Jacqueline Houston, a Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Public Health concurrent degree student, recently visited an undergraduate victimology course at the University of Tampa (UT) to discuss the experience of domestic violence survivors in the child welfare system and opportunities for improved practice.
"The opportunity to share real-world examples of good and bad case practice regarding a system as closed-off from the public eye as child welfare is critically important in inspiring early-career professionals to push for the implementation of evidence-based case practice,” Houston said.
Houston elaborated on the experience that mothers and children have in the criminal justice and juvenile dependency system when a child protection investigation is initiated in response to one parent's decision to perpetrate domestic violence. Houston spent the past year serving as a victim advocate and consultant on Hillsborough County’s child welfare system at The Spring of Tampa Bay, where she continues to support outreach activities.
Throughout the semester, students in UT’s victimology course hear from professionals working on the frontlines with victims of various populations. The class session sought to debunk beliefs regarding programs and supports available to domestic violence survivors such as injunctions for protection, the prevalence of non-physical abuse, the psychosocial impact of domestic violence on children, and the complexity of mapping perpetration over time.