involve the 
courts, schools, health care providers, child protective services, 
battered women's programs and others. Promoting collaboration and 
coordination among all the professionals involved can broaden the 
community's response to the child.
  This response would include developing and providing: Guidenace to 
evaluate the need of child witnesses; safety and security procedures 
for child witnesses and their families; counseling and advocacy for 
families of child witnesses; mental health treatment services; and 
outreach and training to community professionals.
  My legislation also encourages collaboration between domestic 
violence community agencies and schools to provide educational 
programming and support services for students and staff. Domestic 
violence agencies will work with schools to provide: Training for 
school officials about domestic violence and its impact on children; 
educational programming and materials on domestic violence for 
students; and support services, such as counselors, for students and 
school officials.
  Among the many detrimental impacts of witnessing domestic violence, 
children exposed to domestic violence are at high risk for learning 
difficulties and school failure. Research indicates that children 
residing in shelters show significantly lower verbal and quantitive 
skills when compared to children nationally. These deficits, when 
coupled with the impact on children's behavioral and emotional 
functioning, demand that schools be able to understand and address the 
needs of children who have witnessed domestic violence. Further, 
service providers continue to find that the occurrence of domestic 
violence could be detected sooner if various points of contact with the 
family had been better trained to recognize the indicators of such 
family violence.

  Children cannot always compartmentalize traumatic events--instead the 
domestic violence comes to school with each and every child witness. It 
undermines their school performance, and their relationship with other 
children.
  This legislation also addresses domestic violence and the people who 
work to protect our children from abuse and neglect. There is a 
significant overlap between domestic violence and child abuse. In 
families where one form of family violence exists, there is a 
likelihood that the other does, too. In a national survey, researchers 
found that 50 percent of the men who frequently assaulted their wives 
also frequently abused their children.
  The problem is that Child Protective Services and domestic violence 
organizations have separately set up programs to address one of these 
forms of violence, yet few address both when they occur together in 
families. My bill creates incentives for local governments to 
collaborate with domestic violence agencies in administering their 
child welfare programs.
  Under my legislation, funds will be awarded to States and local 
governments to work collaboratively with community-based domestic 
violence programs to: Provide training to the staff, supervisors, and 
administrators of child welfare service agencies and domestic violence 
programs, including staff responsible for screening, intake, 
assessment, and investigation of reports of child abuse and neglect; 
assist agencies in recognizing that the overlap between child abuse and 
domestic violence places both children and adult victims in danger; 
develop relevant protocols for screening, intake, assessment, 
investigation, and interventions; and increase the safety and well-
being of child witnesses of domestic violence as well as the safety of 
the non-abusing parent.
  Another important part of my legislation is funding to increase the 
availability of supervised visitation centers. Since domestic violence 
often escalates during separation and divorce, and visitation is 
frequently used as an opportunity for abuse, this provision is designed 
to shield children from further exposure to violence. It creates a 
grants program which domestic violence service providers can apply for 
on a competitive basis to create family visitation centers. Use of 
these centers can minimize stressful and potentially dangerous 
interactions among family members. In addition, the centers provide 
judges with a further tool to deal with problematic visitations when 
there has been a history of violence.
  On July 3, 1996 5 year old Brandon and 4 year old Alex were murdered 
by their father during an unsupervised visit. Their mother Angela was 
separated from Kurt Frank, the children's father. During her marriage, 
Angela was physically and emotionally abused by Frank, and Frank had 
hit Brandon and split open his lip when he stepped in front of his 
mother during a domestic violence incident. Angela had an Order of 
Protection against Kurt Frank, but during custody hearings her request 
for her husband to only receive supervised visits was rejected. Kurt 
Frank murdered his two sons during an unsupervised visit. We must do 
better for the 3 million children witnesses still living out there.
  Law enforcement officers are those who find traumatized children 
hiding behind doors, beneath furniture, in closets. They are generally 
the first to arrive and their ability to recognize and address the 
needs of the children is critical.
  This bill provides further training to law enforcement officers 
regarding the appropriate treatment of children who have witnessed 
domestic violence. Police officers will be trained in child development 
and issues related to domestic violence so that they may: Recognize the 
needs of children who have witnessed domestic violence; meet children's 
immediate needs at the scene of the crime; and establish a 
collaborative working relationship between police officers and local 
domestic violence service agencies.

