Experts suggest that social work practitioners can improve their client service with a more thorough understanding of the impact of other animals on individuals and families. Studies indicate that some social work practitioners are including animals in their practices through assessment and interventions. Little is known about what factors…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 11-session, spiritually focused group intervention with older women survivors (age 55 years and older) of interpersonal trauma (child abuse, sexual assault, or domestic violence) in reducing trauma-related depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. Forty-three community-dwelling women…

Although domestic violence has historically been considered primarily a crime perpetrated by men, increasing numbers of women are being arrested and mandated into batterer intervention programs. This study examined existing state policies to explore the degree to which they address the unique needs of women in batterer intervention programs.…

Unlike in the adult criminal justice system, where domestic violence policies hold perpetrators accountable for their violence, the juvenile justice system rarely addresses teenage dating violence. Although the adult criminal justice system has pursued policies toward intimate partner violence grounded on a "zero tolerance" ideology, the juvenile…

Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between welfare caseworkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by workers to client…

This article describes a unique use of social workers as crisis response team (CRT) members in a nontraditional host setting, municipal fire departments in Arizona. The role of modern-day firefighters has changed dramatically and now includes responding to a wide variety of crises and emergencies other than fires, such as motor vehicle accidents,…

An exploratory survey indicated that the depression prevalence among Chinese Americans is 17.4 percent. Of 516 respondents, 34.9 percent preferred seeking advice from friends or relatives, followed by 30.2 percent not showing any preference when facing a mental health problem. Logistic regression results pointed to three contributing factors:…

This article provides an overview of restorative justice as a process and examines its relevance to women who have been victimized by physical and sexual abuse. The starting point is the justice system with its roots in adversarial, offender-oriented practices of obtaining justice. The widespread dissatisfaction by battered women and rape victims…

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects women across race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and geographic boundaries. No segments of society are immune from the vestiges of this problem. Yet GBV has been particularly harmful within communities of African ancestry African American communities suffer with greater…

This article discusses social work practice areas for civilian social workers who provide services to military service members, veterans, and their families. These practice areas include education, child welfare, domestic violence, mental health, health care, substance abuse, and criminal justice. The authors examine the impact of the contemporary…

Although most social work professionals may expect that women who experience partner violence will sustain acute physical injuries, social workers may be less knowledgeable about the chronic health problems with which violence survivors often struggle. To inform social work practice, we reviewed and synthesized the recently published research on…

Policymakers are increasingly focusing on children exposed to domestic violence. The 1999 Minnesota legislature amended the definition of child neglect to include a child's exposure to family violence. What was initially seen as a simple change to bring more attention to children exposed to domestic violence resulted in great turmoil across…

Social workers are increasingly being called on to assist survivors of childhood abuse, domestic violence, violent crime, disasters, and war and terrorism. It has become increasingly apparent that the psychological effects of traumatic events extend beyond those directly affected. Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is becoming viewed as an…