Research makes clear that intimate partner violence (IPV) (physical, sexual, and psychological or emotional harm between current or former intimate partners), negatively affects children as well as adults. Although IPV-related reports frequently come to the attention of child protective services (CPS), there is no nationally agreed upon legal standard or practice guidance for child protection responses to maltreatment reports, nor sufficient research documenting that reaction.

Research makes clear that intimate partner violence (IPV) (physical, sexual, and psychological or emotional harm between current or former intimate partners), negatively affects children as well as adults. Although IPV-related reports frequently come to the attention of child protective services (CPS), there is no nationally agreed upon legal standard or practice guidance for child protection responses to maltreatment reports, nor sufficient research documenting that reaction.

Research now estimates that one of eight U.S. children will be confirmed a victim of maltreatment before their 18th birthday—a cumulative estimate far exceeding what is implied by national annual number of cases reported to child protective services (Wildeman et al., 2014). Notably, it appears that actual rates of child abuse are multiple times officially reported rates (Meinck et al., 2016; Sedlak et al., 2010).

An estimated 10 million people are physically abused by an intimate partner each year in the United States (Black et al., 2011). The most severe form of intimate partner violence (IPV) is intimate partner homicide (IPH). While the majority of all homicide victims in the United States are male, approximately 70%–80% of IPH victims are female (Fridel & Fox, 2019; Velopulos et al., 2019). A prior study using national data to examine IPH found that over half (54%) of IPH victims died by firearms (Smith et al., 2014).

The current study used a mixed method approach (a research methodology that involves collecting, analyzing and integrating), both quantitative (e.g., experiments, surveys producing numerical findings) and qualitative (e.g., focus groups, interviews) research, to analyze. Research suggests that most people who don’t report child or adolescent maltreatment tend not to do so because of misconceptions, like thinking that a child would be automatically removed from home if they were being maltreated (Walsh & Jones, 2016).

Nearly 60% of women in the United States experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, defined as psychological, physical, and/or sexual abuse between romantic partners (Black, Sussman, & Unger, 2010). Additionally, over 15 million U.S. children live in homes characterized by at least one incident of IPV in the past year (McDonald, Jouriles, Ramisetty-Mikler, Caetano, & Green, 2006). IPV has been linked to poor physical health outcomes and high rates of psychological distress (Lagdon, Armour, & Stringer, 2014).