Fact Sheet on Family Violence

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Fact Sheet on Family Violence

Sources: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence, Family Violence Prevention Fund

Support Safety and Self-Sufficiency for TANF Recipients

Require Each State to Address Domestic and Sexual Violence in Its TANF Program.

Each State plan should describe how trained caseworkers will screen individuals and refer victims to services, waive of program requirements as necessary, and consult with domestic and sexual violence experts to develop and implement policies and programs. The specifics of program design and implementation should be left to the States.

Provide Funds to Identify and Build on Best Practices and Assist States to Provide Caseworker Training and Technical Assistance.

Why Is This Important?

All states should address domestic and sexual violence within their TANF Programs. Well over half of the women receiving welfare have experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner at some point during their adult lives, with as many as 30% of these women reporting abuse in a current relationship. A significant number of women receiving welfare also report physical and/or sexual abuse in childhood. *i

Most battered women work or want to work if they can do so safely. Many women use welfare and work as a way to escape an abusive relationship. *ii

Abusive partners often sabotage women's efforts to become more financially self-sufficient. Abusers start fights before key events, such as tests or job interviews; threaten or harass partners at work or prevent them from going to work or school; destroy books and homework assignments; give their partners black eyes or other visible injuries to make them embarrassed to go on job interviews or to their job; flatten car tires, destroy bus passes; threaten to kidnap the children; and fail to provide promised child care or transportation. *iii More than half of battered women in one survey stayed with their abusive partner because they felt unable to support themselves or their children. *iv

Child support has taken on added significance for single parents under the welfare time clock. Most battered women—over 95% in some studies—want to pursue child support if they can do so safely. *v

Too many battered women face multiple barriers to employment—lack of childcare, disabilities, housing instability, lack of health insurance, or lack of transportation may impede their ability to work. In addition, some of these women also face mental health or substance abuse problems. *vi

All but six states have adopted the Family Violence Option (FVO) included as part of the 1996 welfare reform bill or enacted similar provisions to address domestic violence, including exempting victims of violence temporarily from work requirements while they receive services and take other steps toward self-sufficiency. *vii

For some women, these waivers have kept them from being sanctioned when an abusive partner interfered with their ability to keep appointments or attend class. For other women, waivers, accommodations, or services gave them the time, flexibility and support they needed to address the violence or recover from its effects. *viii

End Notes:

*i — Richard M. Tolman & Jody Raphael, A Review of Research on Welfare and Domestic Violence, 56 J. of Social Issues (No. 4) 655-682, at 657. See also Lyon, E. 2000. Welfare, Poverty, and Abused Women: New Research and Its Implications. Policy and Practice Paper #10, Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence. (Harrisburg, PA; National Resource Center on Domestic Violence).

*ii — Lyon, E. 2000. Welfare, Poverty, and Abused Women: New Research and Its Implications. Policy and Practice Paper #10, Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence. Harrisburg, PA; National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. See also Allard, M.A., R. Albelda, M. E. Colten, & C. Cosenza. 1997. In harm's way? Domestic violence, AFDC receipt, and welfare reform in Massachusetts. A report from the University of Massachusetts, Boston (McCormack Institute); Barusch, A., M. J. Taylor, & M. Derr. 1999. Understanding Families with Multiple Barriers to Self Sufficiency. Report submitted to Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake City, Utah; Salomon, A., S. Bassuk & M. Brooks. 1996. Patterns of welfare use among poor and homeless women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 66: 510-25; and Smith, M. 2000. Abuse and Work Among Poor Women: Evidence from Washington State. Washington, D.C.: The MEDSTAT Group.

*iii — See Raphael, J. 2001. Domestic Violence as a Welfare-to-Work Barrier: Research and Theoretical Issues. Pp. 443-456 in Claire Renzetti, Edleson, J., and Bergen, R.K., Eds., Sourcebook on Violence Against Women. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; .Raphael, J. 1999b. Keeping women poor: How domestic violence prevents women from leaving welfare and entering the world of work. Pp. 31-43 in Ruth Brandwein, Ed., Battered women, children, and welfare reform: The ties that bind. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Riger, S., C. Ahrens, and A. Blickenstaff. 2000. Measuring interference with employment and education reported by women with abusive partners: Preliminary data. Violence and Victims 15: 161-172; and Lloyd, S., & N. Taluc. 1999. The effects of male violence on female employment. Violence Against Women 5: 370-92; and Tolman, R., & D. Rosen. 2001. Domestic violence in the lives of women receiving welfare: Mental health, substance dependence, and economic well-being. Violence Against Women 7: 141-158..

*iv — Lyon, E. 1997. Poverty, Welfare and Battered Women: What Does the Research Tell Us? Harrisburg, PA; National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

*v — Pearson, J., E. A. Griswold & N. Thoennes. 2001. Balancing Safety and Self-Sufficiency: Lessons from Serving Victims of Domestic Violence for Child Support and Public Assistance Agencies. Violence Against Women 7: 176-192; Pearson, J. & E. A. Griswold. 1997. Child support policies and domestic violence. Public Welfare (Winter): 26-32; Roberts, P. 1999. Pursuing Child Support for Victims of Domestic Violence. Pp. 59-78 in Ruth Brandwein, Ed., Battered women, children, and welfare reform: The ties that bind. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Turetsky, V., & S. Notar. 1999. Models for safe child support enforcement. Washington, D.C.: Center for Law and Social Policy.

*vi — See Meisel, J. & D. Chandler. 2000. CalWORKS Project Six County Case Study. Collaborative report by the California Institute for Mental Health, Children and Family Futures, and the Family Violence Prevention Fund (April); Merrill, J., Ring-Kurtz, S., Olufokunbi, D., Aversa, S., & Sherker, J 1999. Women on welfare: A study of the Florida WAGES population. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Treatment Research Institute; Tolman, R., & D. Rosen. 2001. Domestic violence in the lives of women receiving welfare: Mental health, substance dependence, and economic well-being. Violence Against Women 7: 141-158.

*vii — See Fact Sheet on FVO prepared by NOWLDEF (1/02).

*viii — See Lein, L. S. Jacquet, C. Lewis, P. Cole, & B. Williams. 2001. With the best of intentions: Family violence option and abused women's needs. Violence Against Women, 7: 193-210; and Lyon, E. 2000. Welfare, Poverty, and Abused Women: New Research and Its Implications. Policy and Practice Paper #10, Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence. Harrisburg, PA; National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

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