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Site MapDomestic Violence Through the Eyes of the Child
A roundtable discussion at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Thursday, February 2, 2012
The keynote presentation was made by Betsy McAlister Groves of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center.
Overview | CT-N video | Documents | Additional Resources
Overview
This discussion was organized by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the state Office of the Child Advocate, and the Commission on Children to explore the effects of domestic violence on the children.
CCADV Interim Executive Director Karen Jarmoc outlined the scope of the problem by noting that last year, the 18 agencies making up her Coalition counted 54,000 victims of domestic violence in Connecticut—and more than 1,000 children who required emergency sheltering as a result of family violence in their homes. Moreover, she said, the Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee reported last summer that in almost all fatalities involving domestic violence in the past 10 years, children were witnesses to the incidents. (Report below.)
"That is hugely concerning to us as a statewide coalition," Jarmoc said. "We just felt it was really important to bring a lot of really good minds together this morning to talk about what we can do from a policy perspective."
The event began with a presentation by Betsy McAlister Groves, founder and executive director of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center. Next came a panel discussion, featuring:
- Suzanne Adam, director of domestic abuse services at the YWCA of Greenwich;
- Mae Flexer, a state representative from Killingly and chair of House Speaker Christopher Donovan's Task Force on Domestic Violence;
- Jeanne Milstein: Child Advocate, State of Connecticut;
- Janice Gruendel, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families;
- Alice Forrester, CEO of the Cliff ord Beers Clinic; and
- R. Timothy Kearney, child behavioral health offi cer, Community Health Center.
Commission on Children Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman moderated the discussion.
CT-N video
To watch the discussion on television, check the daily schedule of the Connecticut Network (CT-N), which also sells DVDs. Total time: 1 hour, 58 minutes.
