The mission of the Center on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) at the Rutgers University School of Social Work is to strive to eliminate physical, sexual, and other forms of violence against women and children and the power imbalances that permit them. This mission is accomplished through the use of a collaborative approach that focuses…

Purpose: A growing subpopulation of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims comprises mothers who have been mandated to services by either the court system or child protective services (CPS). Two human service agencies in the United States developed a 13-week novel intervention to address these women. All participants were assigned to the…

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of gender and other variables commonly associated with intimate partner abuse perpetration on program completion and pretreatment abusiveness profiles among a sample of men and women ordered into a 52-week batterer intervention program (BIP). Method: The study employed a…

Purpose: To gain insight into client experiences with shelter or community care services for homeless people, homeless youth, and abused women and identify priority improvement areas. Methods: Seven hundred and forty-four clients rated their experiences and 116 clients rated the services' importance. Results: Clients had most positive experiences…

Purpose: Incarcerated women serving life sentences are a growing subpopulation with multiple mental health needs. However, no existing interventions have been designed for or tested with this population. Method: This study tested a gender-responsive, trauma-informed intervention ("Beyond Violence") and examined changes in incarcerated…

Purpose: The study investigated whether sibling relationships influenced the outcomes of a sample of adoptive placements in England and Wales that had broken down postorder or were in crisis. Method: The study used secondary analysis drawing on in-depth interviews with 41 families who had experienced an adoption disruption and 42 families who…

Objective: The purpose of the study is to systematically review the available evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve the response of various helping professionals who come into contact with female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Methods: Several databases were searched, and N = 38 studies met the inclusion criteria…

Purpose: Domestic violence poses a major challenge to social workers. Low-income families are significantly more likely to have to contend with domestic violence, as poverty can act as a fuelling factor in this type of conflict. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of low-income abused women. Method: A…

Purpose: This study investigated the utility of the risk assessment "Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth" (SAVRY) within the social services in Stockholm County, Sweden. Method: SAVRY assessments of 56 adolescents were compared to assessments guided by another instrument (Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis [ADAD]; n = 38) and…

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted in order to generate more understanding regarding the efficacy of aftercare programs in reducing the recidivism rates of juvenile offenders reentering their communities following a period of custody. Method: 30 eligible primary studies were obtained through a systematic literature review and were coded.…

The Elizabeth Wisner Social Welfare Center for Families and Children is a community-based research center within the School of Social Work at the Tulane University. The Wisner Center primarily supports research projects that examine the causes and consequences of intimate partner violence, promote the development of new frameworks for…

Objectives: To compare the performance of a range of search facilities; and to illustrate the execution of a comprehensive literature search for qualitative evidence in social work. Context: Developments in literature search methods and comparisons of search facilities help facilitate access to the best available evidence for social workers.…

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of The "Thank You, Sorry, Love" (TSL) family therapy program in potentially improving the marital relationships and health of North Korean refugee women. Methods: The participants included 12 married North Korean female refugees in their 20s to 40s. Using a blinded…

Homelessness affects a large and increasing number of families in the United States, and exposure to violence and other potentially traumatic events is common among homeless families. It is important to understand more about this population and, more specifically, about the relationship between youth mental health and caregiver mental health and…

Objective: To use meta-analytic techniques to evaluating the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) at reducing future physical abuse among physically abusive families. Methods: A systematic search identified six eligible studies. Outcomes of interest were physical abuse recurrence, child abuse potential, and parenting stress.…