UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO                                                                 Aruna Jha, Ph.D.
JANE ADDAMS COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK                                                       PHONE: 312.355.4433
                                                                                                                                            Email:  arunajha@uic.edu
                                                                                                                                           

                       SOCW 517: PRACTICE WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE, NEGLECT, AND ABUSE
 


Session 1     Introduction to course and overview of the class.  Using on-line resources. Incidence & prevalence of  partner violence, child maltreatment, sexual abuse, and elder abuse.  Current controversies in family violence.
Web Links
  • Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA)
  • Family Violence Prevention Fund
  • Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault
  • Violence Against Women Online Resources, U.S. Department of Justice
  • American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
  • Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community
  • Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence
  • National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence
  • Annie E. Casey Foundation
  • Notes

    • Session 2       Definitions and conceptualizations of violence, aggression, abuse, and maltreatment.  Key theoretical perspectives.  Violence across the lifespan and the trans-generational hypothesis.  Is “family violence” a meaningful term: The “Balkanizing” of the family violence field.  Common features of family violence.  Overview of practice approaches.  Family violence and community violence.

    Session 3            Intimate partner violence.  Definition of IPV.  Are there meaningful levels of IPV?  Research and advocacy views.  Crime and pathology. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act.  Domestic violence against African American women.  The issue of female aggression.  Same-sex IPV.  IPV, child custody and visitation issues.

    Session 4      Battered women.  Policy context of work with battered women.  The role of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS).  Direct practice with battered women.  The battered woman syndrome and its critics; PTSD.  Advocacy and group work with battered women.  Crisis intervention in domestic violence.  Safety plans.  Criticism of family therapy and couples counseling with battered women.  Special issues with African American,  Latina, Native, and lesbian battered women.  Poverty, homelessness, and battered women.  Role of religion in preventing and maintaining family violence.

    Session 5        Direct service with men who batter.  Policy context of batterer interventions.  Is there a typology of batterers, and does it matter?  Criminal justice interventions with batterers.  Batterer intervention programs.  Standards for batterer programs.  Anger management. Effectiveness of criminal justice and batterer program interventions.  Cultural competence in batterer programs.     Web Links Session 6   Children who witness domestic violence.  The links between domestic abuse and child abuse.  Pathology approaches and empowerment approaches.  Group work with children of battered women.  Effectiveness of programs for children of battered women.
        Web Links

    Session 7           Child maltreatment, abuse, and neglect: Etiology, consequences, legal context.  The Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.  Major theoretical perspectives.  The inter-generational transmission of violence hypothesis.  Is child abuse over-reported or under-reported?
        Web Links

    Session 8         Child abuse and neglect: Assessment & Intervention.  The role of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  Family preservation programs and child abuse: The controversy over keeping abused and neglected children in their homes, and social work’s role.  Evaluation of child abuse offenders.  Effectiveness of programs for victims and offenders.
     
    Web Links
    Session 9         Sexual Abuse: Etiology, Consequences.  The policy context of sexual abuse.  The other victims: mothers of children who are sexually abused.  Key theories of sexual abuse.

     

    Session 10         Sexual Abuse Intervention: Practice with victims.  Effectiveness for programs for victims of sexual abuse.   Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs.  Treatment issues.  The “suggestibility” of children.  Forensic interviewing.

    Session 11        Sexual Abuse; Direct Service With Perpetrators, Other Family Members, and Adult Survivors.  Issues in conjoint and systematic approaches to intrafamilial child sexual abuse.  Interviewing offenders and predicting dangerousness.  Group support for adult survivors.  Work with men who are victims of intra-familial sexual abuse.
              Web Links Session 12         Elder Abuse.   Are elder victims “grown up child abusers?” Is elder abuse spouse abuse?  Identification of the source of dependency in cases of elder abuse. New elder abuse programs.  Effectiveness of intervention in cases of elder abuse.
      Web Links Session 13         Substance abuse and family violence.  Research on links between substance use and IPV, sexual abuse, and child abuse.  Trauma, substance abuse and recovered memories.  Best practices. Web Links

    Sessions 14 & 15    Student presentations