Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects the physical and emotional safety of children and disrupts the functioning of the entire family. This training introduces safety-organized concepts that strengthen participants’ ability to engage survivors and perpetrators through solution-focused strategies. Designed to improve child welfare case management services, the course promotes critical thinking about practice in the context of coercive control and violence. Participants will be introduced to Structured Decision-Making (SDM) 3.5 hotline and safety assessment definitions related to domestic violence, shifting away from the outdated “failure to protect” framework toward one that holds perpetrators accountable.
The training contrasts traditional approaches with safety-organized methods for working with families experiencing IPV. It addresses strategies for effective engagement, particularly when IPV is intertwined with substance use and behavioral health issues. Emphasis is also placed on father inclusion and on recognizing how implicit bias, gender stereotypes and parenting double standards influence family engagement.
After completing this training, participants will be able to:
- Understand foundational aspects of how SDM and Safety Organized Practice (SOP) support IPV assessment aligned with survivor-centered practice
- Contribute to a shift from a traditional “failure to protect” culture to a safety-organized child welfare culture
- Understand how implicit bias, gender stereotypes and parenting double standards affect engagement efforts
- Deepen understanding of SOP and Core Practice Model values to improve outcomes for families
- Explore the rationale behind updates to SDM 3.5 Hotline and Safety assessments related to IPV, and apply updated definitions with fidelity
- Use tools that identify perpetrator behaviors affecting children, non-offending survivors and overall household functioning to inform SDM assessments