  Families faced with domestic violence also need a safe place for 
their children during times of crisis.
  This legislation provides funds to States to assist private and 
public agencies and organizations to provide crisis nurseries for 
children who are abused, neglected, at risk of abuse or neglect, or who 
are in families receiving child protective services. Nurseries will be 
available to provide a safe place for children and to alleviate the 
social and emotional stress among children and families impacted by 
domestic violence.
  In conclusion, we must pass this legislation for children who are 
traumatized by what they have seen. We must pass this legislation for 
children like Brandon and Alex who deserve to have our protection from 
harm.
  Please join me in the protection of children who witness domestic 
violence.
   Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the summary of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the summary was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S8104]]

 Children Who Witness Domestic Violence Protection Act of 1999--Summary

  The Children Who witness Domestic Violence Protection Act is a 
comprehensive first step toward confronting the impact that witnessing 
domestic violence has on children. Over 3 million children in the 
United States witness domestic violence in their homes each year. These 
children are at a high risk for aggression, depression, learning 
difficulties, school failure, delinquency, and even suicide. The 
attitudes a child develops concerning the use of violence and conflict 
resolution in their own relationship are also affected. Further, 
children living in homes where domestic violence occurs are at a 
greater risk of being abused themselves. This bill addresses the needs 
of children witnesses domestic violence by providing for mental health 
services, education programs, child protection services, supervised 
visitation centers, the training and support of law enforcement 
personnel, and crisis nurseries.


                             mental health

  Multi-System Interventions for Children Who Witness Domestic 
Violence.
  This bill will provide nonprofit agencies with funding to bring 
various service providers together to design and implement intervention 
programs for children who witness domestic violence. These working 
partnerships will involve counselors, courts, schools, health care 
providers, battered women's programs and others. Intervention programs 
will include counseling and advocacy for child witnesses and their 
families, strategies to ensure the safety and security of the children 
and their families, and outreach and training to community 
professionals about the issue of children witnessing domestic violence. 
Funds can be use to develop new programs or to carry out programs that 
have been successful in other communities. Authorization of 
appropriations for the multi-system interventions is $5,000,000 for 3 
years (totaling $15,000,000).


                               Education

  Combatting the Impact of Witnessing Domestic Violence on Elementary 
and Secondary School Children.
  This bill will create opportunities for domestic violence community 
agencies and elementary and secondary schools to work together to 
address the needs of children who witness domestic violence. Domestic 
violence agencies will work with schools to provide domestic violence 
training to school officials so they can understand how witnessing 
domestic violence affects the children in their schools. Educational 
programming and materials will be provided to students to they can 
learn about the problem. Also, support services such as counselors will 
be provided for students and school officials to help address the 
problems of children witnessing domestic violence. Authorization of 
appropriations for combating the impact of witnessing domestic violence 
on school children is $5,000,000 for 3 years (totaling $15,000,000).


                       child protection services

  Child Welfare Worker Training on Domestic Violence.
  This bill will provide training to both child welfare and domestic 
violence workers to assist them in recognizing the treating domestic 
violence as a serious problem threatening the safety and well being of 
both children and adults. Funds will be awarded to States and local 
governments to work with one or more community-based programs to 
provide training and assistance to workers in the area of domestic 
violence as it relates to cases of child welfare.
  Training will include teaching staff to recognize the overlap between 
child abuse and domestic violence which places both children and adult 
victims in danger, and developing methods for identifying the presence 
of domestic violence in child welfare cases. Staff will also be taught 
how to increase the safety and well-being of child witnesses of 
domestic violence as well as the safety of the non-abusing parent. 
Protocols will be developed with law enforcement, probation and other 
justice agencies in order to ensure that justice system interventions 
and protections are readily available for victims of domestic violence 
served by the social service agency.
  Authorization of appropriations for child welfare worker training is 
$5,000,000 for 3 years (totaling $15,000,000).


                     supervised visitation centers

  This bill increases the availability of visitation centers for visits 
and visitation exchange of child witnesses and their parents. It 
provides money which domestic violence service providers can use to 
establish an operate supervised visitation centers. Authorization of 
appropriations for safe havens from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust 
Fund is $20,000,000 for 3 years (totaling $60,000,000).


                Law enforcement: Police Officer training

  This bill provides training to law enforcement officers in how to 
care for children who have witnessed domestic violence. Police officers 
will be trained in child development and issues related to domestic 
violence so that they may recognize the needs of children who have 
witnessed domestic violence. Police officers will be taught how to meet 
children's immediate needs at the scene of violence. Authorization of 
appropriations for law enforcement officer training from the Violent 
Crime Reduction Trust Fund is $3,000,000 for 3 years (totaling 
$9,000,000).


                            crisis nurseries

  This bill provides funds to States to assist private and public 
agencies and organizations to provide crisis nurseries for children. 
Families faced with domestic violence need a safe place for their 
children during times of crisis. Authorization of appropriations for 
crisis nurseries of $15,000,000 for 3 years (totaling $45,000,000).
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