Adverse childhood experiences or traumatic events suffered and witnessed by children below 18 years old have been a problem in communities all over the United States. To address these problems, police and community-based partnership birthed the Child Trauma Response team to screen and treat children for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Among the most traumatic domestic events children witness is intimate partner violence. A study by the Rutgers State University of New Jersey explains the importance of immediate screening children for PTSD after witnessing intimate partner violence.
Amanda Stylianou from the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care said, "Families that experience poverty, social disadvantage, and structural racism are at a higher risk for severe intimate partner violence, but those same factors are also barriers to accessing the post-trauma support offered by community-based organizations."
Across the United States, over seven million children witness intimate partner violence every year. These adverse childhood experiences result in PTSD that affects their mental stability and physical health when they become adults.
Witnessing Domestic Violence
Stylianou and her team assessed 224 families and 352 children under the care of Safe Horizon in Harlem, New York. They aim to improve PTSD screening and treatment of children who are victims of witnessing domestic violence.
Since 1978, Safe Horizen has served victims of violent crimes and abuse in communities such as in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. While promoting justice and providing support, the organization works alongside the New York City Child Trauma Response Team (CTRT).
For a year, the researchers concluded that families receiving an immediate CTRT response would most likely include a child PTSD screen. From the children that completed PTSD screening, 75% showed at least one symptom of trauma. Afterward, they were offered mental health treatment.
In partnership with New York City Police Department, New York County District Attorney's Office, Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, the CTRT and Save Horizon can identify minors who have been involved in intimate partner violence. Most of these children were found to have a female caregiver and were immediately provided with an interdisciplinary response.
Arisly Rodriguez from Safe Horizon said, "When an incident of intimate partner violence is reported to the police, the team immediately reaches out to the family to assess the safety risks of the victim and their children, explores family experiences with systemic racism, provides individual supportive counseling and crisis intervention, and offers information on criminal justice and social service processes and resources."
Proper Intervention
To help the traumatized children, the CTRT begins by reaching out to the caregivers and then training staff to include PTSD screening questions in conversations. Stylianou explained, "Focusing on the immediate safety needs of the caregiver and children may create the trust needed to pave the way for deeper conversations about child well-being."
The authors also noticed the significance of racial trauma--African American children were three times more likely to have PTSD than Caucasians, Hispanic, and Latino children. Proper intervention for PTSD is needed for these children who witness these events and are affected by an array of felonies including gun violence, gang wars, and drug abuse.
"The results suggest that the CTRT model is a promising practice for providing a swift interdisciplinary response to children and their caregivers to reduce the immediate and long-term effects of witnessing such violence," Stylianou said. "Truly accessible early intervention models, responsive to the unique risks and needs of all families, can play a critical role in identifying and linking children at risk of PTSD to early intervention mental health programs."
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