Identifying Children Who Live With Violence

Identifying Children Who Live With Violence

As comestic violence escalates in our society, educators' role of awareness, identification and referral is a critical component to the process of assisting children who are victims of violence. The Third Judicial District Family Violence Coordinating Council, Education Task Force has developed these materials to assist you in identifying and helping children who are involved in or at risk of domestic violence.

CHARACTERISTICS/BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN LIVING WITH VIOLENCE
INFANTS & TODDLERS (0 - 2 1/2 YEARS)	PRE-SCHOOLERS (3-6 YEARS)	SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN (7-11 YEARS)	ADOLESCENTS (12-17 YEARS)
Developmental delay	Developmental delay (especially in language)	Poor school performance, delay	Depressed
Failure to thrive	Low tolerance, easily frustrated	Behavior problems with peers/adults	Signs of physical injuries including scars
Emotional withdrawal	Acting out, aggressive toward peers/adults	Aggressive acting out, purposeful & severe	Aggressive
Physical problems (frequent illness)	Low self-esteem	Fearful, nightmares, night terrors	Delinquent behavior, including running away
	Abnormal startle response	Abnormal startle response	Poor school adjustment
		Withdrawn, depressed, despondent	Alcohol/drug experimenting or use
		Chronic Physical complaints	Possessive/jealous of girlfriends/boyfriends
		Chronic low self-esteem	Sexual activity
		Beginning to mimic adult roles	Violence expanded to the community
			Proficient at mimicking adult behavior
			Death by suicide or murder
NON-AGE SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS INCLUDE:
Little or no empathy for others	Sleeping in class regularly	Absence of emotion	Loses control easily
Blames others for own action	Boys may be undisciplined	Girls may be overly compliant	Uses force/violence to solve problems

INDICATORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE		PHYSICAL INDICATORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE	INDICATORS OF EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Child reports abuse	Delinquent behavior	Torn or bloody underclothes	Acting out behaviorally
Overly compliant	Self-destructive or suicidal	Pain, swelling or itching of genitals	Taking responsibility for the abuse
Can't make friends	Sexually aggressive	Pain when urinating	Low self-esteem
Extreme fear of males	Seductive behavior	Discharge from vagina or penis	Constant fear of another beating/abuse
Lack of trust	Inappropriate sexual play with peers, toys or themselves		Fear of abondonment
No participation in school or social activities	Age-inapprorpiate understanding of sexual behavior		Guilt for not being able to stop the abuse
Can't concentrate	Sleep disturbances including bed wetting and nightmares
Sudden drop in grades	Secretive behavior
Very withdrawn or depressed	Hints about sexual behavior
Acting out or aggressive	Arriving early/staying late at school

IN CASE OF DISCLOSURE:

How you react is important! Remain calm.
Provide verbal reassurance to:
a) assure the student it is correct to disclose,
b) assure the student he/she is not responsible,
c) assure the student he/she is believed,
d) assure the student he/she is not alone,
e) avoid projecting your reaction onto the child.
Do not assume the student feels the abuse is a problem.
Remain relaxed.
Be empathetic.
Do not be judgmental.
Explain the need to contact others who can protect the student and help resolve the problem.
Contact DCFS hotline (1-800-25-ABUSE).

HOW TO REPORT TO DCFS:

Call hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (252-2873)
Information needed:
a) name,
b) date of birth,
c) address,
d) phone,
e) information on siblings,
f) parent/guardian's name.
State you are a mandated reporter.
State if you think it is an emergency.
State why you think the child is abused/neglected (report factual information not conclusions).
Document name of hot line worker and date/time you call.
Ask for local investigative worker to call you back if needed.
Your school should maintain DCFS report forms to be completed. This must be sent o the local DCFS Investigative Unit. (Keep a copy of your report in a "personal" file for your information only. This must be destroyed yearly.)
Your report will be investigated within 24 hours.
Your name is not given to those being investigated. Confidentiality of a mandated reporter's indentity is protected by law.

RESOURCES

DCFS CHILD ABUSE HOT-LINE..............................................................................1-800-25A-BUSE
OASIS WOMEN'S CENTER (Domestic violence shelter-Alton).................1-800-244-1978/465-1978
PHOENIX CRISIS CENTER (Domestic violence shelter-Granite City).....................1-618-451-1008
WOMEN'S CRISIS CENTER (Domestic violence shelter-Belleville).........1-800-924-0096/235-0892
SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS FIRST (Collinsville)...................................................1-618-344-0605
METRO CENTER FOR LIFE MANAGEMENT (Granite City)................................1-618-877-4420
COMMUNITY COUNSELING CENTER (Alton).......................................................1-618-462-2331
FAMILY RESOURCE SERVICE OF MADISON COUNTY (Hotline).....................1-800-872-0528

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