Supporting Child Witnesses of Domestic Violence and their Non-Offending Parents

In partnership with the South Region Domestic Violence Coalition, a multi-disciplinary team of social service experts and survivors of domestic violence, SBCS will address childhood exposure to domestic violence by implementing complementary programming for children and parents at the Casa Segura, Domestic Violence shelter in San Diego County, California. The project will serve families living at the shelter; both victims of domestic violence and their dependent children who have witnessed violence, the majority of whom are Hispanic, reflecting the border community that SBCS serves. Project goals are to increase community capacity to end the cycle of domestic violence, and to directly support child witnesses of domestic violence and their non-offending parents by implementing a trauma-informed, evidenced-based, two-generation model of care that fills gaps, addresses risk factors, and builds on protective factors. Program objectives include: (1) Convening the multi-disciplinary Coalition to guide and inform the development of a comprehensive plan to address children exposed to domestic violence by September 2025, and provide guidance, feedback, and consultation thereafter; (2) Hiring a Therapist; (3) Providing intensive training for all shelter staff in Motivational Interviewing, and for Therapists in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; (4) Providing trauma-informed, strengths-based mental health services, in-home parenting supports, therapeutic preschool, music therapy, support groups, and psycho-social activities for children and their parents, most of which are delivered using evidence-based and evidence-informed practices and models; and (5) Engaging young people and family members with lived experience, ensuring they play a central role in collaboratively developing and fine-tuning solutions. Ultimately, the project will mitigate the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and families, restoring their safety, healing their social and emotional wounds, and preventing future violence and trauma. It will also help family-serving organizations to better recognize and help families exposed to domestic violence.