Journal Issue: Domestic Violence and Children Volume 9 Number 3
Winter 1999 Betsy McAlister Groves Identification and Assessment
The first challenge to providing services to children who
witness domestic violence is identifying this population. Once
these children are identified, professionals must then assess
the needs of each individual to determine whether mental health
intervention is necessary, and if so, which services are
appropriate.Identification Children who live in battered women's
shelters and children whose mothers seek legal or community-
based assistance in coping with family violence constitute
obvious sub-groups of the larger population of children affected
by domestic violence. Yet, these sources account for a small
fraction of the more than three million children annually
estimated to witness acts of domestic violence.3 Other sectors
of this population are "hidden" in families that are similarly
affected, but do not self-identify.4 Complicating the
identification process is the veil of secre